Naruto: The Motley Crew of Konoha

Spekkun

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Sarutobi Hiruzen removed his pipe from his mouth, opening his mouth slightly and blowing out a ring of smoke as he overlooked Konoha from his office window. The village had recovered tremendously from the Kyuubi's attack but it still had a ways to go. Construction was still going strong and the guards stationed around the village was almost double what it used to be, but the will of fire was strong within the village, for the most part. Konohagakure had been dealt a large blow. The Fourth Hokage and so many other brave shinobi had met their demise from the creature's wrath. Despite the show they were putting on, the village's strength was reduced to half, maybe even less.

With so many valuable shinobi lost, Hiruzen was forced to slow down the village's intake of missions, leading to not only a loss of funds but other villages potentially sniffing around. They could smell the blood in the water, they knew that Konoha was weakened and he feared that they would suffer an attack from one of the other shinobi villages, one they could not fend off. Luckily, the Academy had produced quite a few Konoha shinobi who were ready to take off into the world and tackle whatever missions come there way. But this too left Hiruzen with a problem, one he hoped that his answer would solve.

All Shinobi squads were formed in a way that took strengths, weaknesses, and personalities into account. The top student wouldn't be ranked with the second best, but instead with the worst student in the class. The brightest with the least intelligent, the fastest with the slowest. This was done to make sure all bases were covered on the squad, and in the hope that they would help each other grow past their weaknesses. They were assigned to a Jonin best suited to maximize their growth and make sure they knew what it meant to be a shinobi of the leaf. For the most part, the Academy students this year fit perfectly into that rubric. All bases were covered...except for three whom Hiruzen himself, God of Shinobi, the Professor, couldn't fit into any of the other groups without ruining team symmetry across the board.

So, that's why those three were lumped into a team together, and boy what a team it was. Two refugees, a quiet girl, and a troublemaker, not to mention rowdy young lady from the Uzumaki clan. He was afraid to admit that he was afraid. The symmetry was...non-existent, the team could very well end up being a big ball of chaos. But hopefully, the Jonin he'd selected would be able to keep them in check and alive.

That was who he was waiting on. Namikaze Yuki had been given files on all three, but today he would be meeting his new squad in person for the first time. It was imperative that they did so under Hiruzen's eye because they wouldn't have much time to truly get to know each other outside of this moment for a while. The village had work that needed to be done right away so this meeting needed to go as smoothly as possible. The mission he was sending them on was a difficult one.

As Hiruzen turned away from the window he could hear the faint shuffle of footsteps. They were light as a feather, but to his trained ears it was enough to give away the presence of an intruder, and he had a sneaking suspicion as to who it was. "Itsuki, I do hope you're not doing anything stupid." He asked the question, knowing the answer full well. Of course, he was.

"Of course I'm not!" The voice replied, ripe with irritation. Itsuki had hoped to arrive undetected, maybe even early, and set up a prank. Unfortunately, the old man had heard him climb onto the rooftop, even though he was as quiet as he could. "Ears like a cat..." He grumbled, climbing into the room through the window.

"How ironic..." Hiruzen chuckled, shaking his head. "Maybe one day you'll be able to sneak up on me, but not today." He reached out to pat the boy on the head, but Itsuki moved his head out of the way much to his chagrin and irritation. Instead of asking him about it, he sighed and smiled. "In any case, I'm glad your early, even if it is only by a few minutes. Today, you are a full-fledged ninja. Your first mission will be pretty advanced, but I think-"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm ready." Itsuki rolled his eyes, interrupting the old man. "Advanced is what someone like me needs. I'm a Genin, but I'm a bit more skilled than your average newbie." He smirked. His eyes suddenly lit up when he saw the doorway. "Ahh..." A small prank could still be played, so long as the old man didn't snitch him out.

A bit of wire, thin enough to be almost invisible to the human eye was attached at just the right height of the doorway. If one didn't notice it, they would most definitely trip over it. The Third Hokage sighed as he watched the boy set up the simple prank. Should he say something?

Nah, not this time. They needed to know exactly who their teammate was, and this would at least give them a message, whether they fell for it or not. He just hoped it didn't result in a fight.

"I hope this isn't a mistake..."​
 
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Ears of a cat was something that perfectly described the hearing of a certain somebody who was lightly and gracefully making their way toward the Hokage's office. They, or rather he, after all was a cat. A small cat, black as coal and soft as a pile of feathers (the soft feathers, not the hard prickly ones!) was pitter pattering, pausing once in a while to look behind at his partner. Unlike him, she was dressed in shades of green, brown and grey, with the slightest amount of pink on the tip of the cat ears on her hoodie's hood, covering most of her loose black pigtails. Unlike his cautious and paranoid stance, she seemed rather lax, a lazy smile on her fist, hands shoved into her pockets as she walked down the hall, humming under her breath.​
"You really should be more cautious." The cat's tail lashed with irritation as he spoke. To any passerby it would sound like simple meows, but too Nekozawa Moriko, it was completely understandable and make perfect sense. His words, not his uptight attitude.​
"We're going to see the Hokage," she pointed out to him with a slight shake of her her. She let out an exaggerated sigh before chuckling. "Pretty sure the security here would be very tight, Kuro-chan."​
"That's not the point!" An irritated hiss left the cat, his ears flat against his head. "You must be ready all the time for potential attacks-"
"Yeah, but if I pretend I'm not noticing but I actually am, wouldn't it be even more tricksy?" She looked at the cat, the smirk on her face twitching as it threatened to broaden into a grin. It wasn't that she didn't give importance to his words- meows- but today was a special day for her, and she wanted to be relatively relaxed. "Besides, today's finally the day. I'm going to be part of a team, so I'm going to trust that my teammates will be able to stop any attack that may come my way." Maybe it was a ridiculous notion, seeing she hadn't even met them yet, but she liked to think of it as her test to gauge them.​
At last they reached the office door; Moriko could barely contain her excitement, grin on her face as she saw the red of the Third's hat. She was just about the step through when there was a sharp meow. Looking down, she saw Kuro had gently placed his paw on what was almost an invisible to the eye wire.​
"Fine," she muttered, "you were right. Don't rub it in my face." Stepping over the wire, she entered the room. As she did, she reached down and picked up the black cat, placing him on her shoulder. He seemed as if he was used to being on that pedestal, settling down easily, tail curled around her neck, grey eyes observing the room.​

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"Nekozawa Moriko!" she announced, turning around to look at first the Hokage and then the light haired shinobi. "Hah, that wire was yours? Nice trick." She smirked as she put an arm akimbo, green eyes alive at the notion of potential mischief. "Should be fun to see who gets punked by it!"​

 
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Philosopher; Crimson Text;
Uzumaki Himari


“Really, you’d think you idiots would learn your lesson by now.”

Slender fingers tucked back loose crimson hair strands and tied the new and shiny hitai-ate onto her forehead. As the redhead cleaned up her appearance, though, in truth there wasn’t much out of place, if anything at all, she couldn’t help but smirk at the sight before her. On the dirt floor laid three bruised boys, two unconscious and one groaning and holding himself where the real damage had been done. It may have been a silly sight for someone of her stature to have taken them down completely untouched and all too happy looking about it. The fight with the young men, if you could even call it that, was barely a warm-up for the genin. Still, she had taken her time in kicking all of their butts just as they had taken time out of their day to insult her on the day she was to meet her team members and the Hokage himself. It was almost flattering.

Himari’s smirk only grew when no response was given by the only conscious male. “What’s this, do you have nothing to say?” Cackled the girl, all too pleased with herself and the state she had put him in. Her cruel laughter would no doubt make her appear to be the villain to any passerby. No, they would all see her has a villain either way. “You had a lot to say earlier. I guess a good ass whooping truly is the best medicine for blabbermouths like you, eh?” She kicked his side, rolling him on top of his companions.

“Traitor’s daughter …” Was his very last words before falling unconscious, but they were still enough to spike her anger.

Her gloved hands grabbed the collar of his shirt, half lifting his unconscious body so that they were face to face. “What did you just say?!” She shook him relentlessly to no avail. With a huff, she released him and let his body fall to the ground with a thump. Why say fighting words if you wouldn’t be able to fight anyway? However, Himari saw that even in his insensible state he smiled as if he won the battle. “Ugh, ugly people shouldn't be allowed to smile.” With a huff, she turned away from her attackers turned victims and marched ahead. Himari had been on her way to the store to buy a snack before the meetup when they came along. Hunger was the greatest enemy to the Uzumaki rather than the strongest listed shinobi in the bingo book.

Simply thinking about food, whether it be mochi or dango or melopan, it excited the redheaded ninja, putting her in a very excited mood. Her feet began to raise a little higher in her march and an excited smile tainted her face. With such a lovely and guileless look and demeanour she carried at the moment, not a single soul would be able to guess she was the Ghost Pepper of Konoha who bloodied the boys now a block away in a fit of anger. She had a similar look when she first headed to the store, happy to finally be a genin, happy to soon go on a real mission, happy to have time to eat food. . . Have time to eat food.

Himari paused and glanced to the floor as it finally dawned on her. Her time heading to the store had passed long ago, she was late. “Ack! Those jerks!” If she could pummel them a second time, she would. Now was not the time to think about that though. Ripping off her gloves and shoving them into her pouch on the side, Himari darted at full speed to her destination, the Hokage’s office. The Uzumaki wasn’t one to care about first impressions or even the authorities, but there was no way she was going to miss her chance of a real mission because she was late. Nothing was going to get in her way.

Even when making it inside the building, she didn’t slow down, rushing past office workers and making the papers in their hands fly out of the air. When they yelled at her for her recklessness she did stop to look backwards and stick her tongue out at the old geezers. Naturally, she was yelled out even more but she didn’t stay behind to hear it all. No, not when she finally made it to the Hokage’s office, she nearly missed her stop, sliding down the hall past the door only to run back up to and open it. “I’m her-” Her first rushed step inside was sabotaged. She tripped over the wire and tumbled forward only to smash against the wall upside down on her back, legs in the air.

Dizziness and aching swirled in her head, but it only took her a few seconds to recuperate. Once she was on her feet again, Himari was almost on fire with anger. Now this, this was the Konoha’s Ghost Pepper. “Who the hell did that?” She glanced from the old buffoon to the cat lady to the white-haired boy. Looking at the way his chakra spiked differently than the other two, she knew it was him. “It was you wasn’t it? I'm going to rearrange your face." Himari cracked her knuckles, very much serious.
 
It was a little bit after the Kyuubi had attacked Konoha that Lord Third had summoned Yuki to his office once again. The Jonin had already mentally prepared himself for yet another proposal of becoming the leader of his own team, the mentor of barely trained enough shinobis. Minato did an excellent job with his team, despite how it ended. Kakashi was now in the ANBU, and the two of them had even worked together for a bit. He was a good student, loyal to his sensei. Yuki didn't trust himself to be able to raise kids the same way, to raise them right and truthfully to be a proud shinobi of Konoha.

However, a summon was a summon, and Yuki could not disobey the order of the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen. Once again, Yuki found himself inside of the Hokage's office. A place he had gotten too used to, mainly because it was the place where he had spent the most time with Minato. He was a great Hokage, no one could deny that, so the fact that he was gone. . . It still stung a bit.

"Lord Third," Yuki began. "I am honored that you believe I have the capabilities of taking on a team on my own, but right now I want to focus on taking care of Naruto," the Jonin explained to the stubborn man that he had come to know.

"We're weak. We could be attacked at any time...If you don't do it for the village, then do it for your nephew. I'm only asking you to train three ninjas. That is all."

It was a direct hit. The village was weak, and an attack was highly plausible. It wouldn't be a safe place for Naruto to grow up, the only one left after Minato. Three ninjas. . . That is all.

His eyes could not be seen underneath his mask, but he could see the grin on Lord Third's face, but also the desperation and plead behind his eyes. This was a man who needed more hands to take care of his village, and Minato would have turned in his grave if he knew that Yuki wouldn't offer his.

"I understand," Yuki replied. "Of course, I will become the leader of the team. Thank you for giving me this opportunity Lord Third."


It was how Yuki found himself reading through the files of the children he would be meeting and taking on today. They were young but not as young as most shinobis who were assigned to a team. He could tell right away, that there was no synergy between them. It would be harder to train them, to make them work together, but if being a sensei was easy, Yuki would never have rejected so many previous offers.

The usually masked man was sitting without it in his own home. A cup of hot steaming coffee in one hand, and the files in the other. He was reading through them once more, memorizing their faces like he would when he was working in ANBU. Yuki sighed, the steam of the coffee giving it away before he took a sip from it and eyes glanced back into the files.

An Uzumaki, huh? Minato would probably have laughed hard if he knew that he was going to be the leader of an Uzumaki. She seemed to be as hot-headed as her mother, at least from what the file had gathered. A real troublemaker with a temper, she would probably not be too stoked about this team. Would she even listen? Or would she charge head in like a bull? The mere thought brought a headache to Yuki, but he decided to not trust every word in the files, they could be wrong.

There was a Nekozawa too. The clan that Minato had given a chance to, only for a lot of them to be killed and only receiving respect after their passing. If he remembered correctly, one of his ANBU missions had been keeping an eye out on the Nekozawa due to their excellent stealth abilities. She seemed to have some history with going on missions, but not one of an actual team. Apparently, her family had passed away in the Kyuubi attack, though she had gained some recognition after that. What a painful way to achieve it, even Yuki would find it a cruel way for people to stop giving him suspicious glares.

Then there was an Oinari, and Yuki could smell trouble from a mile away. Especially what had happened during the Third Shinobi War, the militarization of the Oinari village. It was a bloody battle in the middle of the field, a fight for territory that the people of Oinari had to pay for. Apparently, Lord Third had granted the survivors full citizenship in Konoha, though this one seemed to have brought a lot of troubles with him into the village. It wasn't something Yuki could understand, though he had not experienced it, helping something that he didn't like was something somewhat familiar to the ANBU ex-captain.

"Feels like I have to lot of work ahead of me. . ." He sighed and put his mug of coffee back down on the table. His eyes gazed over at the clock on the wall, only to realize that he was already running late. Most people would have rushed out, but Yuki was in no hurry. The Jonin looked around the house, finding Naruto climbing the kitchen counter. In the blink of an eye, Yuki had moved from the other side of the house, over to Naruto, grabbing the one-year-old child and getting him away from the dangers of the kitchen. "Jeez," Yuki said as he held Naruto, who was giggling, close. "Can you not stay still? You are such a troublemaker, and you're barely a year old," Yuki chuckled as he teleported with Naruto over to the bedroom and put him down in the crib. "You stay here, okay?" Yuki asked as he reached over and patted the little kid's head.

Blonde and blue eyes, just like his father. Sometimes, Yuki's heart stung a bit looking at Naruto. He was too like his father, Yuki's dead older brother and role model. Hopefully, Naruto would grow up to be a great man, just like his father, and Yuki had to make sure to guide him there. "Your babysitter is coming soon," the Jonin said before he picked up his mask and placed it over his face. It was how he always went out, hidden from the public with it. "I don't want to become an absent father to you, but I'll do my best to do my job as a Jonin and yours as an uncle, okay?" Yuki said with a smile, one that wasn't shown that often, before he decided to get on his way.

The Jonin waited for his Raven, Shi, to report him that the babysitter was near before he decided to get moving. It didn't take long for him to appear at all, despite being late in leaving. He had placed the Flying Thunder Gods tags inside of the Hokage's office, and the Hokage knew of them, as he always wanted to be able to rush to the Hokage's side. It was mainly placed there when Minato was the Hokage, to protect him when Yuki was still in ANBU, but he had never taken them away.

He arrived just in time to see Himari crack her knuckles with the promise of rearranging Itsuki's face. Eyes scouted over to the door, finding a small tripwire, and he only sighed but decided to not comment. Troublesome kids, they were going to be a handful. "My apologies Lord Third," Yuki said as he lowered his head to a bow to the Hokage, purposely walking in between Itsuki and Himari so that they would not fight in the Hokage's office. "I was taking care of Naruto and didn't realize the time," Yuki raised his head again and adjusted his mask, before doing the same to his Jonin vest. They were all gathered, and Yuki had no doubt in his mind that it was for a more significant purpose than a meet-and-greet.
 
"Thanks," Itsuki looked rather proud of his little trick as he replied to Moriko, "I mean it sucks you didn't fall for it, but I'm not really expecting anyone to." It was a simple trick that anyone who paid attention to their surroundings could avoid. "It's just a simple little wire."

And then like magic, Himari walked in and quite literally, fell for the prank. The boy couldn't help but snicker, doing all that he could to keep from slapping his knees. "For a Shinobi, you sure fell for that easily! Aren't you supposed to keep your guard up at all times?" He mocked Himari, seemingly unphased by her threat.

Hiruzen sighed, his expression something between a grimace and a look of despair. The only one who seemed to have some semblance of normality was the Nekozawa girl, but even she played a part in this by complimenting Itsuko's prank. "Moriko, don't encourage him." He told her, shaking his head. He was beginning to wonder if putting these three in a squad together was a good idea. But then again, it wasn't like they had much of a choice.

When Yuki arrived, he couldn't be more grateful. Now he could get them out of his office and get back to other stuff. "You ought to arrive on time. You're a Jonin now, you need to act like it." He scolded the man a bit before clearing his throat and yelling. "That is enough bickering! Your Jonin is here!"

Itsuki looked a little perturbed by the man, his face somewhat pouty. His attempts to antagonize Himari were officially over, what with the old man raising his voice and this masked weirdo standing between him and his victim. So instead, he listened. "The three of you, from this day on, will be squad members, led by this man! You will work together, travel together, fight together and, should you somehow manage to avoid being a true team, die together. I would rather avoid you dying, and I would hope that you all would as well. So I expect you three to get along, for your own sakes."

With that said, Hiruzen focused his intense gaze on Yuki. "And you will be their leader, they're your students now. I expect you to teach them what it truly means to be a Shinobi of Konoha!" Truth be told, he was starting to worry even more now that he'd seen the first interaction of the squad so far. Especially since they were going to be sent into the field so soon...but the details of the mission could wait. They at least needed time to break the ice, even if it was just a few chips. "Now Yuki, introduce yourself to them. From this moment on, they are your responsibility. I will send for your squad by the end of the day, so try to iron out any kinks."

And just like that, the torch was passed and Yuki was now in charge.


@Greenie @CrystalTears @MaryGold
 
The scolding was expected, but Yuki ended up rubbing the back of his head a bit embarrassed anyway. The Jonin straightened the long silver haired ponytail and then gave the "troublemakers" another quick glance. He could already tell, none of them were too impressed with their team nor teammates, which only gave him more work. Yuki felt an internal sigh burdening his shoulders, but decided against letting it out since it was a decision that had already been made, one he did not have a say in any way. Quietly, Yuki gave them all yet another glance. This time, he wasn't looking just at Itsuki's pouty face or Himari's angry one, but also their bodies. A body had a lot more to say than words could, and while he hadn't seen them in action, he could tell that he hadn't just been handed hopeless leftovers. They were older than most who were assigned to a team, but he had no doubts that they could hold their own weight, but that wasn't the problem. Teamwork would be something Yuki had to work into their minds, and as a Jonin, he had now pledged to protect the young ones. He wished to not die so Naruto wouldn't grow up alone, but he somehow understood how Minato must have felt as a leader for his own team. It's not their job to die for them, but to teach them to protect one another.

"Yes, Lord Third," Yuki said and stepped forward to stand in front of his new team. "My name is Namikaze Yuki; I'm better known as the Onibi of Konoha. I was previously an ANBU Captain, but I retired, and now I'm a Jonin," it was short, but it didn't feel like they needed more information, and if they wanted, then they were free to ask questions. Politely, Yuki bowed towards the three youngsters. "I look forward to working together with you," he said and then raised his head to smile at them all. "We won't have a lot of time to get to know each other before we're sent out on a mission, but I wish to make one thing clear," Yuki said as it was the first thing he wished to pound into their minds. Even if they didn't like each other now, or if they ever would, there was only one thing that the Jonin valued the most in a team.

"When we're out on a mission, it will be dangerous, and it will be challenging. There might be times where you think you'll die, but I'm telling you now. No one will be left behind," Yuki swore as he patted them all on their shoulders before heading toward the door. "Also, let's move to the training grounds," he said and neatly stepped over the wire Itsuki had set up earlier. "I don't know a lot about your abilities; I'd love to see how strong you are."
 

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That red haired girl's temper is as hot as her hair, was Kuro's first comment when the cat witnessed the konoichi fly into a rage at being trolled by the light haired shinobi's tripwire. "You don't see cats making such a big fuss. Lick your wounds and be done with it."

"Well," Moriko whispered back, "she is known as the Ghost Pepper of Konoha, you know. Uzumaki Himari." Moriko had seen her in the academy before, even if they hadn't conversed much. It seemed like there were quite some interesting people on her team, and she couldn't wait to see each one of their abilities. She did hope that their Jounin would come soon-

The thought had just tickled her mind when the masked silver haired man came in and the Hokage yelled for attention. Kuro's ears flattened whilst Moriko stood up straight, looking at their leader curiously. Now here was another person she had heard of. The Fourth's younger brother, the Onibi of Konoha. She bowed back when he did, though her eyes remained on his mask. She was told he never took it off, and that made her only more curious as to how his face actually looked. Minato Namikaze had looked handsome enough, so she could only imagine the genes carried.

As he patted her shoulder, Kuro leaned close to the Jounin's hand, sniffing at it curiously, his cool nose pressing against the hand momentarily before he pulled away and settled back down on her shoulder. "He smells normal at least," was his only response to Moriko's raised eyebrow. She would have asked him to define normal, but just then their sensei was leaving, and she hardly wished to be the last one out.

Giving a small wave and grin in the Third's direction, she hurried after Yuki, easily skipping over the wire. Yes, it would be nice to see who was the strongest amongst them, and who actually knew to work as a team. Moriko had some experience; she wasn't sure about the rest of her teammates.​
 
Philosopher; Crimson Text;
Uzumaki Himari


Oh, he was a dead man.

Himari huffed, clenching her fists at her side, red in the face with both anger and embarrassment. "You just stay there and I'll -" She had only taken one step forward, completely prepared to fight the silver haired prankster before another bland haired shinobi appeared between them. It looked as if Itsuki's ass-kicking would have to be postponed, but when Himari made a promise she intended to keep it even if it took days to weeks. Unless she forgot it.

She crossed her arms over her chest, her cheeks puffing full of air and her face turned away while the hokage scolded them all, including their new sensei who was a bit too shady looking to Himari's liking. Of course, she had heard everything that both Lord Third and shady - Yuki - sensei had said, but the only thing that piqued her interest was the fact they'd be getting a mission and going to the training grounds to show off their strengths. That bit of knowledge had lifted her mood considerably.

When they would arrive at the training grounds, she'd demonstrate her strengths on Itsuki. The idea was enough to make her smirk even as their suspicious sensei patted her shoulder. Obviously, teamwork wasn't the first thing that came to her mind. She was so used to working alone, but she'd learn. Eventually.

"You've got it, old man." The redhed kunoichi saluted to the third hokage with a broad grin. As Himari turned away, she shot Itsuki a death glare and made a point to gesture slitting his throat before marching after Moriko and their sensei. Unlike the other two, she stopped for a moment to pull out her kunai and cut the damn wire. No one else would be a victim today.

"Hey, shad - er - Yuki- sensei," Himari pursed her lips, pondering on the name. It felt odd saying it a loud. To be honest, even in her old classroom she had never truly called her first teacher respectfully. But the academy teacher was a idiot who held her back nor did he lead her on missions, so he mattered not. Plus, this Yuki character was a jonin. "If we do well, can you buy us snacks?"
 
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Itsuki followed their new sensei out of the Hokage's office, not even bothering to say goodbye to Hiruzen. "That sounds like something the hero of a very, very bad story would say." So this guy was his Jonin? An elite ninja...who retired. Figures. They got shortchanged by the ninetail's attack and now they have to yoink some bozo out of retirement who probably doesn't even want to be here to lead them. Sure, he may be the brother of the late Fourth Hokage, but that didn't mean he was good. He wouldn't be shocked if Yuki coasted off his brother's reputation and position to get to where he is now.

Well, at least it wasn't all bad. His teammates were fun in their own sort of ways, especially that Himari. If her temper burned hotter than fire, then that fire was the fuel for his antics. He would make the most out of this situation, no matter what! If he did die, it would probably be at her hands, and he was okay with that. It meant he died doing what he loved most: having a good time.

Moriko, on the other hand, seemed nice enough. she had admired his little prank after all, and she hadn't even seen one of his more developed and planned pranks yet. He just hoped she didn't think that made her safe. Himari may be the primary target, but neither Yuki nor Moriko were safe from him.

Hiruzen was just happy that they were leaving his office. Himari was a sweet girl with a good heart, but she truly lived up to both the temper of her name and the rage of her ancestry. It was scary really. "Be gentle with your sensei!" He called out to the three Genin as they followed Yuki. He never thought he would ever have to say such a thing, but those three were different than the other teams. They were older than usual Genin and far more skilled thanks to their backgrounds and lineage. He just hoped they wouldn't be too disagreeable for the mild-mannered Jonin.

"And do not be late! The briefing for this mission is very important!" He yelled again before raising his pipe to his mouth and leaning back in his seat. "You're getting too old for this, Hiruzen." He sighed, taking a brief moment of rest before getting back to work.


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The training field was rather empty on this day, due in part to most Shinobi either on a mission or resting to take a new one. There were several wooden dummies lined up in the corner of the field, shuriken and kunai lodged into some of them. A large stream ran throughout the area, wrapping around a makeshift Butte. All of this was enclosed by a steel fence that kept most animals and people out. The field was perfect for practicing all manner of ninja technique from stealth to ninjutsu to Shuriken Jutsu.

Once the group arrived, Itsuki was the first to throw himself on the ground, leaning his back against one of the wooden dummies as he let out a relaxed sigh. "So, Yuki, what are we gonna do today?" He asked, crossing his arms and looking up at the Jonin expectantly. "You mentioned wanting to check out our abilities?"
 
They got to the training grounds without too much trouble, and Yuki had already decided what he had wanted to do to test his new Genins. It was a tradition, and he was sure that the three of them knew of it as well.

"Snacks?" Yuki echoed as Himari had mentioned them earlier and smiled. "Of course, if you guys succeed then I'll buy you guys as many snacks as you want for today," the Jonin promised with ease. He didn't mean to doubt them, but there had never been a team that succeeded the bell-test on their first try anyway. This team, on top of that, was a particular case. A hastily put together trio of Genins, that was thrown underneath his leadership and responsibility because he was available. He retired from ANBU, so it wasn't wrong to see him as a candidate for a team leader. Yuki wondered if they knew his history in ANBU, or if they knew of the nickname he earned there. Hopefully, they wouldn't think he was too shady due to the mask he was wearing despite his retirement. "As you know, we're going to be a team from now on, so I am going to test your skills as a team and strength as a genin," Yuki explained as he pulled out three bells from his pocket.

"You're familiar with this, right?" He asked them. "A bell-test. The rules are simple. Stay within the Training grounds, get these bells off of me within two hours," Yuki stated as he got a clock out and set the timer, though waited before he started it. "It's you three against me, give me all you got," the Jonin smiled underneath his mask before Itsuki suddenly charged from the other three in an attempt to take the bells right away. He was fast, but it wouldn't be smart to underestimate the speed of the ninja who some thought were faster than Minato Namikaze himself. "A valiant attempt," Yuki chuckled before tossing his kunai behind Itsuki and teleported behind the young, eager genin, tapping the back of his head.

"Not fast enough," Yuki said with a smile before tossing another kunai into the forest again and disappearing in a white flash. "I started the timer, your two hours have begun! Good luck!"
 

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Moriko wasn't actually familiar with this bell test Yuki mentioned, but his explanation was easy enough. Three- no fouragainst one didn't seem like terrible odds at all. Well... if her companions decided to work together and not end up doing what Itsuki just did.

"What a moron," Kuro muttered to Moriko, who ended up letting out a snicker. "Obviously such amateur moves will not work on a former ANBU jounin. The boy needs brains."

"Now, now, don't be mean Kuro." Moriko couldn't help but chuckle at her cat's snarky comments. She could see what the white haired genin was going for, and it was a fair enough attempt to try and catch the jounin off guard, even if it didn't work,

She looked to Itsuki and then Himari. They were a team and they had to work together, but would any of them actually agree to it? She let out a small sigh as she quietly started backwards towards the tree. Maybe watching them first would help her come up with a plan. For the time being, she would hide between the trees and rocks.​

 
"Tch...okay, so maybe he's not the bozo I believed he was." Itsuki was rather pouty that his attempt to bamboozle their Jonin had failed. It was simple and silly, sure, but he believed that the best tricks were the unexpected and simple ones. All this meant was that he would have to up the ante a little bit. Yuki wanted to see what he was capable of? Fine! He'd show him what he could do!

"Who wants to bet I snag a bell firs-" Itsuki turned around to see that Moriko had already gone. "Huh..." True to her getup, she had slinked off just as quietly as an actual cat would. It was kind of impressive, really. It was just him and Himari now, and that was probably not a good idea.

For him, anyway.

"Well, let's see who gets a bell and who comes up short." He told Himari, sticking his tongue at her. "Spoiler alert, it's probably you." Snickering, the young Shinobi dashed off in the direction Yuki had thrown his Kunai. "Good luck, comrades!" He called out in a sing-song voice, apparently abandoning stealth in its entirety.​
 
Philosopher; Crimson Text;
Uzumaki Himari

Himari's cheeks puffed full of air at Itsuki's patronizing comments. She, the loser? Obviously, this gray haired fool didn't know anything about Uzumaki Himari. She was never the loser and she sure as hell wasn't going to fail on a testing exercise. Least of all to the likes of a prankster whom she still owed a couple of body blows. Perhaps when she gave him his payment, he'd think a little more clearly.

"Hmph, we'll see about that, won't we?" The red head removed her black fingerless gloves from her pouch and slipped them onto her her hands.She would retrieve those bells. Even if it meant walking all over everyone else. She really hoped it meant walking all over Itsuki and his stupid smarmy face. The little bastard.

Once she was all set, she wasted no time in dashing directly behind Itsuki. As far as her eyes could see was their sensei and the idiotic boy, but she could sense Moriko's chakara within the trees. What she was waiting for, Himari wasn't sure, but didn't worry herself by thinking about it. Her mind was focused at the jingling bells that were hanging from the jonin ninja.

"Excuse me!" Himari said as she hopped up and used Itsuki's back as a launching pad into the air.

Her fingers were quick, making haste to remove a scroll from her pouch and opening it. It unleashed a rain of kunais particularly aimed for their sensei, but would no doubt cover the field. She didn't expect it to truly stop the old man, but she hoped it distracted him, not giving him many openings to escape through and therefore give her an opening to attack him.

Also, maybe one would hit Itsuko in his stupid face.
 
As expected, the kids did not work together and instead wanted to get the bells individually. There were three bells, one for each of them, and Yuki had no doubts that they would have to do the bell test a lot of times after the mission. Since they were on a tight time schedule, the Jonin decided that it was in all of their best interests for him to not be too rough on the Genins. He made a mental note that Himari and Itsuki seemed to have some bad blood in between them, on top of it, the white-haired eager genin was challenging the short-tempered red-haired girl. One thing was for sure, Himari was positively related to Kushina Uzumaki, they shared the same temper.

Yuki kept himself within sight of his two eager pursuers, wanting them to enjoy the thrill of a chase a bit, before watching as Himari springboarded off Itsuki's back to get some additional airtime before opening her scroll. They weren't going to work together, huh? If there was one thing Yuki always found funny was when people looked down on him. Yes, he was the less noticeable one out of him and Minato, but Yuki dared to say he had his own achievements as well. These two kids had bitten off more than they could chew.

The Jonin turned around to face the rain of kunai with his own, deflecting a few of them, allowing them to slow down his pace. "Himari-chan, I believed I told you that these bells," Yuki said and pointed to the bells hanging on a red string from his waist. "Will require all of you against me and these attacks--" the Jonin started as he disappeared before re-appearing behind Himari. "--Won't work on a former ANBU Captain," Yuki's smirk could be seen underneath his mask as he did the same that he had done to Itsuki earlier, a gentle tap to the back of her head. He wasn't sure if they knew, but he was using the pokes as a signal to them that they were wide open for a counter attack.

After the tap, Yuki figured that Himari would need a bit of a demonstration and get closer to Itsuki. He was sure the female genin would be able to take a bit of a beating, so he kicked her back, to avoid her own attack, into Itsuki and watched the two of them crash onto the ground. Yuki teleported quickly to where he could sense Moriko's chakra. She was good at stealth and had it not been for his superior skills as a sensor, she might have been a bit harder to find. However, she had a lot to learn. The Jonin teleported behind Moriko with the help of the mark he had placed on all of them earlier.

He did that to keep them all under a watchful eye, but it had multiple uses. Yuki pulled out his kunai and pointed it underneath Moriko's chin, careful to not touch skin. "Stealth is an excellent way to approach things, but your fellow teammates do ruin it for you," Yuki advised before pulling his kunai away and giving Moriko a kick to get her over to the two fallen Genins. He teleported a safe distance in front of them, sighing as he knew there was a lot of work ahead of him.

"You guys won't be able to get these bells if you work individually. I know our team isn't like the others and we have our differences, but if you wish to become a Chunin, then it's essential to remember you're a team," Yuki felt like he was lecturing them, but it wouldn't be wrong to say he was. Himari and Itsuki needed to get over their small blood feud, and Moriko would probably have to become a shared friendship between them. These kids were going to add a lot to his workload; hopefully, Lord Third was correct giving it to him. "Now, try again. Your time isn't up yet," Yuki said and dashed back into the forest to continue their game of cats and mouse.
 
Itsuki let out a groan as he pushed Himari off of him with an over exaggerated grunt before jumping to his feet. "Maybe it's better we do lose this one. You don't need any more snacks, Himari." He snickered at her. Okay, that was enough antagonizing of the ginger. Now it was time to focus on the mission at hand.

"Trust me," He spoke in response to the Jonin's words, eyes narrowed at his retreating backside, "I don't need any assistance for this." It was just taking one bell, and from this ex-retired shinobi at that. How hard could it be? He had no intention of working together right now, not particularly with Himari. And if they did fail, then so what?

He scowled for a brief moment and then slapped both hands against either of his cheeks, shaking his head. He wasn't going to drop his good mood because of this. "Anyway, I'll catch you guys later. Still gonna get me one of those bells!" He told Himari and Moriko before starting off after Yuki again, abandoning stealth once more.

This time, however, he clasped his hands together to form the tiger seal. In a puff of smoke, an exact replica appeared beside him. The real Itsuki chose to go off in a different direction while the clone continued the chase. "Oh Yuuuuuuki!" The clone called out. Just like its creator, it to decided not to show the Jonin the proper respect, simply calling him by his name.​
 

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Moriko landed on her butt next to the other two genin. Her pride was hurt just a little bit, but for the most part it was really just a sore rear end. Yuki Sensei, as she called him in her mind now, was right. Stealth was useless when her dunderhead teammates were simply going to yell and scream and try to throw attacks that were easy to read by anyone.

Still, it was embarrassing to be reprimanded by someone like Onibi of Konoha, and especially on their first meeting. Sighing mentally, she closed her eyes once Yuki finished speaking, sensing for Kuro, who was still hidden in the trees. She hoped he stayed there and out of her way, if only for now. She knew how to work as a team with him, but her current teammates did not. She could tolerate a lot, but if even one of his whisker was hurt by them, she would angrier than Himari on a bad day.

Her eyes snapped open when she heard Itsuki. "Wait!" she called, a rare frown on her face as she jumped to her feet, watching the boy run off again. "What... a... moron." Didn't he just hear what Yuki Sensei had just explained to them? They were a team! Or they were supposed to be! They needed to at least make a plan first, even if it involved him running off like an idiot!

She wasn't sure what Himari was up to or planned on doing, but she could only go after one at a time and not more than that. Quickly making the correct seals, she created a clone of herself before disappearing into the earth. She was really tempted to use the headhunter jutsu on the mischievous fool, but perhaps she could talk some sense into him first. Like a fish in water, she swam under the earth just as easily with her earth swim jutsu, following after Itsuki's chakra so that she it was the actual shinobi and not just his clone.

"Oi!" she hissed as she emerged from the ground, just in time to grab onto his legs. "You're supposed to be working as a team. At least let's decide what we're going to do!"​

 
Philosopher; Crimson Text;
Uzumaki Himari

Okay. Himari was really getting tired of being thrown to the ground one way or another today. One would think that her landing would have been soft considering she topped Itsuki, but it was not. He continued to mock her as if to add to the annoying fall. But unlike that idiot, she was slow to getting back onto her feet in spite of how irate she was. And she was upset for more than one reason, but she wasn't going to immediately throw herself back at their sensei without at least trying to think of new approach. She would not be tossed around again.

What had Yuki sensei said again? The Uzumaki had heard every word he said, but most of it she had forgotten thanks to her very selective hearing. She was certain that it included a tremendous tip on how to retrieve the bells. Naturally, she thought it funny for him to give the answer to this little test so easily. Yuki sensei was incredibly confident and so she wanted to succeed and show him that she was not to be taken lightly.

Her eyes watched as Moriko caught Itsuko and his clone and then slowly but surely, it clicked. They had to work together? She had to work with that jerk and the cat lover in order to get those bells? Himari wasn't sure she could possibly team up with Itsuki with her own volition conscious. Maybe -- just maybe with Moriko, but never Itsuki ... perhaps if she used them instead?

"Yeah, it's not really teaming up so much as using them," Himari chuckled softly to herself, hands placed on either side of her hips.

There was no time to waste. Flipping her ponytail over her shoulder, she dashed over to the two whom she recognized as the genuine Moriko and Itsuki based on their chakra alone. Himari could read and sense chakra without even trying. She was there in an instant and promptly helped Moriko by putting Itsuki in a full nelson. "I've got him." She tightened her grip more than what was necessary. "Looks to me that you need to eat more snacks, Itsuko. You're scrawny."

With a satisfied smirk, Himari glanced at Moriko in the ground. How strange. "The old man is too confident. We have to show him what we've got even if it means dragging this idiot along with us. Maybe we should all attack him at once or use Itsuko as a sacrifice and take him when he least suspects it." She was very partial to the latter plan.
 
Oh great. Now they were going to try and make him work with them? He was somewhat grateful that Himari had grabbed him, even if it was a little rough. He might have fell from Moriko grabbing his legs otherwise. "Okay, first off, I'm not scrawny." Itsuko scoffed at Himari's words. "I'm wiry. Second of all, I'm seriously fine! I don't need you guys, I don't even need this exercise! Sure, I'll do this stupid thing, if only because I have a bit of pride that won't let me lose to some retired loser, but it's not worth taking that seriously."

He didn't care how this whole exercise went. Honestly, he didn't even want to be here. But life had given him a short straw, so here he was, stuck in a full nelson by some stupid wannabe princess and a crazy cat cosplayer. Admittedly, he was starting to get a bit irritated, but then he realized something. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. His face was a cross between a pout and a glare as he looked at Moriko.

"You know what, screw it. Fine, we can work together. I'll play this game your way." He couldn't help but roll his eyes and wave his hands. "If you guys really, really think you won't be able to catch this bozo on your own, then I'll help you out. But you owe me." He realized that he didn't have to mean that he would help them. It wasn't like they could just keep him in place all day without failing the exercise. But he had a bright idea! He could use them! Go along with their little plan or whatever and just snag the bell at the last moment for himself! That'll teach em' to harass him!​
 
In fact, Yuki had never gone too far away from the group. It was safer to send a clone to keep running, while he stayed nearby to keep an eye out on the three troublemakers he was basically attempting to force teamwork upon. Obviously, he knew that it wouldn't be that easy. If their stubborn attitudes wouldn't get in the way, then he knew that their lack of previous missions or experience would. He was happy to know Moriko was, at the very least, trying, but he was half-annoyed at what both Himari and Itsuki seemed to believe "teamwork" was. Use people? Where did their morals lie? It wasn't whether or not you could "use" others to get to their goals, but perhaps it was better with a demonstration rather than just running around in the forest all day. They thought he was planning on running all day? It was time to show them that the "retired loser" and "confident old man" had a lot more work left as a Chunin of Konohana.

Yuki grabbed his mask and made sure it was tightly in place, before grabbing one of his daggers. He wondered if they knew why he had been called the "Onibi of Konohana". However, even if they did, then a demonstration was in order.

Overconfidence was a trap, and Yuki was taking this all seriously. They may be rookies, but that didn't mean they were to be underestimated. Lord Third had assigned them especially to him, believing that he could unify these three under one team, and send them on a mission the very same day. They had potential, and Yuki was excited to see it. He summoned a clone of himself and sent it to meet the trio.

It was time to go on the offensive.

"You guys still here?" The clone said as he jumped out of the bushes.

Moriko was the one on point, she grabbed her kunai and charged at the clone. Itsuki and Himari let out several curses at their sensei's sudden appearance and the red-head tried to grab the resident troublemaker of the group to pull him out of harm's way. No, this wouldn't really do. It was noble of Moriko to try and take him out, but. . . This wasn't how they were getting the bells from him.

"Noble effort, taking the point," Yuki's clone said as he allowed Moriko to get close. He stepped to the side to avoid the stab before grabbing the hand holding the kunai and knocking it out with the heel of his palm. He didn't hit too hard, just hard enough for her to drop it. "But your teammates are busy scrambling behind you to help or run away, in battle this would be the end of the three of you. Sacrifice is noble, but in the end, it is also incredibly stupid," the clone lectured the young genin. Maybe he was being a bit harsh on their first day, but he did have to prepare them for a mission. He had a feeling it wouldn't be a simple one like retrieving someone's cat, so he needed to toughen the young shinobi who had yet to meet the world in its current state.

"As for you two," Yuki said and revealed himself, but allowed his clone to stay as a distraction. "Since I'm an overconfident ex-shinobi loser, I should show you that my retirement didn't have anything to do with my abilities as a shinobi, but family reasons," he said before using the single hand seal needed to use his light ninjutsu.

"Light Style: Light Entrapment Jutsu," he said calmly before the four of them got caught in a barrier of light. The light wouldn't blind Yuki, but it would the other three. It was senseless to attack them, but he wasn't going in aggressively just to blind them.

"Listen, teamwork is not about using another. It is about figuring out your teammates' abilities, work around and with them. In a way, you can say that is using them, but you're not using it to get to your goal selfishly, but together," Yuki said as he found Itsuki who was wandering around in the blinding light.

"Running off alone puts yourself at risk and forces your teammates to do the same. Under a mission, this is strictly forbidden," he lectured the silver-haired youth before giving him a pretty solid smack on the back of his head, leaving a note with the word "rabbit" on it. Rabbit, better known as, the runners.

Next, he found Himari. "Attacking recklessly and without any plan won't lead you anywhere, you need to level your head and think it through. Never do it half-heartedly, it will become an opening your opponent can use," he said before giving her back a pretty solid kick over to Itsuki, and leaving a similar note on her back, but hers said "badger". Ill-tempered and reckless.

Last Moriko. "At this moment, you're acting as a lone wolf. You don't know whether or not your teammates got your back or will run away. Keep them under wraps, but don't restrict. It's a fine balance, but going head-on against an enemy you don't know if you can stop will not go on a mission. Work out a way together, don't go in alone," and with the third lesson said, he gave Moriko the hit she needed to get over to the duo and left a note on the back of her head with "lone wolf" written on it.

With that lesson in order, he teleported out and dispelled the light barrier to give the genin their vision back. "Now, it's already been an hour and you only got one left. The half-time break is over," Yuki's clone, that was remaining said, before giving a wave and disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Now," Yuki said to himself. "I wonder if they'll learn something or if I'm expecting too much too early. I got a rabbit, a badger, and a lone wolf. Quite the work you gave me Lord Third."
 

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Moriko couldn't help it- her face turned red as she listened to their new leader's words. A lone wolf, was she? It stung... but it wasn't that far from the truth. She always called herself a cat, priding in the fact that she could easily move and sneak up on others. However... if she just looked at a pack of lions, then she would know he was quite right. They worked together to get their prey. A lone lion... or a wolf in this case would have a much harder time, and this was proof.

Wasn't this why she had been so excited to finally join a team after being alone for so long? She stared at the ground, the red on her cheeks refusing to leave.

"Get up, you idiot!" The voice was recognizable indeed, it was Kuro berating her as he usually did when she was acting like an idiot.

"Alright," she muttered in reply, wiping at the heat on her face, though she knew that would do nothing to remove the embarrassment she still felt. She let out a breath, closing her eyes to focus. She wasn't a child, she was eighteen years old, and she was a genin. One day she would be a jounin too, and she would make the Nekozawa proud.

Plucking the note from the back of her head, she looked down at it. Maybe, but not forever. She would make Yuki sensei change that word to something more suitable.

Eventually.

And for that to happen... she needed to work with those two... She tried not to think of derogatory nicknames and ended up simply settling with 'genin'.

Her green eyes swerved to Itsuki and Himari. "Alright, so we all failed the first time... but looks like we found out some of our skills. Itsuki's really good at clones it seems, and I can easily sneak underground. Himari, what about you? I'm sure if we combine our strengths... we should be able to get a bell at least."​