All the Little Ones[Open- see note]

[Kagetsu Yuii]

Come to Tea they said, it will be amazing they said.

For as long as she she could remember, Yuii had had the travel bug. Her desire to see far off places had boarded on fanatic through her teen and early adulthood. Her work had been aimed at taking her to the furthest corners of Kumogakure, climbing the tallest mountains, discovering streams yet untouched by man, seeing animals in their natural homes. She'd dared to dream of getting out of the country one day and seeing more wonders of the world. The deserts of Sand, the monster trees of Fire and the Rolling mountains of Earth had beckoned to her in every tale she heard. She'd subsisted on Kaji's tales of his homelands and beyond, but it was never enough.

Duty to country and Kage had caged her in, however, leaving the travel lusting Kunoichi unable to leave.

But now here was was on a ship that has left the ports of Kumogakure a week ago to make the fast trip through the bay past Moon Country, along the coast of Fire and into Tea! Already she'd seen so much more than expected through the short stops along the way. The foliage varied far beyond anything she'd been described, the dress was as colourful as the people who wore it and the food. By all the gods, the food was amazing- even the sub-par dishes on their ship. She even had some great company on board in the form of the Raikage and Kahako! Everything was amazing!!

There was only one catch.

"Please stop trying to throw Akita overboard!!" Yuii screeched for the tenth time that day, hurrying across the deck to untie said child.

Kids. She'd been stuck with the boat full of everloving kids. Worse yet, it was somehow her sole responsibility to make sure the dozens of shinobi-to-be brats and a few newly head-banned genin didn't kill each other on a week long ocean trip to a foreign country. Somehow in the weeks she'd taken to birth her child and marry her new husband, Takaki, god damned her Saeko, second in command had managed to give her teacher slave the year off, convince the council that it would be a great idea to boat a bunch of kids to watch the tournament AND signed Yuii up for the job. Worst of all, she'd been shucked onto a different ship than Kaji.

This kids, was why you never took a vacation.

At least they were near land now, and within the hour they'd all be free of the ship and each other. Hopefully the first crew had found a good place to house all these brats,

It;d been an okay-ish trip until they realized she couldn't watch them all at once. They listened well enough, but after so many days cooped up they were willing to risk her punishments. Somehow being forced to swim behind the ship, scrub floors or balance a barrels wasn't working anymore."I swear by Shinbatsu I will trap you all in barrels until this ship docks!" she yelled again, struggling with what was a fairly advanced knot. It was impressive, not that she was going to give a student praise, "That's it, everyone on deck! We've got some ground rules to cover!" Her voice carried over the whole of the ship, and a number of diligent npcs were quick to head below to rouse those who hadn't heard the call. Soon enough, she'd hopefully have everyone topside.

"Alright! Here's the rules! Rule one: Stop doing dumb crap that I have to yell at you all about. I'm going hoarse, and frankly I just want to get to land and see the sights, maybe get a drink. If I have to stop one more of you from murdering your fellows I'm going to make you swim back to Lightning!" Yuii adjusted the squirming baby at her side and settled a hand firmly on her hip, "Rule two, don't get yourself killed. I don't LIKE paperwork, so don't make me fill out your death certificates. That goes for getting kidnapped too. If a stranger offers you candy, at least have the decency not to get pulled into a carriage when you take it! You're not worth the ransoms! Rule three, if you pick a fight with anyone, locals, fellow students or a god damned butterfly I will find you, and I will make your life hell. Do you hear me!?" She waited just long enough for an answer before dismissing the lot.

"Go find your stuff, we're about ready to disembark. Shinobi 101 kiddos, I hope you all know how to water walk because the ocean is a bumpy ride!" There were far too many ships around for them to get right to the docks after all, even with the Kage on board, and far too many kids to row back and forth,

Details of the port were only just coming into view and Yuii gave the ship's rail an excited pat. So much to see, so much to explore, but first there was a green eyed man she needed to see about a bed and a drink.

[OOC: This thread is for any cloud students/genin needing an in-route for the event/a way to make sense of how they're here. Anyone wanting to RP with the people coming in should make a new thread since we have a fair number using this route. Once I think I've got all of your posts, we'll do a second round of posting setting up with a place to stay. Lets have some fun]

 

[Senju Shizuka]

If one would ask her what she missed the most while being on the boat for so long she would have to say ‘trees’. The lack of green scenery was really getting to her, but she tried not to show it. This was probably the reason Shizuka was getting involved in the silly games the other played. Brawls, would probably be a more apt description of what happened ninety percent of the time. Good thing that Yosuke was there, or she might have gone insane during the week, or ended up fighting someone for real. Not that Yuii would have let that slide. The woman was taking care of them, dragging them away from anything too silly and breaking up fights or any other events that might be dangerous. This almost had Shizuka feel bad about having drawn a mustache on the woman’s face two days ago. It was a dare, and she had won, because Yuii had been passed out, basically. A part of her wanted to apologize for it, but she wasn’t sure if the woman would be mad about, so she kept quiet about it while hoping that the guilt would fade entirely.

“Yuii-san said to gather on deck.” Someone yelled into her room and had Shizuka wondering why it had to have been so goddamn loud. Everyone who wasn’t deaf had probably heard the ‘order’ anyway, so there had been no need of poking people, certainly not in such a rough way.

Getting up with a sigh, she put the book on Ninjutsu she had been reading so far on her bed, then made her way to the deck. Perhaps Yosuke was already there. She wasn’t sure if he had gone to get a snack or had found someone else to hang out with. Not that she would have minded if he had. Having enjoyed reading for the most part of the day, she really couldn’t blame him for exploring on his own. They weren’t tied to each other, but had fun whenever they were doing things together. She really appreciated that.

With the sea breeze tugging at her hair and the salty smell of the water washing over her, she crossed her arms in front of her chest while listening to her superior. The latter appeared to be slightly done with the trip. Which only had Shizuka feel even more guilty about having been one of the reasons why Yuii was so tired now. Letting her hands fall on her sides, she stood there for a moment, then put them in her pockets. With them disembarking in just a little, she figured that there would be no scrubbing floors or anything for the mustache, hence, she appeared next to the blue haired lady. Staying on the baby’s side, in some attempt to get away quicker, or at least try to, should Yuii try to grab her, Shizuka let her lips twist into a pout.

“Hmmm, Yui-san~,” her jade colored eyes rolled from her feet to the woman’s face. She paused, gathered her breath, then rambled. “sorry for the ink on your face, I’ll get you a hot cocoa later on.” And with that, she was gone to get her stuff. Having no idea that cocoa wasn’t the type of drink Yuii wanted, Shizuka felt proud for the way she had solved the matter. Immediately the weight caused by guilt dropped from her shoulders. She gathered her things in a matter of minutes and was out to find her friend before they would have to waterwalk into the land of Tea.


**
Ooc: Hi, hi! ~

 

[Shimamura Yosuke]

When they disembarked from the homeland, Yosuke thought that this trip was going to be a quick and simple one. Get on board, perhaps last a few days on ship, and then back to land they go. He kept this positive mindset for those two days, spending his time twiddling his fingers, balancing kunais on his nose, or practicing his hand seals. When he wasn’t in his room doing that, he was with Shizuka, expressing how boring the trip was and looking out of portholes into the endless sea of surging water. Finally, after those two days were up, a switch was turned on and Yosuke was fed up of being crammed in his room all day with nothing to do. Over the course of those few days the weather seemed to be getting warmer, and Yosuke forgot to pack clothes suitable for the warm weather.

So his answer to this crucial mistake was walk around the ship shirtless. Not that it mattered, there were no scars or marks he was trying to hide, and it wasn’t hurting anyone. He would tread the ship with Shizuka, and sometimes came across some brawls that broke out between two Academy students. He always felt the urge of jumping in and giving them a good wallop himself, being confident that he can always win a fight if he needed to. Suddenly came the day he wouldn’t be able to hold the urge back anymore. He was eating with Shizuka and as he got up to throw away the trash, a boy who was a year older and a few inches taller than Yosuke bumped into him. The tray full of all it’s unused sauces was smooshed against Yosuke’s chest. Perhaps if he would’ve said sorry, he wouldn’t of hit him, I mean he Yosuke isn’t heartless. Just a little strong-willed.

But rather than apologizing the boy reminded him that he should watch where he was going. So in retaliation, Yosuke, even with there being an overseer nearby and his friend probably trying to pull him back, struck him with a solid fist to the nose. By the end of the fight they both were able to get good hits in prior to being pulled away. Of course, he got the disciplinary action for starting the fight, even though he would believe otherwise. He was forced to scrub the floors of the ship, for two days. A whole two days! Yosuke couldn’t bear the idea of doing work, it made him regret everything to the very bone. He did everything he could to bribe Shizuka into doing his work for him, but of course that didn’t work, so he was stuck scrubbing away his mornings. It reminded him of his Port Cirrus days, when he would help his parents carry shipments in and out. What a pain.

“I mean...I look a hell of a lot better than he does,” Yosuke pointed to the scar above his right eyebrow and bruise on his left cheek that he covered up with a bandage. He didn’t know if his friend cared or not, but he showed her anyways. Then he warned her not to start any fights or Yuii would get mad. “Your parents ever told you stories about witches? Well yeah, she isn’t too far off,” But he quickly bit his tongue when he heard her voice from nearby that day.

It was now a week, he supposed, since they disembarked from Kumogakure. He didn’t dare bother Shizuka anymore, since she was always reading that dumb Ninjutsu book. Did anyone truly need to know about it if they could use it? What’s the point? Instead he spent his days wearing his long sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up, he was tired of getting yelled at by the overseers for not having a shirt, and then Yuii spoke to him about it and the fear made him give in. He would walk around the ship, sleep on top of barrels, look at the water and attempt to interact with the kids.

He was sitting in the cafeteria when Yuii called them up. “Woah, so you think you could’ve killed him?” One boy asked mystified by Yosuke’s claims.

“E’yup,” Yosuke confidently lied with a nod, “If I used my fireball Jutsu, I would’ve taken him down, but the whole ship would’ve went with it.” He didn’t even know fireball Jutsu.

“Guys!” A girl ran in, “Yuii-San wants everyone on deck!”

Yosuke prayed that he wasn’t the reason for the meeting. A punishment in front of everyone was a disciplinary action he couldn’t bear to take. Reaching the top though, he realized they reached land and marvelled. It was Shinogi Landing, well, what he could see from behind the ships that all reached the port before them. He stood on his tiptoes, and smiled brightly. It dawned to him why he came here, and it made the torturous week long journey worth it. He was going to watch the strongest Shinobi in the world fight. He never felt so much patriotism for his nation, knowing damn well that the best must come from the Cloud.

He listened to Yuii’s rules once everyone gathered, he nodded at the first two rules but sighed at the third one. No fighting? What a pain. He forgot all about that though, because she dismissed them with the command of them getting their stuff, they were gonna water walk onto land. He ran below the deck, and gathered his supply. When Shizuka came in looking for him, he smiled at her and laughed, “I hope water walking is a lot like wall-walking, or else we’re screwed.”

Time for a journey he’d always remember.


(Ooc: This is gonna be fun!)

 

[Honnou]

… This was, actually, the very first sail tour that the young Hyuuga had ever taken. He was to be found in a hallway inside the ship, drinking a bottle of water peacefully… or rather, exhausted. He had been a witness to the extreme levels of shenanigans and power of children’s imaginations, and he found small kids fascinating… oh, wait, he was a kid too. Thinking about that, a small, fountain-like beam of water escaped his mouth as he just surprised himself. “… We should be there, soon,” he mumbled to himself as he looked out through a bullseye near the end of the hallway. There was a tournament coming up, and having heard the news of some from the Saito clan participating, he decided to be there and spectate it all from the seats.

One of the ship’s workers yelled for people to go to the dock, and his feet rose his body up rapidly. Perhaps they were about to dock, even though that it felt a bit… uh, maybe the ship was lucky with the winds. However, as he approached the docks and saw everyone else, he threw a glance over the ocean… they weren’t exactly there yet. Huh…

One of the elder Sennin from the Main Branch had a few rules to cover for them; no dumb crap, drinks, murdering is a no go, don’t make yourself swim back to Lightning, don’t get yourself killed, paperwork is hell, only fools get kidnapped, candy, carriage, ransoms, pick a fight and raise hell with her right behind you to let hell loose on you… that was pretty much it. He should be fully capable of having a good journey without acting like a criminal.

He soon found himself standing ready with his bottle and adventure back, ready to explore these new lands of the Tea Country! About water walking, he had that in place already, but he was still waiting for someone. Taking such a long trip - along the Shinobi 101 - he wasn’t going to stay for himself all alone, that would be stupid. Besides…

“No signs of Ikko… no, no, that can’t be?” he mumbled, standing among the readied fellows who were eager to cross the water towards the country.

WC: 374

 

[Akimitsu Doi]

Finally, it was time for the ever anticipated inter-village tournament. Doi was very appreciative of the council's decision to allow Academy students and genin to attend this big event in another country. It would be his first time outside of the land of lightning. This was a great chance for him to see all kinds of new things.

The boat ride itself was a bit rowdy with all the younger kids running amuck and getting on the nerves of their chaperones, but Doi didn't mind. He'd just been spending most of his time peacefully staring at the sea over the ship's rails. The water was a beautiful shade of blue, and the whitehaired genin felt entranced by it. Just under the water's surface was a whole new world, filled with various kinds of flora and fauna. Doi was even sure he'd seen a dolphin near the surface for a split second. It might've just been his imagination, though.

He looked up at the sky and gave the sun a quick glance. He'd probably be feeling very hot standing under the suns rays in such a manner if it weren't for the pleasantly cool sea breeze. Turning his attention back to the sea, Doi rested his head against his palm as he leaned over ship's railing once more. Perhaps one day he'd be able to travel as he pleased and see all there was to see in the world?

After a while of looking out to sea, the whitehaired genin eventually heard the group's chaperone call everyone to the deck. Once all the young children had gathered together, their chaperone Yuii began to go over the ground rules for the rest of the trip. It wasn't hard to tell that she was irritated by the way they'd behaved during the whole sea trip. The way she was speaking to them gave it away.

After she'd said everything she had to say, Yuii told everyone to get ready, as they'd need to walk along the water for the remaining distance. Doi gathered all his belongings and prepared to disembark the ship.

[WC: 345]

 

[Kita Shiori]

Shiori wiggled free from her perch amongst the netting, nodding peaceably to the older sailor hanging only a few feet from her nest. The hot sun beat down at her shoulders, and she had long since piled her hair back and away from her neck. Up so high the rock and sway of the boat was exaggerated, but Shiori was used to it after the last week of travel. She had quickly ingratiated herself with the sailing folk, lending a hand whenever she could, and thus earned the privilege of sticking high and dry when all the other kids decided to engage in some sort of close quarters warfare.

It meant she’d gained a rather hefty sunburn, and she might never get the smell of tar out from under her fingernails, but Shiori had rather enjoyed the experience. The weather had been peaceful, or so the sailors told her, though once they’d lost sight of land there had been several nights she wasn’t so sure. She’d found her sea legs quick enough, and there’d been none of that nausea many of the other students had complained about. Best of all, after the second day her new companions had stopped acting all jittery around her, recognizing that Shiori just wanted to help, and they had put her to work like any other civilian. She’d missed that sort of irreverent life style, getting up before the sun rose and putting your back into the simple dirty tasks of life.

Tying off the last of her lines, one quick jerk snugging up the clove-hitch just as she’d been shown, Shiori began to scamper down the spar towards the deck of the boat. Their chaperon had called a meeting, and she didn’t want to be caught out of bounds even if she could have heard the whole thing clinging to the mast. Yuii was the sort of terrifying that invoked envy, a peerless example of kunoichi brilliance. So far Shiori had managed to avoid her ire, but the rope had progressively been eaten away as the other hooligans got more and more stir crazy.

Standing back by a coil of heavy rope she made no attempt to jostle for a better vantage point. Picking idly at a splinter in her thumb, Shiori listened to their last instructions while most others careened their necks, trying to spot port. There wasn’t too much in Yuii’s warnings. Don’t attract attention, don’t behave in a way that would reflect badly back on Cloud, don’t get in trouble, etc. etc. It was a familiar diatribe, rather like a lullaby at this point in her institutional experience, and it soothed the frayed bits of her thoughts that had worried at being away from Rai no Kuni for the first time in her life. If that was all the lecture they were going to get on protocol, then those typical things were all she had to worry about. Shiori was equipped to handle this, and who knew, maybe this freedom was a sign of her future autonomy?

Pulling away from the crowd, she swung back into the tackle and climbed squirrel-quick back to her earlier post. Stuffed in her hiding place was a small canvas bag which she worked free with easy pressure before slinging over her shoulder. Glancing around from up high, Shiori pinpointed her targets, half climbing half falling back to the deck as she went to give her goodbyes. It was a gruff affair, few words were exchanged, but she finished up feeling far more buoyed than she had imagined when first stepping foot onto the boat.

Hands on the rail, she leaned forward to cast a look at the dark grey ocean. The waves smashed rather impressively against the hull of the boat, reminding her of all the stories the sailors had told her on the ocean’s mercurial temper. The lady of the sea had carried them in her hands this far, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t see fit to rip the air from their lungs as soon as the touched her. Shiori wasn’t exactly looking forward to that exchange, so she sidled, waiting quietly until she picked up on some older students talking nearby about the water walking technique.

This was not the best way to learn anything, but there was truth to the maxim that death made even the dumbest student shine bright. (Or dead, but Shiori wanted to focus on the bright side right now.) Pulling herself up to sit on the railing, she stared at the pounding waves and exhaled.

How much harder than tree walking could this be?

 

[Saotome Asami]

Asami didn't even like boats.
Well, she didn't have much of a basis for her dislike, but in the mind of a mountain-dweller, humans weren't made to stay above, below or near water for extended periods of time. Perhaps the sentiment had fueled the nausea brought on by the rocking vessel, or maybe it was destined to be either way. She found herself not caring much - it was difficult to think of much in the moment, besides trying not to throw up.

How annoying. She barely knew most of the shinobi on board, and their first impression of her would be fighting seasickness! Far from ideal, but as far as she knew there was nothing to do done. When she wasn't precariously hanging her head off the edge of the boat, she hid herself below deck. Reading, she quickly found, did little to distract her from the ship's movements, but neither did anything else. There wasn't much of an opportunity to train ninjutsu on an easily-damaged vehicle protecting her from a watery grave. Genjutsu was bound to end in a fight, and she had no interest in taijutsu. All she could think to do was try to feed her mind - a task easier said than done, between the illness, disruptive children and somebody yelling incessantly at said children. The trip felt much longer than it actually was, but she hoped it would be worth the struggle.

A civilian would have a rough time trying to leave Lightning Country, let alone a young child with no real reason to travel. Before she had enlisted in the academy, Asami considered discovering new lands a pipe dream… At least, until she had a few more decades under her belt. Fate had another path in store for her, however. If she was going to be made to try shinobi business, then she would damn well make the most of it. It was that thought process that put her on a week’s trip to Tea Country. Her parents had their objections, but when she pointed out that she could only go because they pushed her into the academy, they were oddly silent…

Much like she was, for most of the trip. The majority of the shinobi were several years her junior, with a matching level of maturity. It was hard to be condescending towards children acting their age, but she couldn’t say she was eager to join them either. The rest of the passengers either had friends to talk to, looked too far above her age and rank to be bothered, or spent about as much time isolating themselves as she did. Still, those who looked her way were met with a welcoming smile every time. Just in case. The ship’s youngest member received a wild array of silly faces, whenever Asami thought its mother wasn’t looking.

Eventually, the boat found itself near a very busy shore. The tournament must have drawn in visitors from all over the shinobi world. She could only hope none of them had ill intentions, but before she could dwell on that, a stern call summoned her above deck. Who was she to risk angering a senior before they even touched land? Amongst the crowd, there wasn’t much to make her stand out, beyond an appearance that had clearly been given a lot of attention that morning. Fortunately for her, the Sennin’s three rules were ones that she applied to her everyday life, so she hoped she had nothing to fear.

Against men and women that could set her alight with a few gestures, hope was one of the few skills she had. She gave a quiet “Yes ma’am” in response to her demands, but seemed a little slow in returning to her quarters. Most of the shinobi would no doubt be scrambling to fetch their belongings, so she was happy to let a few moments passed before she got to hers.

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Ayumu had almost decided not to come to Tea Country. It wasn't that the prospect of travelling to some new destination wasn't exciting, but with travel to a foreign country came the possibility of politics. He might have to... talk to foreign dignitaries or something. That said, other kages were said to be attending and the council had convinced him that he, too, should be in attendance for appearances' sake if nothing else. Besides that, Susumu and Kahako were going and that was more than enough reason for Ayumu to feel like he needed to go.

The chosen combatants had departed a little earlier so they could arrive in advance to prepare for their fights. Ayumu was on a secondary boat with Kahako and Susumu. Aside from his family, Yuii was also aboard as well as several students and Genin on something of a field trip. Poor Yuii had been relegated to the position of head chaperone, monitoring the children while also looking after her new child. She and Kaji had broken the news to Ayumu pretty damn late, but he had been suspicious for quite some time, especially since Kaji had nearly spilled the beans during a conversation they had shared at the village gates. Now more than ever, it was clear that Kaji wasn't going back to Konoha no matter what Umashi said.

Near the beginning of the trip, Ayumu had tried to keep his presence on the ship low key. However, it hadn't been long before one of the students had seen him despite his best efforts to avoid them. Asking a kid not to tell his friends the Raikage was on board was a hopeless endeavor, so he'd simply accepted the reality of it. Since that point, he'd just been treating the trip like a leisure cruise and quickly realized that doing so was a lot more enjoyable anyway. It was Susumu's as well as Kahako's first times outside the country. Susumu was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. He was bunking with the other students and getting up to trouble as usual. Ayumu had been forced to apologize to Yuii on a couple different occasions, but she was more than capable of handing out punishment fortunately.

At the moment, Ayumu was enjoying some peace in quiet in the crow's nest high above the deck. Well, more peace than quiet. He could hear Yuii yelling at some kids down below and had been hearing such regularly for pretty much the whole trip. A young girl was also high above the deck, though she had found herself a place among the netting and was actually helping out the sailors so she hadn't seemed to notice Ayumu. This was probably the most peaceful spot on the entire ship for him to hide.

"Man, that's pretty cruel of you to leave Yuii to deal with the kids," V'eru, the spirit within Ayumu, chastised him. Only Kahako knew about V'eru at this point and for now it would stay that way. Fortunately, the only one who could hear him was Ayumu. He chuckled and scratched his head as he leaned over the side of the crow's nest to peer down below. Yuii was yelling something that sounded like a threat now, prompting another snicker from Ayumu.

"Naw, she's got it under control. She's very capable. Besides, it's good parenting practice," Ayumu retorted, reassuring himself more than anything. More yelling from Yuii reached his ears, this time orders for everyone to come on deck. It was time for her to lay down the law before they reached the port. Land had come into view a while now and they were fast approaching it. Ayumu had been studying the city from afar via the spyglass he had found in the crow's nest. He'd even gotten to announce to the decks below that land was in sight! He was basically an honorary sailor now, he figured.

"Should you head down too?" V'eru asked, prompting a headshake from Ayumu. "Honestly? I can hear her just fine from up here," he joked. After a few minutes, the young ones had gathered below. Ayumu remained in the crow's nest, leaning on the edge with his chin propped up on his hand as he watched curiously. Yuii began, giving out the orders to the kiddos with the kind of passion that showed she was ready as hell to be off the ship. In summary: they were to behave. After prompting an acknowledgement from them, she let them go, instructing them to fetch their things and get ready to hop off the boat. Apparently, she expected them all to water walk their way to shore. Ayumu laughed before planting a hand on the edge of the crow's nest, vaulting himself over the side, and dropping to the deck below. He landed a few feet behind Yuii whom was peering out over the side of the boat to the port which was become more and more visible.

"Well, the Academy is under your branch, are they teaching them to water walk?" Ayumu asked, walking up to the rail at the edge of the boat where she was admiring the shore with excitement. He looked out to the sea below, noting the choppy waters Yuii had mentioned. "Actually, might this water be a tad... rough for beginners?" Ayumu with a hint of concern. Water walking was easiest on placid, calm waters. The rolling sea below could hardly be classified as such.

 

[Funai Ikko]

"Annnnnd Gotcha!"

As Honnou would pass by Ikko's little hidey hole, a pair of arms would snap out and grab hold of him, one hand rather decisively clamping down over his mouth to prevent any protest before he was ripped out of sight entirely. Ikko would aim to drag him below decks and attempting to shush him to draw less attention to the pair as he pulled him out of sight once Ikko was convinced that Honnou had calmed down enough to keep composed amidst his impromptu kidnapping, Ikko flashed him a grin, a grin that Honnou should know well meant something stupid was about to happen.

"I'm almost ready, I've been working on this ALLLLLLL week. Come on, I'll show you, it's gonna be great."

Ikko let him go and tore off through the the innards of the massive ship they had gotten to carry what had, thus far, been remarkably well behaved children...apparently...Ikko couldn't help but lament how boring most of them were. Almost nothing had exploded in a whole week, seriously. Granted, Ikko himself had been remarkably quiet the entire week long journey and, thankfully, not one of the higher ups on board had enjoyed any first hand experience in dealing with Ikko or his relative silence would have been highly suspicious and more than a little concerning. Thankfully, neither Kiri nor Junko were on this particular vessel and, as a result, Ikko had a level of freedom he definitely should not have been afforded. Ikko had dragged Honnou to the a secluded part of the ship that looked as if Ikko had turned it in to a sort of nerve center and and was heralded by a sort of maniacal laugh from little Ikko.

"This is what I've been working on all week, we're going to dock in style! You ready?"

Ikko walked up to what seemed to be a control console with various wires extending to all parts of the ship. A mischievous grin spread across Ikko's face as he flashed that very grin back at Honnou and positioned his palm above a button that was almost cartoonishly big. With a flourish, Ikko slammed his hand down on the button and many, many things happened at once. Up on deck, the barrels that Yuii had been referencing littered around would suddenly find themselves very opposed to the concept of gravity. The first one near the stern fired off and immediately careened into the sky and detonated high above them, peppering the sky in red and blue sparks. The next went off near the bow, this one peppering the sky with bright silver and green sparks. This process repeated in rapidly quickening succession until the entire sky was serving as a fireworks procession for the ship. However, Ikko wasn't done at all, whatsoever.

"AND THE FINALE!"

Ikko slammed down another button and a part of the quarter deck above them opened up to reveal the sky above them. Most ships like this had mechanisms like this for loading and carrying heavy equipment to and from the deck and the cargo hold. As soon as this opening formed, hopefully people would react and no one would fall on Honnou's or, more importantly, Ikko's head, something sleek shot out from the cargo hold where Ikko and Honnou were standing. Tethered to two lines of string, to where the boys were standing, the sleek object caught the wind and folded out and extended wide in the wind. After being extended to its full width, a sloppily and crudely formed image was rather clear...and large enough to be seen from the shoreline.

Spoiler

The lift finished bringing Ikko and Honnou to the surface and in full view of the rest of the retinue from Kumogakure, Ikko with as insufferably proud a look on his face as humanly possible as he beamed up at his own face. He flashed another grin at Honnou, who was nod doubt equally proud of him before he let his eyes scan across who all was visible to him after his grand entrance before he spotted Yuii and waved enthusiastically to her.

"Hey Master Yuii! Can I borrow some exploding tags? I had to use all of mine on the barrels. And all the ones in the store room...and a couple I had to pickpocket off of people. Also what were the rules? I couldn't hear you. I know you mentioned candy though."

 

[Takamura Natsumi]

A taste of freedom.

It had been a very, very near miss. A miss in the form of a strict and unrepentant denial of permission to go on the trip with a bunch of Academy students and genin to watch a tournament in another country entirely. A merchant country at that where her folks likely had a crapload of contacts and thus could have a bunch of pairs of eyes on her for whatever reasons they could think of. But no. They rejected the idea out right and stated she would not be going. Period. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Which was exactly why Natsumi found herself practically glued to the guard rail on the ship, ears pricked forward as far as they would go, and eyes wide with big pupils as she absorbed absolutely everything new around her. Everything. She hadn't seen the sea. Hadn't seen the shore. Hadn't seen the plains and valleys and meadows and, and, and, what the hell was that fish it was massive!

The waves were massive. The ship was massive.

And the whole damn world was so much bigger than she ever could have concieved of-- and she couldn't wait to get strong enough to be sent, or travel, all over it in the years to come.

All thanks to this wonderful, wonderful thing called a forged signature and a stolen name seal.

Of course, she kept herself the hell away, when possible, from the others. She wasn't here to make friends or whatever. No. She had things to learn. Skills to hone. And a world to see; she didn't have time for shenanigans and stupid gossip sessions or any of that foolishhness. She, like many other of the brats on board, gave the poor instructor grey hair and murderous intentions.

Mostly for not staying the loving hell inside her assigned room at night and always being somewhere on the ship she shouldn't be.

Nearly there and with yet another lecture-- who would be stupid enough to get into a fight with an insect?-- by their glorified babysitter, Natsumi squirmed impatiently. Sent little longing glances back towards the bow of the ship where she'd just managed to catch sight of other ships and the dock, which meant a zillion other things to explore and and and---

And then something exploded.

Shrieked.

And lit the sky above their heads.

Sulfur. Gunpowder? And fire. Soot. She wrinkled her nose, ears flat against her skull as far as she could get them to go because damn whoever did this those were loud. She watched the sparks, colorful as they were, rain down with the remnants of smoldering barrels.

A large banner unfurled with... a drawing? and bad lettering.

We have come for...

What.

Natsumi's expression was deadpan shock. Her mouth thankfully closed, but the look one of disbelief and slowly dawning disgust. Her tail was fluffed out in a fat black club sticking straight out behind her, having untucked from its usual hiding place curled down her leg out of surprise.

She looked from the kid, similar-ish to the one on the banner, and then to the teacher.

Opened her mouth.

"Can we stuff him in a barrel and pass him back and forth on the way to shore?"

 

[Kashino Yuu]

While being a Genin for 1 to 2 years now was a little disappointing for Yuu, it did give him a benefit of watching out of his siblings, which they are still Academy Students. Besides, with the news of a fighting tournament held in another country, he had a feeling that he might take them along or else, he will end up at the end of Yasu's temper. Thankfully, he wasn't alone as Yuri was with him carrying his own backpack for the trip. Because of his different appearance and having his Kinjutsu registered, he had to approach Yuii and asked, "Sorry to interrupt, Yuii-san, but will Yuri come with us for the trip? He's not a student, but you could say he's connected to my Rinnegan abilities."

He can't say that he was a spider parasite that just made his old body his own, but he had to watch his words if he wanted to avoid scaring the Academy Students. But as for Yuri, he was a bit distracted after hearing an explosion and seeing an amateur banner that one of the students made. It didn't help when one of the students suggested to the troublemaking student. He can't make a comment out of respect to the students, but he knew what she said might be a little out of line.

 

[Honnou]

Watching many new and familiar faces, the journey promised much… what a poor understatement. Not had he even stepped his feet on the water until someone prevented him from advancing by pulling him in, jolting his body in surprise to the sudden abduction! The boy literally found himself softly poking the person’s sides, but… wait… it was Ikko! What a relief, the boy was about to conclude an actual abduction by some spy and blind passenger whose goal was to kill all students on the boat. Phew…

His face said it all; in fact, he didn’t even need to explain. He was up to no good, apparently, and he wanted the small Hyuuga to witness from the front seats… however, on a boat far from civilization, what exactly could Ikko have planned in the long run? That also reminded him of the boy’s absence, even though that he didn’t give that any thoughts earlier when he was playing soccer with the other boys. It prompted him to take a look for himself and see what the genius had in store…

The place that they found themselves in looked a lot like the secret hideout for some dude or villain. A huge button was visible, though, and Honnou’s Hyuuga eyes watched closely as Ikko was already about to press on it. “What does it-“ he was about to ask, but dear lord, his question was quickly answered through the sound of bombardments atop the dock. His eyes had widened even more in complete shock, only able to assume that Ikko had prepared nothing more than freaking explosives above them. Although, it didn’t appear to damage the dock from his perspective, so was it, by any chance, an illusion?

Nope. Just nope. Life was unpredictable and caught him by utter surprise once more as the literal deck opened above them to let more rays from the sun shine down. A sleek object was launched and waved on the air waves, revealing its identification to be a flag bearing the picture of an enlarged Ikko with the words: ‘WE ARE KUMOGAKURE WE HAVE COME FOR YOUR COOKIES’. Before the boy even knew of it, he was found at the surface in full exposure to everyone along with Ikko. “…”

“H-How’d you prepare this in one week, alone?!” the Hyuuga asked out confusingly, sweat pearls dropping and his eyes dashing everywhere. It felt, honestly, embarrassing and eye-opening at the same time… the cookies… oh boy, they had to try all the types of cookies originating from this country. Oh, it also reminded him of Master Yuii’s previous words-

His arms were found shutting off power as they dangled on his sides, his eyes empty for colorful expressions. Didn’t… didn’t Yuii include this as a no go too? If so, what would happen now? Even the next comment from another girl with sweet ears made the weight even heavier.

He slowly moved his gaze towards Ikko, almost as if he was crying with a suspiciously friendly smile and voice: “Yo… you blew me away and all that, but… I-I have half a mind to close all your tenketsu points right now…”

WC: 526

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

It was official. Kogami-Shinrya Susumu’s mother was the devil reincarnated. Ask anyone besides the young boy, and you would have gotten a variety of opinions about her. ‘Kind,’ ‘intelligent,’ ‘beautiful,’ ‘motherly...’ So many good words to describe her character, and all of them a downright lie. As he flipped the page in his lap, he knew. If no one else would believe him, so be it, but he knew.


Oh sure, he had free reign to explore the first few days… But then he just had to get into a fight with some kid almost twice his size. At first he apologized, but the kid ‘tsk-ed’ at him. Which set Susumu off with a ‘well then, watch where you’re going’...

Which earned him a punch to the face. In which he retaliated with a right hook to the boy’s temple, and a full on tackle to the ground. Needless to say, Yuii-sama ended the fight, causing his dad to have to step in and apologize to the Sennin who grew more and more irritated at the children in her care.

But then said kid (who he learned went by the name of Shimamura Yosuke,) just had to go around like a punk, bragging that he won the match and chatting loudly about how ‘they should see the other guy’ even though his mother healed the broken nose and black eye the moment she saw it. It was clearly a draw.

So in retaliation, he may have intentionally dropped anything sticky he could find on the floor, forcing Yosuke into cleaning and re-cleaning the deck every few hours over the span of his two day punishment.

And he… maaaaay have gotten caught by his mother on the morning of the third...

So, throughout the rest of the week, while the other kids played, laughed, and just generally enjoyed sealife. He was trapped inside his parent’s shared room doing the last thing any kid going on vacation would ever want to do:

Homework.

And not just any homework. remedial homework. A parting gift from his homeroom teacher for the previous absences in ninjutsu class. Kahako sat a couple feet away at the Raikage’s desk, going over papers of her own as she went over her list of gifts she packed for leaders she and Ayumu might run into during their stay in Tea country.

Susumu flipped another page before audibly sighing in frustration. “Come on, moooom, I said I was sorry, please let me ooooout.” His complaints were met with the beautiful tune of a scratching ballpoint pen.

“What are the five advance elements related to fire jutsu, and name one jutsu of these elements that can dispel barriers.” Kahako asked without looking up once.

“Shadow, Explosion, Plasma, Kenetic, and Scorch. The Scorch jutsu, ‘Amplifier’ has a chance of doing that if you can create a condensed flash fire.” he responded without hesitation. “Come on, mom, please let me have a break. I’m dying in here!”

Kahako sighed and played with the ring on her finger. In truth, she too was getting antsy on the ship, despite its impressive size. As they travelled further south, the heat pushed her to want to jump over the side of the deck into the dark waves, but to do so as an adult would probably destroy the tiny sense of false peace Yuii maintained in a desperate attempt to make sure everyone on the ship made it to Tea without sinking the thing in the process.

But then the call came that all the students were to assemble on deck. “Fine,” she conceded, “but only for an hour. And then it’s back to history.”

Susumu was gone before Kahako could finish her sentence. For every second of that hour, she probably wouldn’t see the boy. She sighed, figuring Yuii would need whatever support the mednin could offer the new mother. (Which explained why Yuii refused to drink on the weekend Kahako decidedly dubbed ‘Journey to hell.’ Raiden knows she did in order to block most of it out.)

Clamoring up the stairs with the rest of the students, Susumu squeezed his way to the middle of the crowd while Kahako stepped behind the main branch sennin. The woman seemed about ten times more stressed than Kahako had seen her the night before, and it worried her a bit. Maybe having one person babysit this many children alone was a bad idea on council’s part. Especially a mother with a newborn. Kahako frowned slightly. Didn’t she send Ayumu a couple hours ago to see if Yuii needed help?

"Alright! Here's the rules! Rule one: Stop doing dumb crap that I have to yell at you all about. I'm going hoarse, and frankly I just want to get to land and see the sights, maybe get a drink. If I have to stop one more of you from murdering your fellows I'm going to make you swim back to Lightning!" Yuii adjusted the squirming baby at her side and settled a hand firmly on her hip, "Rule two, don't get yourself killed. I don't LIKE paperwork, so don't make me fill out your death certificates. That goes for getting kidnapped too. If a stranger offers you candy, at least have the decency not to get pulled into a carriage when you take it! You're not worth the ransoms! Rule three, if you pick a fight with anyone, locals, fellow students or a god damned butterfly I will find you, and I will make your life hell. Do you hear me!?" She waited just long enough for an answer before dismissing the lot.

"Go find your stuff, we're about ready to disembark. Shinobi 101 kiddos, I hope you all know how to water walk because the ocean is a bumpy ride!" There were far too many ships around for them to get right to the docks after all, even with the Kage on board, and far too many kids to row back and forth,


This excited Susumu to no end, Already he was at the railing, ready to jump off into the murky depths. He carried everything important to him on his person at all times: His katana crafted by Kotsurogi Rurou, and his father's old ANBU mask. Anything else his mom packed, and would be brought with the servants who tended to the family.

However, before he haphazardly jumped of the edge, his attention would immediately be drawn by a series of unexpected fireworks behind him. Like a shonen MC rising to meet the first five minutes of the pilot, Ikko stood proudly as he welcomed Tea country with the worstbest poster the green-eyed boy saw in his life.

Susumu lost it, nearling falling off the ship in as he laughed his ass off. “Cookies?!” he guffawed between breaths. He needed to learn the name of the two boys standing on the lift. Clearly they would be the two people to hang out with during this event.

 

[Tsuyo Oushi]

As the life of a shinobi was all still rather new to him, Oushi was plenty unsure if it was alright for him to be going along on this field trip to the Country of Tea. He had only recently joined the academy and was about as fresh as fresh could get, all things considered. Still, the boy was told that this trip would be an excellent learning experience for him, a good chance to see just how a Cloud ninja should be. Oushi didn’t doubt it, but still he remained unsettled. He had barely even started classes and yet here he was, traveling with other academy students and genin alike to witness a tournament. For the most part, the young boy found himself stuck in his room with what little belongings he had been told to bring with him, not that he had much at all to begin with. It was safer for him this way he found. He could study the one textbook he brought, and for what room there was on the floor the boy would be able to do a few simple exercises. The main reason though...he could keep a proper distance from girls.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, the dark purple bangs of his hair shifted across his eyes as he looked down at his hands, their fingers intertwined while he was in thought. Perhaps today he would dare to leave his room, not for the necessities of food or other functions, but to actually explore and meet people. His caramel brown gaze lifted to eye the door, trying to build up the motivation and courage to do so. Cautiously, his legs unwinded as the soles of his shinobi footwear made contact with the floor. Step by step he made the approach to the door, his hand slowly reaching out for the handle, and yet...he quickly pulled back.

On the other side he could hear a couple of girls passing by his door at the most inopportune moment (especially since it sounded like one of the chaperones was yelling about something), causing him to instinctively keep his distance. With a disheartening sigh, his shoulders slumped and he was on the floor, once again trying to keep himself busy. If he wasn’t going to head out and explore the deck of the ship, he could at least keep himself active with some minor physical activity. So for the third time today, the shy Oushi was on the floor of his room, doing sets of pushups. That wouldn’t last for long though, as even from inside the comfort of his room he could hear the explosions going off in the air around the ship. Instantly the gentle boy began to fret, wondering what exactly was going on. Should he stay in the safety of his room, or investigate what had happened? Maybe someone had gotten hurt? What kind of person would he be if he didn’t check on them?

For the first time today, Oushi blatantly swung open his door without much thought and bolted from his room to the deck. Since his focus was strictly on the alarming noise, he didn’t notice the few girls he had passed in his mad sprint, his bound oxen tail of hair flying behind him. Once he had arrived, his panicked looking eyes darted around, spotting the last traces of fireworks in the sky and the reveal of some sort of large image, the text mentioning something about...cookies? It hadn’t been an attack on the ship, just further shenanigans committed by one of the other kids. With a sigh, he rubbed the back of his head, relieved that it was nothing so drastic of the sort. His attention was quickly drawn to his surroundings, taking notice of the female presence. So long as he kept a fair distance, perhaps he would ‘survive’ long enough to reach his room and gather his belongings. From what he could pick up from others, they would be disembarking soon.


WC: [ 668 ]

 

[Tsubame]

If she were to be perfectly honest, the small blonde girl hand little clue as to why she was on this boat. It was at the behest of the spirit that dwelled within the sword on her hip. Days ago before they left, he told her that the ability to leave the country was a rare treat and should be taken whenever offered. Well, his exact words weren’t so kind. Something more along the lines of, “Your crummy apartment is making me smell like mold. Get out and see the world for once god dammit.”

She had to admit though, that bright blue sky and the smell of the salty sea were welcomed new experiences. With arms opened wide and a smile ever wider she reached out and tried to pull the entire horizon into her. The boat rocked fiercely and playfully pushed the girl off balance. A bright giggle escaped as she was teased by the waves. Ganesh merely gave a cranky grumble from within the sword.

The boat was filled with a great man other students and genins from her village. The vast majority of them had become rowdy. Rowdy either because they were naturally the way or rowdy because they had been drawn into the flow by the rest. By saintly virtue, Tsubame had remained free of the current and maintained composure. Ever still, she too was feeling a bit antsy and looked forward to getting onto some land. The boy were especially obnoxious and the girls were starting to become violent. Case and point, the fireworks shooting hooligan over yonder, and the amazon sized twelve year old that was looking to drown him.

WC: 277

 

[Senju Shizuka]

“I’m not entirely sure that I want to do that..” she admitted to Yosuke once he had appeared next to her. An idea formed at the back of her mind, but first she had to retrieve the book she had so stupidly left behind in her hurry. “Be right back,” Tilting her head into the direction the stairs was, she added. “Ninjutsu.” But didn’t know if he had heard her because of the sudden noise exploding somewhere above them.

For a moment she thought that they were under attack. Fortunately that wasn’t the case. As her eyes rose to meet the scene above colors exploded all over her retina. Sizzling and popping the rain of fireworks painted a colorful picture of a guy she knew. A spontaneous guy with an intense hatred for all that was green and healthy. Oh man, Yuii would probably kill him. Still, it was definitely worth it, she found herself thinking while with a growing grin.

That’s when a girl with a pair of odd ears got her attention. Immediately the grin was lost; Shizuka’s poisonous eyes challenged her to say something else about her ‘friend’. An acquaintance was a more apt description, of course, but the cat didn’t have to know that. This is where the little Senju hissed, lazily, with eyes narrowing ever so slightly, but loud enough for the girl to hear.

“Say that again and I’ll step on your tail!” And with that she was gone, wandering back to the place she had been sleeping in for this whole trip. On her way there she somehow managed to bump into a lost looking guy. She blamed it on him standing all alone, which didn’t really make sense, but it did to Shizuka. In her moment of growling she had simply missed him, there was nothing else that could explain her throbbing shoulder. Carefully rubbing it, she blushed, hoping that he wouldn’t think that she had done in on purpose.

By the time she had her book the heat from her cheeks was gone. Now she just had to make it back to Yosuke without running into the tall guy with his steely arms and purplish hair. Thank god Shiori was there to save her, she just didn’t know that yet. But she would, soon. Actually, right about now.

Throwing her arm over the girl’s shoulder Shizuka had to stand on her toes and hang on the pink haired student. Damn, she really was way taller than her. “Hey there!” Trying to tug her beneath her arm, Shizuka skillfully used Shiori as a shield from everyone’s gazes on the other side. Not that she thought there to be many. Ikko was the one stealing the show, which was more than fine with her.

“You look.. fried. .. Woah,” letting go, she hoped that she hadn’t hurt the girl’s neck. “you need some aftersun, don’t you?” With the book in her left and her backpack hanging over her right shoulder, she motioned for Shiori to come along. If she would, she could meet Yosuke and get some of the aftersun Shizuka had packed with her. For someone quite pale, the older girl certainly didn’t seem to have thought this trip through.

 

[Kaguya Shiro]

Was traveling out to a different country really the smartest thing to do? There were likely many more kids that wanted to go that could probably represent Kumogakure better. But despite her aberrations, Ikko and Honnou had insisted time and time again until she had no choice but to accept. The ship was actually a lot more packed than she anticipated. She figured most people would jump at the idea of travelling to a new place; especially kids. However the girl didn’t think so many of them would actually show up. Whether it was the large number of kids or how comfortable and at ease everyone else was certainly got a bit of her anxiety going. Rather than joining in the joyful socialization, the girl retreated to a less crowded area of the ship to wait until arrival, or up until she found her friends.

”Honn-.”<i></i>

The girl had managed to see the spiky hair of her friend out the corner of her eye. But before she even got a chance to call out his name, he had been yanked down by a figure that was unmistakingly similar to that of Ikko’s. What could he be up to now? Ikko’s heart was always in the right place, but unfortunately his mind usually wasn’t. Despite his wits and the power he possessed, his personality was balanced by a level of maturity that was seen in kids much younger than they were. It wasn’t bad. But it wasn’t all that good either.

In any case, she would make sure to sneakily follow them closely. It looked as though Ikko had made all kinds of preparations; dangerous and irresponsible preparations. She had to admit however that they did look pretty, and it was really cool. Once everything was said and done, she would come out of hiding. The barrels she stood behind were large enough to cover all of her petite frame. As was usual for her, a formal but pretty white and pink dress had been her choice of outfit for the travel. She needed to look presentable after all.

”Hi...please, promise you guys will behave once we get there.”<i></i>

WC: 371

 

[Kagetsu Yuii]

At her call, Students and Genin had come out of the ship's wood work like rats in the night and at her dismissal they scattered with equal frenzy and a single comment about hot chocolate. Yuii settled back on her heels and observed the chaos with a sense of satisfaction and mounting excitement. If she could keep the whelps from killing themselves before they got to shore, she could take them for walkies aka an adventure walk, give some basic soul sucking training, get them fed something marginally nicer than gruel then shove them in shoe-boxes advertised as rooms for the night. Then, finally, she could have a moment to breath and track down that tall, raven haired slice of meat she called a husband to work out weeks of pent up frustration. It all hinged on Tea country's City of Kurosawa having the infrastructure to manage her little group of hellions and said tall handsome man having secured a good place to lock them up afterwards, but Yuii was confident. They'd loaded him down with a hefty purse of Lightning country coin before he'd left.

Ayumu picked that moment to grace her with his radiant self at that moment, gaining an un-amused grunt for his efforts. As had been the theme for this try, the Raikage had picked the last possible moment to get involved. Like the leader he was, though, he was full of wonderful, USEFUL tidbits and questions. Maybe he should have come to the 'how do we get a few dozen hyped up brats off a ship' he could have said his peace.

"Like I'd know or care, Raikage-sama. Did YOU keep track of the Academy training regime as Sennin?" she answered in a far too cheerful voice, daring to snark at her darling leader while hopefully none of the youth heard. "I really couldn't care if they sank or swam right now, though" Yuii smiled sweetly, TOO sweetly and watching as children scrambled underfoot in a wild attempt to get their belongings. Her blue eyes with a gracious smudge of tired gray beneath fixed on Ayumu then Kahako who had joined them, and the corners of her lips pulled up in a characteristic grin that was just a tad maniacal, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Hard to tell if she meant her or the kids at this point.

While most moved swiftly, Yuii spied a few kids who seemed to be taking their sweet time and were waiting to speak to her. She wanted to say her generation would have been faster, but Yuii wasn't a lying type. She took one good step towards Yuu, disengaging from Kage and Medic. She'd gotten a breath of air and a quick "sure I guess," to answer his odd question when the barrels took on a life of their own and shot up into the air.

A healthy sense of caution and the expectation she would be doing a lot more yelling saw her slapping a genjutsu to deafen the tiniest occupant of the ship automatically. It was a good thing too as the deck began to rumble in the loud chaos and cargo doors opened ceremoniously. "Kogami-sama, Shinrya-san please stand back, it could be an attack." she cautioned, though her voice barely carried over the ear splitting pops coming from the sky, "Everyone off the cargo doors!" Last she'd seen her, Kahako had been locked away from her chakra and if this was an attack, Ayumu's priority needed to be protecting her and the children.

She mimed a quick 'what's going on,' at the gruff ships captain that looked just as confused as she felt. The answer, however, unfurled in a great banner over the ship then made their grand entrance via elevator. There were just some things even being a Jounin didn't prepare you for.

Pandemonium, you name is Ikko.

"Bravo, really, congrats, what an entrance. Here let me just get me tags an-" Five quick seals on a single hands was all it took to see that banned spontaneously combusted from the sky, barely a breath really, "OF COURSE YOU CAN'T HAVE MORE TAGS. You both just earned yourself six weeks of extra homework, an essay on why this was a terrible idea, all your free days devoted to work on this ship," in the distance she could see the ship captain gulp, but Yuii was on a roll and they could work out details later, "You're going to pay for every last barrel you just destroyed by garnished wages and, and... ugh!" "Just be glad I'm in a good mood! Get your crap, we're getting on solid land!"Just for good measure she caught both both boys by the ear and dragged them free of the elevator contraption they had somehow hot wired. The big doors swung back in place once they were out of the way.

"Official amendment to the rules! Rule four; no blowing things the fuck up, fireworks included! Come on guys, I thought that one was a given!" she yelled, giving Honnou and Ikko a rough shove towards the stairs below deck. They needed to get their belongings, they ALL needed to get their belongings. "Also, I if you're going to stuff him in a barrel, do it while I'm not watching!" She managed exactly as many steps as it took to find Ayumu and Kahako again before breaking out into very low laughter.

"Fireworks, why didn't we think of that, Kogami!?" she whispered excitedly, locking her fearless leader in a loose headlock, "Do you think the whole city saw? We'll be the talk of the town. I'll have to tell Kaji, tonight! Also, watch out, I think your hellion is getting ideas!" Either she was so exhausted that Yuii had come unhinged or she had a distinct appreciation for explosive entries.

It took no time to gather her own essentials The rest would be transported once they knew where they were staying. To their credit, MOST of the students and genin were quick to assemble. The rest would have to miss out on her lesson.

"Right! Faces forward, shut your mouths. I'm only explaining this once!" she yelled over their heads, using a convenient crate to tower a head above, "You're all at various levels of training, and I can't be bothered to sort you out. The ones who have learned water walking go left, the ones who don't know squat go right. The lefties get to pull boats with the righties in it, because our wonderful leader, The lord Rakage has informed me I'm not allowed to drown any of you." On prompt. two sizeable wooden lifeboat was leveraged over the side of the ship, crashing into the gentle waves below. "If you're not familiar with water walking, or new to it, this is a great time to learn. Just don't bloody drown!"

She paused for the inevitable question, then ignored it and made the easy leap to the bay water below. Water bowed beneath her weight then smoothed as her chakra created a layer between her and the depths. She hung around, as much as Yuii didn't want to, to make certain everyone who could found their footing and those who didn't behaved. Also, there were a half dozen large-ish ships around them and a few smaller, fast moving sea taxis that were prooooobably going to be fine.

[Y'all can RP arriving at the docks as well as walking. See the general description of the area for more to go off of (its 4am, I can be lazy). Genin+ can always assume to know water walking even if you haven't had a specific lesson, students its also up to you depending on background. It's really up to you guys. Anyone still looking to join this topic may, just assume you were there for the first half and play catch up!]

 

[Honnou]

… Crap. That voice… he hadn’t seen her since yesterday, but a pretty, familiar voice revealed itself from one of the larger barrels. Sweating like some accused, Honnou slowly turned his gaze towards Shiro in order to explain: “… O-Of course I’ll behave, y-you know me… hehe… uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-“

It looked rather harmless, though, or the result did. None had gotten hurt or anything, so maybe he could just shrug it off his shoulders and move on? Nah, Ikko had left too much of an impression, and Master Yuii’s forehead looked lively with all the veins. As she suddenly raised her voice to address them both - pay attention to the fact that Honnou had just found himself jumping into a pit of lava and melting alongside Ikko - his forehead began releasing sweat pearls as his head moved back in shock. “… A-Ahem! To my defense-“ He never got the chance to protest, though, as his ear was pulled thus his body dragged off from the elevator that had brought them up to the deck again, whilst fancy tears symbolized the injustice that he was suffering.

It was quite the freak-show, he had to be honest. But if the boy was going to be punished for such thing, then at least include him on the flag! As he was released near the stairs, he slowly moved his pride-less head up and had stars circulating around his skull. “B-But I a-already have m-m-my backpack…” he mumbled to comment the random situation that he found himself in, before he turned his gaze towards Ikko, “N-Next time… before you decide to drag me to hell, paint me. With a huge crown made of white… gold. Yes, white gold… and lots of purity and authority. Yes, you owe me that, you cookie monster.” He would grin afterwards, because six weeks of extra homework was easy if he detached his already existing, extra evaluations back at home with his parents. In the end, he felt like having the advantage to tackle the punishment… but he wondered what exactly Yuii would assign them to work on.

Already having his stuff, he walked up the stairs again. “I’ll go and apologize to Shiro… I bet you have a lot of things to pack, huehue…” he spoke to Ikko, feeling that he presented himself in such a wrong way. It would be a pain if the white-haired girl would see him as some troublemaker who didn’t know better at all, and fun aside, there were limits. Those thoughts also manifested fancy tears straight out from classic cartoon as his mouth formed a hopeless smile. He had hurried up again, first deciding to hear out Yuii’s words starting with ‘the ones who had learned water walking…’ They were going to be separated in two, so on his way to the lefties, he braked at Shiro’s position. “… I’m sorry,” he apologized with a pitiful look on his face; even though that he was mercilessly pulled into this, he did find it remarkable… but he wasn’t a fool.

WC: 508

 

[Akimitsu Doi]

Those who knew the proper technique to walk on the water's surface were given the task of pulling along those who did not in boats. Despite being competent in the act of water walking, pretending not to know how seemed like a very attractive option to Doi. It would take a lot less effort to sit in the boat than it would to actually tug the thing along people with inside of it. Yet, Doi was aware the trip to the docks would be a lot faster the more people helped.

Two large wooden life boats were released down into the sea and made a modest splash as they crashed into the open waters. Once they'd seen that the boats had stabilized below, the Genin began to launch themselves down onto the water. Doi grabbed on to the ships railing and vaulted himself over and into the open air in an acrobatic manner. After spending a second or two in the air while he descended, Doi gracefully landed on the water's surface in a crouch. The water rippling beneath his feet.

Genin that had already jumped down before he had were already positioning themselves to pull the boats. Equally splitting the group of boat-pullers amongst the two. Doi strolled over to the boat closest to where he'd landed and waited patiently as students began to fill his boat in. Once he'd seen that the boat had an adequate number of people inside, he turned over the genin shinobi that would be pulling alongside him and gave an abrupt nod. The group then commenced their speedy walk in the direction of the dock, passing a multitude of other ships as they did so.

WC: 282 [Thread Exited]