All the Little Ones[Open- see note]

[Saotome Asami]

It didn’t take long for chaos to erupt. Explosions and a banner bearing an all-too familiar face. She couldn’t pretend she wasn’t a little amused, but she also knew the display meant nothing good for poor Ikko. He brought it upon himself, anyway. She decided she would find a better way to make herself stand out. As her fellow students scrambled, she took a few steps across the deck and towards the Sennin, ready to offer what little help a student could. Perhaps it was for the best that she hesitated. The woman snapped at the Raikage, her smile only serving to make her words seem harsher. Shouldn’t somebody of such a high rank want to treat her men with a little more care, especially when they were right in front of her, listening? In short order, she turned on a bunch of students and Ikko.

Asami’s assessment was swift. That woman sounded like a bit of a bitch, and yet she claimed to be in a good mood? She didn’t bother to hide a look of disgust directed right at her – with all the commotion, she doubted the woman would notice or care anyway. With that done, she headed below deck, gathered her pre-packed belongings, and awaited a space on the boats. She might have had experience with water-walking, but not on waves anywhere near as fierce as the ones surrounding them. Sitting in a boat sounded much more appealing than dropping underwater in front of Kumogakure’s junior forces. She did just that, offering a small smile to whatever comrade she ended up sitting beside. As far as she was concerned, the ship was too much trouble to try making new friends on.

 

[Tsubame]

As a Genin, Tsubame had long since had the typical lesson on water walking. More than just offering excess in mobility, it was an excellent tool in teaching chakra control and focus. It was still somewhat difficult at her level. She was trained on a pond, not the seas. The difference was readily available the moment she touched down. The water moved much more dramatically and rapidly. Her stance shifted on wild waves as the girl focused her mind to grasp the ever changing pool of chakra below her soles. The waves weren’t the only thing that held her eyes though. The would-be goodie-two-shoes had taken specific interest in the lone cat girl with a pension for barrel torture. It wasn’t that the girl had started the fight, it just seemed like she was the type to not back down from a fight. So, as she tugged a boat to shore with the others, Tsubame kept an eye on the black cat of the group.

 

[Funai Ikko]

Ikko's protest was swift and angry. It was not however aimed at any of the punishments Yuii was doling out. That's not to say the punishments weren't unfair and beyond unreasonable, far from it. Ikko took exception with quite literally every one of them. For starters, Ikko was a genin, he didn't have any homework, so that punishment made no sense whatsoever. Secondly, if she thought she was going to get an essay on anything other than "One hundred ways Yuii-Sensei smells like moldy frog socks" she clearly had no idea who she was dealing with, and to add on to that sentiment, thirdly, if she thought they had any hope of keeping Ikko contained to a boat they were dreaming. The only punishment he didn't take exception with were the garnished wages, he'd just steal food from Junko's fridge...again...and that was really all he used money for. No, what provoked Ikko's outraged yells of protest was that she had lobbed those punishments at Honnou's head too. Ikko was a troublemaker, and a thief...and they could probably pin a half dozen other criminal labels on him if they cared to, but he liked to pretend he was, at least, an honorable horrible person. Despite Ikko showing off the true depths of his general devotion to mischief, Honnou had not done anything to merit these punishments outside of letting Ikko kidnap him. Ikko was willing to fall on his own troublesome sword, he was not in a rush to let Honnou fall on it too.

"Hey! Honnou didn't do anything. This was my idea!"

Of course, some might take that as Ikko not being willing to share credit, but hopefully Honnou would recognize it for what it was. However, as Yuii summarily ignored his protests and went about lecturing them about her new, hitherto unannounced aversion to explosives, Ikko angrily turned back to Honnou, muttering something about "well what if the explosives aren't mid-coi..." but his words caught in his throat as he saw Shiro and a somewhat familiar mixture of a smile and a hiccup came to his face. Since their trip through the jungle, Ikko had never really quite figured out how to form his face whenever he saw the fair skinned girl. Thankfully, Honnou saved him from having to actually address his awkward inability to look human for a moment as well as saving him from having to answer whether or not he intended to behave. "Behave" was such a vague word really, how could he possibly promise that?

Ikko flashed a sheepish grin at Honnou as he professed his desire to to be shrouded in precious metals next time Ikko made things more exciting. What he was asking didn't make a whole lot of sense to Ikko. If Ikko made another big flag and made Honnou straight silver and gold, then the sun would reflect really badly off of it and no one would be able to see him. Did he want him to blind everyone? Oooooooo he could blind people next time. Honnou had a great idea! Ikko's grin steadily grew wilder and wilder as they walked before the two split off, forcing Ikko's mind to return to the task at hand. He packed pretty lightly and moved his way to the small cubby he was granted for the trip, slinging his pouch of his shoulder and fastening it in place before thundering back up to the deck. He spotted Honnou and Shiro nearby and came up behind them, throwing an arm across each of their shoulders and bring them in to a friendly half hug.

"Off we go then! Wait, Shiro. You probably haven't gotten a chance to learn this yet. Do you want us to teach you how to walk on water or do you just want me to carry you across?"

[WC: 638]

 

[Takamura Natsumi]

A hissed threat caught her ear first. Forcing the oversized appendages not to move of their own accord, pale gold eyes narrowed in response to the brazen shortstack who had dared say such a thing. Her scent memorized, Natsumi vowed there and then that the ponytailed brat was going to get it and rue the day she even dared think of touching her in any regard.

The teacher-babysitter's response was somewhat disappointing but intruiging all at once; just don't get caught.

Baleful glower cast in that stupid pretty boy and his absolutely loud mouth's, ugh, were all boys so stupid and loud? direction, Natsumi marched herself primly to a boat and hopped down in. Neat, nimble, and nary a stumble as she landed. Cats always landed on their feet, or so the legend said.

Eyes kept landing on her. Flicking away and coming back again. A low growl rumbled in her chest as she eyed others in return, trying to catch who was sneaking peeks and wanted a fist in their face. Well, when she wasn't studying the water and looking for fish or any other creature that might be suitably disgusting to hide in that stupid brat's bed or luggage or worse, anyways.

And there was a lot to look at.

Accommodations were about what she expected too. Her few items tucked away for the time being, Natsumi bounded out and gleefully headed somewhere she could get an excellent view from-- and could begin her very first Plan for Ultimate Payback and Punishment with Interest, Expertise, and Satisfaction.

 

[Saotome Asami]

The young lass stopped short of boarding a boat once she caught sight of the familiar faces. Yet again. The blue-haired bombadier made himself particularly hard to miss. On the one hand, he was a magnet for trouble, but on the other, he cast quite the shadow. It would be perfect for hiding in, under the right circumstances. On the theoretical third hand, the boy had also been nothing but kind to her so far, even if he had a unique way of showing it. If there was anybody she was going to try and engage, it would be him. A single step was enough to draw out her doubts. She recognised the boys, but they already had a girl with them! What did that have to do with anything? Nothing, but nerves didn't have to be rational. Thankfully, she was rational enough to realise that she probably didn't have anything to fear. Probably. Hopefully.

She took a breath and made her way across the ship. Again, everybody along the way was met with a smile - even the glowering cat girl! It seemed the Sennin's mood had rubbed off on at least one person. She stopped a few feet short of Ikko, Honnou and Shiro, realising too late that she had no reason to be with them. "Er... Excuse me! I... don't think my water walking skills are anywhere near good enough to handle this." A little white lie never hurt anybody. "It looks like the best option is to ask for a bit of help, so... Here I am." Her lips widened a touch for the trio. "I hope that wouldn't be too much to ask."

 

[Tsuyo Oushi]

Was it too much in asking that he just get by without much hassle? By how things went, it seemed so. While he was trying to be aware of who was around him so the quiet boy could fetch his few belongings and head for one of the boats, Oushi felt someone bump into him with their shoulder. Of course with his luck, it was one of the female students. Considering how much she was rubbing her shoulder, the girl must have not realized he was in her path immediately. Either way, he found himself apologizing frantically and quickly backing away in order to put some distance between them. “S-sorry! S-sorry ‘bout that! S-sorry!”

Once that little fumble was over and done with, Oushi rushed off for his room to gather his few belongings. The short trek there was mostly clear, though he did end up with his back pressed against the wall as a group of girls made their way past him. It took him every bit of focus to not succumb to a panic attack. When he entered his room, the boy let himself have a moment of peace, pushing his purple bangs back out of his eyes with a single hand. While his hand was up there, he tried to suppress the untamable cowlick that he had, but was unsuccessful. With a sigh, he grabbed his things and checked his bag twice. Everything was accounted for! The universe took pity on the poor boy this time around, letting get back to the deck without so much as a girl around him. That of course did change once topside, but was more manageable in the open space.

He would have to mentally prepare himself though for the next step, as he would have to board one of the wooden boats in the water, and that would mean closer quarters. Oushi was still a fresh academy student, so he hadn’t quite learned how to properly control the flow of his chakra. If he had, the shy youth would have readily walked the water instead. It would have been far less cramped. At least if anything should happen to the boat, he knew how to swim. With some controlled breathing, Oushi took his turn in lowering down into the boat, sitting near the side of the boat for easy escape once they made it to the landing. Now all he had to do was manage not having a panic attack.

WC: [ 410 | 1,078 ]

 

[Senju Shizuka]

On the water or in the boat, she wondered while watching waves splash against the ship’s hull. The boat was a safe option, sitting there while being pulled toward the coast would certainly keep her warm and dry, but she had practiced waterwalking ever since the little dive in Yuii’s pond. So there was that. Still unsure if attempting to show off was actually worth the risk of falling into the sea, she was given very little choice when Yosuke climbed over the railing. With a sigh, and a roll of her eyes, Shizuka took off her backpack, shoved it into the hands of a tall guy -the one who had abused her shoulder before- with the words “keep it safe”, and climbed over the railing as well. The wood felt rough to her palms. Perhaps she was a bit more sensitive than usual - nervous, too. Even if she wouldn’t admit it to anyone.

Stubbornly setting her foot on the water she cautiously held onto one of the nets on the side of the ship. The water moved, and so did the weaved rope she held onto. Her feet remained on the surface but the amount of effort she needed to maintain her balance was dangerously high. Swallowing, Shizuka let her grip on the rope go and took some wobbly steps forward. For now the waves weren’t too strong. They moved, but didn’t curl this far from the beach. Getting there dry would be a real challenge, she realized a little bit too late. Maybe chasing down one of the boats before it was too late would be a good idea.

Yes, that’s wha-

“Yosuke!”

Him pulling at her was the last thing she needed right now, but he didn’t seem to notice it. Hence, a second later, as his hand threw her off balance, she found herself crashing into the cold water. Well, it wasn’t awfully cold. In fact, the temperature was quite pleasant, refreshing. The salty stream of water in her nose less so. It’s why she found herself trying to kick her friend after coming back to the surface.

“What was that?!” The angry Senju inquired with a hissing voice, eyes dangerously narrow, hair sticking to her forehead like seaweed.

“Did you even try?” She wanted to know with a quick glare in his direction before swimming to a nearby boat as fast as she could. Left, right, legs - the side of the boat was near now, but just a couple of fingers out of her reach. The ones pulling it would soon set another step, then she would have to swim even longer.

Sliding the kunai out of her side pocket -thankfully it was still there- she used it to make a self-improvised handle on the boat’s side by plunging it into the wood. Hanging onto it when the boat got pulled, she enjoyed drifting on top of the waves when something creaked. The kunai was still firmly embedded in the wood, but the latter was showing little cracks.

Oh shit~

She was losing grip, the kunai was slipping. It was high time to grab the side. “Hey, help me out, will ya?” With her wet face popping from behind the boat’s side, she grinned. There wasn’t that much water coming from the little hole. Right?

Pull up, she tensed, ignored the clothes that were dragging her down, flopped onto the boats floor and coughed up some water. Unfortunately, the water returned, splashing into her face in a little stream that came from the hole on the side of the boat. She would never see that kunai again.


**

 

[Shimamura Yosuke]

The sequence of events that unfolded before him set Yosuke guffawing up and down the ship.. He was waiting on the side of the ship for Shizuka to head out and get her stuff, but before she even had the chance the fireworks went off. He jumped out of his own skin, gently bumping into her and looking around. But it didn’t take long for him to catch sight of the fireworks, and then settle down. He realized how close he was to Shizuka, and quickly moved away, not trying to show any sign of fear. Then he heard the sheet come undone in the sky and out came the words that made him laugh like there was no tomorrow.

Yuii made quick work of it though, but he couldn’t stop laughing. He held onto his stomach as the kids were pulled out, obviously in trouble. He heard what Shizu said to a girl on the ship that wasn’t too fond of the boy’s schemes. But he couldn’t bring himself to cool his friend off, not being able to stop the laughter. She suddenly disappeared when the laughter resided and he was wiping the tears away and out came the “she-witch” Yuii, commanding them on what the should do depending on their skill levels.

Yosuke was confident in his wall running, but never walked on the surface of water before. But the idea of attempting it got him all roused up and he decided that’s exactly what he was going to do. So without waiting for his friend he went down the ship and focused the chakra on the heels of his feet. He took his first step, then another, and by god he was doing it.

“This isn’t that tough,” He smiled, his backpack stuffed with his clothes. He walked step, by step, very slowly and gained confidence. But that’s when he saw Shizuka. He walked over to her, “This isn’t that bad!” He laughed and suddenly came a gentle wave that sent him panicking. He grabbed her hand, and down they tumbled. The water was refreshing and he surfaced with childish laughter that was put to sleep with a foot to his gut. He groaned and rubbed at his stomach.

“Learn how to have a little fun you grump,” He grumbled, picking himself out of the water with the help of his chakra. He stood on the water again and mumbled, “Of course I tried,” He wasn’t sure if he was more bummed out about the kick to the gut or the soaking wet clothes in his book bag. But the grouchy mood didn’t last long as soon as he noticed the mistake his friend made. He snickered and thanked karma, continuing his slow yet focused march to the shore.

“This is going to be a good trip.”

 

[Aburabuta Yutaka]

NPC: Mitsuhide Zanku

The docks of Old Town were busy as they always were this time of year but even more so in the recent days with the news having spread over the last few months of the coming contest of skill and strength that would be put on by the great villages of the shinobi world. Folk came from all over the world to witness this spectacle as there had not ever been a gathering of this sort and size in the world in recent history... or even ancient history. While the people of the world lived in an epoch of unparalleled peace and prosperity between the various nations, even with the regional conflicts taking place in various places in the world, never before had the shinobi world come together in such a manner of peace to promote the idea of friendly competition before.

It sickened Zanku.

It flew in the face of every tenet of his belief structure. Growth was not fostered by peace. Evolution could not be attained by pretending that they were all equals when they very clearly were not. At the end of everything peace only served to undermine humanity both as a species and as a society. For a beast of a man like Zanku who believed that suffering and true strife were the only avenues for growth, this tournament represented a mockery of everything he held sacred and there was a small piece of him that hated the Grand Master for sponsoring it. Powerful men and women were arriving in Kurosawa City daily and both he and his rangers were forbidden from testing themselves against them by decree of the Otokage. The Grand Master had even seen fit to bar him from competing in the farce of a contest of strength that he'd organized from the shadows of Tea Country, as if to add insult to the injury to Zanku's principles.

So it was that Zanku, Master of the Ranger Order of Otogakure found himself on the docks of Shinogi Landing watching the lambs of Kumogakure at play in the bay with his claws forcibly tied behind his back. Dressed lightly, he wore a dark midnight blue hood up about his head making it challenging to distinguish anything about his head or facial features save for the softly glowing facial tattoos that ebbed lightly in the shadows cast by the edge of his hood. He carried no weaponry but even from the low profile that his crouched stance cut it would be easy for any casual observer to see that Zanku's very body was built to be a weapon. Every inch of his bare tanned skin was pulled taut over corded and rippling muscle that gave him a distinctly predatory appearance.

Perched on the edge of the dock in a crouching position with his forearms and elbows resting on his knees, Zanku watched with the hungry eyes and practiced stillness of a tremendous hunting cat as the students and genin of Kumogakure both floundered and flourished in mostly equal parts. He considered the ease with which he could pluck one from the water and provoke a fight with whoever was surely supervising their antics but even as that thought crossed his mind he quashed it as quickly as it had come. So swiftly did the desire rise and then be crushed down that Zanku did not even have time to physically react to that rising desire. Loathe as he was to admit it, he was bound by the Otokage's decree to keep the peace.

At least until it was time to slide in the knife.

 

[Kashino Yuu]

Not the answer he was expecting, but at least the worries of his parasite being left out because of his origins were gone. Now the only worry right now was to help out his younger siblings get to shore. He then approached Yuri, who was still focused on one of the student's antics that caused him a punishment and said, "Hey, Yuri. Can you do me a favor and keep an eye on Kei and Yasu's boat for me?"

Yuu's voice caused him to snap out of a small trance as Yuri turned to his former host. "Oh, yeah. I can do that. I did manage to obtain information about the water walking technique from you. I did infect you as a parasite, remember?" While he can expect Yuu's annoyance about that memory of their previous rocky relationship, he became suspicious as he stared at him intensely. "But why do you want me to take your siblings' boat instead of you?"

"Let's just say I'm meeting up an old friend of mine," Yuu said as he turned to look at Doi who was about to pull the boat. "Don't worry, I'll meet up with them as soon as I can." He then left his parasite's side as he jumped down and with his chakra focused on his feet, he ran through the water to approach him and grabbed one of the ropes. "Hey, Doi! Nice to see you again!" He said as he gave a big grin to his former mission partner.

Meanwhile, Yuri also left the boat and ran up to Yuu's siblings' boat as they groaned once he told them what happened. Regardless, he managed to calm them down and assured him that he will get back to them as soon as they arrive at the docks. Yet just as he was about to help them back there, Yuri stopped as he noticed something at the docks. From the looks of it, he felt that someone was watching them from afar. Yet, he can't tell if they were good or not from the distance as he didn't have enhanced vision. Regardless, unless he knew who they are, he had a feeling something might go wrong.

"Yuri-san? What are you looking at?"

Just the voice of Kei's was enough to snap him out of his trance as he turned to see her. "O-Oh... Sorry... I thought I saw someone somewhere. Guess it must be my imagination." Yet even if it was in his head or not, Yuri knew they were being watched as he started to pull their boat to their destination.

[MFT/WC: 433]

 

[Kita Shiori]

Shiori nearly toppled over as an arm looped out of the shadows, wrapping around her shoulders and holding firm. Casting a startled glance across one thoroughly tanned shoulder, she caught sight of those cat-like green eyes blinking in insouciant greeting that could only belong to one person. “Shizuka-chan!” she spluttered, letting her unbalanced weight pull her into a neat tumble, pivoting at the hip so as to roll back onto the deck of the ship rather than out to sea like some fisherman’s pot.

She should have known Shizuka would be here. What with all the fighting and explosions there was really no other place in the world the Senju could have been. Letting her classmate tug her along in her wake, Shiori smiled. It was a warm little thing, like a freshly unfurled bud, and it was quick to widen as she threw her arm across Shizuka’s back and laughed. “No one told me the sun would be like this!”

They made their way down the deck, Shizuka taking another pointed look at Shiori’s burnt exoskeleton while unceremoniously dragging the taller girl towards the promised lotion. She couldn’t help but balk though as Shizuka seemed to work up the nerve for water walking only to jump down and end up two-thirds soaked and one-third drowned. Watching from the railing, Shiori wondered if she was supposed to go rescue the other girl, or if it was alright to laugh at her misfortune as the tiny ninja in training was pulled down by some pink-haired guy. The two struggled a bit, water splashing all around, but eventually Shizuka made her way to one of the closest boats that was skidding towards the harbor’s entrance, mysterious friend in tow.

Shiori shook herself out of her daze when she realized almost everyone else had already departed, only a few straggling boats and students disembarking. Sighing, she hauled herself over the railing and climbed hand and foot until the waves were spitting at her ankles. Having witnessed an ungodly amount of arrogant children and more learned Genin attempt this feat, she was understandably concerned, but when Shiori finally convinced her fingers to let go of the boat she found herself floating atop the water with aplomb.

Rocking along with the roiling waves, Shiori didn’t let her surprise short-circuit the stead flow of chakra to her feet. The tricky part was maintaining the pressure, coating her bare feet from heel to toe. Taking a tentative step forward with nary a wobble, Shiori grinned into the sea-salt rich air and hurried after the boats. Everyone had been complaining so much, she had thought this would be difficult. Sure, she slipped a few times, her feet sinking beneath the waters until she evened out her chakra, but it was more an intuitive grasp than a conscious concern. Water wasn’t like hard wood, so it made sense to flow with the waves, letting her chakra roll but staying steady.

The walk was long enough that she had progressed from slogging through inches of sea water to intrepid steps to an eventual slow jog. She caught up to the rowboats eventually, they had a harder time of it with the weight of their passengers and too few students pulling the load. Shiori debated going to help, but she wasn’t certain that she could keep this up while under pressure. It was easier this way, correcting her occasional flounder on her own and slowing when the waves got to her. Still she sidled closer to some of the boats, walking alongside them while keeping tempo. There was something about the vastness of the ocean that was terribly frightening, and even if she could have gone off alone it was uncomfortably soothing to stand beside other human beings as they closed the gap.

Shiori might have had an uncanny knack with her chakra control, a quirk of genetics only reinforced by her unabashedly small chakra pool, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t afraid of drowning. All it would take was one surprise, one spurt of ill-spent chakra, and she’d be swept away as easy as that. So she tagged alongside the boats, keeping her distance from Shizuka so the other girl couldn’t splash her or whatever unimaginable shenanigans the Senju might think up. And, perhaps, too, she was staying away so the younger girl could stay laughing in the bright sun with her friends uninterrupted by the awkward intrusion of a gawky thirteen-year old. Later, when they got to their hotel, she would seek the other girl out. Maybe borrow some of that sun lotion or joke about this morning. Later – Shiori promised to herself, licking salt off her lips and placing one foot in front of the other.

 

[Kagetsu Yuii]

Well, no one was dead, that was a good start.

While students and Genin alike floundered under Yuii's watchful eye. She did seem to actually be keeping an eye out for them, even offering to pluck the brave strugglers who found the sea too much from the water before they became real fish food. There was even, shockingly at this point, a few utterances of encouragement, a reminder or two to really concentrate on their balance and a general reminder to pay attention to the waves. Almost like a real teacher and not an incredibly exhausted new mother tasked with keeping dozens of semi-suicidal pre-teens from the worst sins of their age and the dangers of a new land.

The trouble with pulling a boat while water walking was that there wasn't much traction. There was nothing solid for their feet to dig into, thus, they were having about as much luck as pony pulling a cart up a steep, powder snow blanketed hill. Basically, none at all. Even the few that had caught to trick by new were met with the impossibility of pulling the heavy wooden boats on their own would find themselves struggling to make much headway. She let the lefties flounder about, pull, walk in place, scratch their heads then really try and get themselves moving. They needed to get a feel for the water first she decided, learn to ride the waves a little, then she could be a bit of a leader.

Students were still finding their boat, some even realising and abandoning left for right after a healthy dose of seawater flavoured humble pie. Yuii kept her amusement to a muffled chuckle though, not wanting to discourage anyone from trying. " Your chakra isn't going to be able to propel most of your hard enough to get the boats moving. Time your pulls with the waves and lean your weight forward to counter the boat. You need to time yourselves right and way attention to currents or we'll still be here when the tournament finishes!" She instructed over the chatter mostly coming from the righties once the timing was right, "Alright, here comes a bit of water. Really lean and we'll get there."

Once the lifeboats got moving, keeping them going was a deceivingly difficult task. Pulling at the wrong time, even in the relatively calm waters filled with ships, could see their cargo pulling eagerly away from shore. The aforementioned islands of wood between them and the docks presented a whole other challenge. Undertow created by the largest ships tried to pull them in like moons to Jupiter, promising to make their lives all the more dangerous. Yuii was quick to correct their course with a well-timed water jutsu but only once a situation became dire. She was dead set on letting them all work through their unexpected trial. How else were any of them going to learn without real danger and a chance of failure?

Eventually, magically, and with the greatest of suffering, they would all make it to shore. And somehow the little bundle tied to her person had slept through it all.

Perhaps her was a warning or reminder from the God Raiden himself to remain vigilant in foreign lands, but it was not a friendly face that first greeted their arrival. A man in a hood sat almost ominously watching her little ducklings flounder about. At least she guessed as much, his face was not visible to her. Such a person would not stand out in Kumogakure, but in Kumogakure the heat did not make one want to strip their own skin off. As the first then second of the wooden boast thudded against the docks, she lowered her brows in thought. It was as if he had been placed there to stand out, to represent all that was strange about this place, and drive home the fact that they were no longer in the safety of home.

Not that he was the only oddity of Shinogi Landing, in fact as Yuii instructed the lefties to throw her both ropes to launch, she caught her first sight of the wonders and sickness of Kurosawa. Dock workers mixed with a variety of bums that pulled her heart strings and sympathy. It reminded her of a warmer Port Cirrus, though the cold weather city and perpetual wars had seen a marked decrease in the unemployed in the last decade. The downtrodden presence was not so much what caught her eye as the strangeness of their dress, the array and look of people and even the difference in architecture. Everything was strange and new in a way that tickled at her sense of danger.

How thrilling.

As if it had been waiting for their arrival, a messenger bird fluttered from the roof of a nearby building and dropped a small paper into Yuii's hand. The landing crew had come through- Their accommodation would be a quaint inn on the upper-east side of the city, found by the landing party, aka clouds champions. The “Muddy Boots and Bloody Blades”, a ground floor tavern with dozens of rooms above and most importantly quiet clientele would be their home base until the end of the tournament. Laden with gold, the building had been bought out for the use of their students, genin and any other shinobi officially travelling for the tournament. Raikage included.

"Alright, everyone out of the boats, we've got a long day ahead of us. We'll find our accommodations, drop your gear, then we'll look at finding a place for some training. I think we could all use a bit of leg stretching. Come along, come along!"

[Leaving topic unless stopped]

OOC: Rather than do another few rounds getting settled, I think it would be much more fun to move onto the meat and potatoes of the Tea experience as we have limited event threads. As many of you might have heard, there's a plan to do a joint lesson with Sand. Keep an eye out for a link in "Tutor/Class Request" and the discord pins in Cloud for a link. Don't forget you can still spectate the fights in a separate thread to the actual fight.]

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Yuii was understandably grouchy and it showed in her response to Ayumu. He shrugged it off, having expected as much given how much she had been forced to deal with the children on that trip. They would be off the boat soon and she would be more free to enjoy herself however she wanted. The little ones were going to be free to roam as they pleased, though it was a risk. As long as they could manage a headcount when they got on the boat, everything would be fine.

Explosions overhead threatened to make Ayumu a liar. Instinctively, Ayumu's hand shot to the hilt of his sword which he drew in the blink of an eye as he scanned the ship for enemies but found only students. However, the caution quickly turned to amusement instead as a banner was unfurled overhead flying in the breeze. The child depicted on it bore a decent resemblance to one of the children on the ship. Ayumu glanced towards Ikko as he jovially requested explosive tags from the Sennin in what was either an extension of his trolling or a very silly question. Chuckling, Ayumu sheathed his sword as Yuii berated the boy and ignited his banner.

"Well played. We've certainly made an entrance," Ayumu said, disregarding the fact that he might be encouraging the behavior. It was the kind of shenanigans that he might have gotten up to as a child. Yuii barked a few more orders including one of those common sense rules you'd think you wouldn't have to mention. She made her way back to Ayumu and wrapped an arm around his head and secretly confiding her own enjoyment of the show.

"Gotta say, you've got some promising kids there," Ayumu whispered back, his own rambunctious child included. Yuii shifted once more into marching orders for the children. At some point, Ayumu broke away from the rest of the group as he had made his way across the water solo. Reaching the shoreline, he pulled his hood up over his head and slipped away. He had his radio and would be in contact with anybody that needed him, but he knew he would enjoy this trip a bit more if he wasn't surrounded by guards 24/7 so this would not be the last time he ditched them. In addition to that, he'd draw less attention without an escort which was exactly how he wanted it. While he wanted to enjoy himself, he also felt the need to keep an eye on the situation. The last time he'd attended an international spectacle like this, it hadn't gone so well. For now, he'd go find a high place and get a read on the layout of the city.

[Topic Left]

 

[Funai Ikko]

"ASAMI!"

Before Honnou or Shiro would really have time to react, Ikko had disentangled himself from the pair of them and had already been moving toward Asami. It was not necessarily that he was in a rush to get away from the pair of them, or anything of the sort, but his attention span was, now rather legendarily, short, and by the time the girl's face had popped up Ikko had already taken off and, despite not outwardly showing it, Ikko did have a little more sense of tact than he had always let on. Not much more, but some. If anyone was going to teach little Shiro how to walk on water, it was pretty clear that Honnou wanted to be the one to teach her and Ikko was not in any rush to get between them, regardless of how much he had enjoyed the pair's company. Just before he caught Asami's path, he looked over his shoulder and called out to the pair of them.

"I'll see you in Tea then!"

And with that, he took the few steps remaining to Asami and, dropping any semblance of tact, Ikko would quickly move to grasp her hand in his and bolt toward the edge of the ship, flashing her a grin that should, by now, be pretty familiar for Asami if not necessarily any less irritating. However, this time it wasn't quite as...aggressive as it was the last time Ikko had pseudo-abducted Asami he hadn't really bothered to make sure she even vaguely consented to the treatment, he just had a destination in mind and he was going to drag her there. This time however, it had seemed like Ikko had matured a bit or, at the very least, realized how irritated she had seemed last time. It was with this that while Ikko grabbed her hand and moved to pull her along with him, it was more of a persistent suggestion than a full blown kidnapping. When they reached the edge, Ikko hopped up onto it before flashing another grin at her and giving her a small insistent tug, telling her to jump up with him.

"You're going to want to hold on to me tight here, we'll work on your water walking later, there's a whole country to explore."

Once she made a passing effort at gripping him, it'd be her loss if she didn't do so, Ikko leaped off of the ship and hurtled straight for the water, clearly looking like he was planning to dive instead of walk, pulling both him and Asami toward the water. However a quick seal later, and suddenly the pair of them would no longer be falling. As if they were plucked out of mid air, resistance would suddenly change as Ikko and Asami were jettisoned forward on a path of frost that seemed to appear from nowhere. Cascading down to the water's surface Ikko would be skating on a path of ice that laid just atop the water as he rocketed off toward the shoreline, far faster than any of the other students and genin were going to be able to walk as the pair blew past them. Ikko laughed as the wind swept through their hair as he took the chance to have some fun with it, twisting the path around and allowing his skating form to follow it, forcing the trail to zig zag and then form a corkscrew, Ikko seamlessly seeming to stick to the trick as if he were just on a track. Not long after they arrived at the shoreline, the path of frost melting into the water as the pair would step out onto the dock, Ikko looking far too proud of himself.

"Alright, I'll let ya go here, we both got lots of exploring to do. Come find me whenever you get bored!"

He had barely finished speaking before Ikko took off again, clearly having more energy than his little frame could properly contain, and tore through the crowds and out off in to wilderness, resolute in his desire to fully explore a new land in the one opportunity he'd been afforded to see the world outside of the Hidden Cloud and, in part, to get some time to himself for a little bit.

[Exiting thread unless stopped.]

 

[Kaguya Shiro]

She knew it. She knew it would happen sooner or later. Once all the bright explosions had died down, and all the commotion had stopped, all eyes were peeled on the two. It didn’t matter who had started it. There were two people there, and two people would get blamed. Despite her best efforts to avoid it, Shiro couldn’t help but laugh a bit as Yuii reprimanded them. They kind of brought it on themselves. She did feel bad for Honnou though. Though the girl hadn’t been there to see it unfold, she couldn’t fathom Honnou engineering something like that. No. That had Ikko written all over it. Still, he was a linked accomplice and would receive a pretty similar punishment. Perhaps laughing wasn’t in the best of tastes at the time, but it sure was funny.

Once everyone had finally cooled off, the girl would go get her backpack, and filled it up with everything she thought she needed. She had candy, chocolate, fruit, dessert, crackers, fries, and a baggy of carrots with celery. She also had a nice piece of wood for some carving if she got bored. The girl hadn’t packed any weapons whatsoever, something that surely would raise a brow or two. Most kids would at least have thought of bringing kunai or shuriken at the very least. Thankfully, the girl was naïve and timid enough to dispel any notions as why she didn’t. Beyond that the clan to whom she didn’t know she belonged to yet, few were aware of the rare abilities held by the Kaguya. It was rare enough to pass unnoticed by all but those of higher ranking and expertise.

“Its fine, I’m not mad at you. But you guys should really be more careful. Getting caught doing bad things never leads to any good.”<i></i>

The white haired girl had chosen her words carefully. After all, with the kind of life that was foreseen for a shinobi, it was part of the expectation that they would have to venture into rather dark or dangerous situations that weren’t always morally sound. They were also meant to follow the rules, but that didn’t help her point at the time and so remained unsaid. The important takeaway was that if they were careless enough to get caught doing their mischief, then they deserved the punishment that came as a result of being a rebel. That was the truth. As for Shiro, she didn’t have to worry as much about being caught because she hardly ever participated in anything that could bring her a bad name. Nonetheless, she had to remain vigilant, otherwise sooner or later she would find herself trying to defend her innocence from accusations as a result of Ikko blowing something or someone up.

Once she came down with her belongings, she eyed Ikko, giving him a very particular look. She didn’t seem annoyed or upset, but there was just a look. It was difficult to explain, but it was akin to watching a pet eerily after witnessing it destroys an item in the house. Most of the kids were getting off the boat, and it was time to explore the new region. With it came the proposition of what she was anticipating. Shiro had tried water walking before. It worked for the most part. For the most part. She could remain above it if she stood, and she could even walk above it too. However, if she tried to run, she would quickly lose balance and focus and sink underneath. She knew. She had tried to run and failed repeatedly. Perhaps she was just young, or perhaps she didn’t fully grasp how to yet.

”Could you guys teach me? And may I please ask one of you to hold my bag… it’s just for a little, I swear.”<i></i>

The girl didn’t mean to come off as bossy. She just didn’t want to risk failing, and getting her backpack wet. Everyone knew you didn’t get in the water with a backpack on. There was so much candy inside. She hadn’t mentioned she already held a basic understanding of the technique. But perhaps if they helped her revisit the basics she would be able to finally progress to running on water. Despite the fear of failure, she had to admit she was excited. Shiro was thrilled to get better at the art, but overall she was thrilled to see a whole new place with her friends. She just needed to be the voice of reason and try to keep the group from trouble; well, from too much trouble.

WC: 764​

 

[Saotome Asami]

By that point, Asami really shouldn’t have been surprised by Ikko’s antics. There was no doubt in her mind that he knew how a normal person behaved; he simply chose to defy that wherever possible. She’d just started speaking when he called for her. She responded with a mild scolding look, as if she had just caught the boy trying to steal from the cookie jar. It wouldn’t stop him, and she’d already gathered that much, and so she continued speaking anyway. At least she could say he was listening – the other girl didn’t seem to notice she was there, or that her friend was leaving. Quite rude, Asami noted, and she was unlikely to forget the slight any time soon.

In the end, it didn’t matter much. The boy was trying to guide her elsewhere. Assuming that he meant to help her get to dry land, she offered no resistance. Before long, they were staring down at a deep blue, one clumsy step away from a watery grave. It was fine though, right? Ikko knew what he was doing… right? “Wait, what do you mean hold on?” She scrambled to do it anyway, knowing that he wasn’t the kind for waiting or repeating oneself, but concern had already begun to show itself. “Okay, I’m holding, bu- Why-on-earth-would-you-jump-there’s-nothing-to-walk-on-“

Her grip tightened as they freefell; Ikko could likely feel her nails pressing against his body. It was all for naught since the boy knew exactly what he was doing, skating above the water without a care. The little student, on the other hand, was much less amused. Even after they reached the shore and she was released, she kept a look of discomfort, displeasure, and the remnants of panic on her face. He’d done as he had asked, and for that he was grateful, but did he always have to be so… Ikko about it?! She didn’t say that, but hopefully her face would say enough, since she wasn’t saying anything at all. They parted ways regardless, and she made a mental note to thank him later.

[Exiting thread unless interrupted.]​

 

[Senju Shizuka]

Somehow, despite of the whole in the boat, they made it to the shore without sinking. Not that Shizuka was spared the glares from the other kids. As if she cared. Their clothes would be dry soon enough. Besides, the climate here was way more forgiving than back at home, so they couldn’t complain about getting ill from a couple of water drops. Not that this spared Oushi -who had been chosen to guard her backpack- from a short lecture on taking care of another’s property.

“Should have put it up, then it wouldn’t have gotten wet.” she continued, nodding. “So, I think you’ll have to give me one of your dry shirts, no arguing.” The conclusion was sealed with a lazy grin, one that promised fire and blood should the young man decide to go against her.

“Don’t worry, I’ll give it back to you, I’ll wash it too.” She was being reasonable, right? Really polite, too. That’s why she didn’t even expect him to refuse while taking back her backpack.

Once that bridge had been crossed she let her eyes feast upon the new surroundings. The architecture (even if she could only see the port’s streets for now), the way the people dressed, the plant life, all of it wasn’t like the things back at home. Everything reeked of foreign land, it was as if she had stepped onto another planet. Even the smells were different.

“This is going to be awesome,” she said to herself, but knew that some around her might have heard her. With a shrug and a quick look at her friend, she hurried after Yuii. The idea of training seemed a bit boring, she would rather explore the city, but getting used to the ground being steady again might be a good idea.


**
Topic Exit, unless stopped.

 

[Tsuyo Oushi]

Why him? The oxen tail of the boy’s purple hued hair whipped about, as he found himself looking for who just thrusted upon him the duty of looking after their bag. He thought he heard a young female voice utter the words of ‘keep it safe’, and that had begun his slight panic. Somebody had entered his zone, someone who had done so before. His slightly widened caramel orbs spotted the Senju girl who had bumped into him with her shoulder, having registered the voice as hers.

‘Oh, bother...just my luck.’ His thoughts kept to himself, though the anxious pull of his lips betrayed him. Oushi took a slow breath, doing his best to calm himself. He found his gaze lowering to the girl’s bag, held almost tightly in his arms from the nerves. The least it could do was serve as a focal point of concentration to help him get through this. His breathing calmed, and for the most part he could enjoy the boat ride to the docks. At least until his bane rose up from the side of the boat.

Why? Did he do something to deserve this? Was he being tested? Surely. She came aboard, flopping on the floor in a mess of water, her clothes soaked from failing to keep afloat on the water’s surface. In her floundering about, the water she had brought on splashed over the bag he held...which happen to be her own. For the most part, the shins of his pants were wet and he could feel the water sloshing around in his shinobi footwear. Great. He found it great karma that the water she spat out came back to hit her in the face. In hindsight, perhaps he should have lifted the bag though...but maybe that was part of karma too.

That it was. When they had boarded the docks and were back on dry land, he was the not so proud receiver of a short lecture on how to take care of another’s belongings. The youth, tall for his age, shrunk a couple inches just by slumping his shoulders like a puppy being scolded. Shizuka had been returned her wet backpack, though at a distance. Oushi kept out of arm's reach during his lecture, preferring to keep the girl out of his bubble zone. He didn’t need that sort of attention, as it would only bring him to be a social mess.

A drop of sweat slid down the side of his soft facial features, yet to fully define themselves. Yes, he should have held the bag up out of reaction; he nodded in agreement. Yes, he should probably give her one of his shirts so she had something dry to wear. The boy almost nodded...paused...his face slowly flushing red. “Wha-What?! B-But-”

His stuttering was put on hold by the lazy grin that gave off a secondary meaning, one that meant he would rue going against her. Will a small gulp, the docile boy nodded. That was one of the last things he wanted to have to deal with. At least she said she’d wash it before returning it. With a sigh, he dug out a spare long sleeved black shirt and handed it over.

That fiasco done with, Oushi could finally take in where he was. It was so different compared to what he was used to back in the land of Cloud. The weather felt much nicer in comparison to the cold of the mountains, and the cloudy sky. It was all so exciting and new and so much to absorb. Of course, this being new territory, he could find himself getting separated from the group pretty easily. As he did his best to keep somewhat familiar faces in sight without coming into close contact with any of the girls, he couldn’t help but overhear Shizuka and found himself sighing and mumbling. “Yeah. Awesome.”

---
[Topic Left, unless stopped.]

WC: [ 652 | 1,730 ]