[ANBU "Class"] Changes

[Kogami Ayumu]

A memo had gone out perhaps a week prior calling for a meeting of the ANBU branch members in order to discuss some changes occurring within the branch. To bring all of the ANBU together at once for a meeting was nigh impossible, so there were a few meetings at different times listed for everyone's convenience. All of this information would be announced later, but Ayumu wanted the chance to tell members of the branch himself and meet with them personally. It was going to be interested to see how the veteran members and new members alike reacted to the AiT that went to ANBU only to immediately become a Captain and Vice Commander. Ayumu had not asked for the position, it had been thrust upon him, but people were going to be rightfully skeptical about him given his lack of apparent experience. He had experienced some leadership roles in the Main Branch while he was part of it, and apparently Rin had seen something in him, but few people knew or cared about those things.

Moro, the new acting Sennin and Regent Commander of the ANBU, wanted to meet everyone himself and explain everything, but the administrative duties coming along with his job left him with less than desirable time to do these things. Thus, that job fell to Ayumu as the Vice Commander. For most of their needs they would be interacting with him, anyway. It seemed fine for him to be the one to hold this meeting. Not all ANBU would be in attendance, but the more the merrier he figured. Also on the agenda was discussing how the new squads would be made up as some of the old squads had become inactive or disbanded. Ayumu thought that it was time for some new ones, and hopefully they would interest the members in attendance. Finally, there were some ANBU he had never even met, and it seemed important that he know them all if he was going to be Vice Commander... and eventually Grand Commander.

Ayumu entered the moderately sized room set up with some thirty desks with a larger one at the head of them all. This was were many ANBU classes had been held for new trainees and even for ANBU themselves from time to time. He had received instruction from Rin and Takayama, both deceased now, from those very desks. It was strange to be on the other side. The room empty at the moment, Ayumu walked up to the large desk up front and hoisted himself on top of it to take a seat. Hopefully some people would show up. The meeting wasn't mandatory, but he figured it would be beneficial for people to show up anyway. So, he crossed one leg over the other and waited.


[OoC: This will count as a class towards ANBU rank-up requirements. It's not mandatory, but you should join anyway just to RP with fellow ANBU! I intend to explain that Moro and Ayumu are the new Regent and Vice Commanders as well as discuss opening up squads for people to join (albeit AiT automatically are placed in a training squad). This is also just a means for ANBU to meet up as we haven't in quite some time. I encourage people to join!]

 

[Homura Akuma]

Small puddles of sweat loitered the ground while rigidity floor boards moaned under heavy pressure of an individuals footwork.

THUMP!

"AH!"

THUMP!THUMP!

"SST! SST!"

THUMP!

"SST!"

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

"HA! AH! AH!"

Namazu clad in nothing but black basketball shorts was working on increasing his hitting power by mercilessly beating a heavy bag with well executed punches and kicks. Becoming better wasn’t some instantaneous event, perhaps in some rare cases such as those who possess a bloodline. Even then after awakening such power hardwork is extremely neccessary in order to properly cultivate your ability into something considered great, something considered transcendent. The mocha skinned male of Chikyuhito heritage understood this fully and day by day he strived to get better. No matter how big or small the progression, it was always good to keep your momentum going.

THUMP!

"YAH!"

The sound of the chain snapping from its securement flashed through the air via sound waves. The large sac would land with a solid lifeless thud, followed by the raining of sand onto the floor below. Coated in a blanket of prideful sweat, Namazu took the time to wipe away any excess perspiration lingering above his brow. Taking a deep breath the teen sidelined himself by means of trekking over to and taking a seat upon a miniature red stool. Draping a towel over his head the young man took a swig from his water bottle before setting his tiresome eyes onto two out of commission heavy bags. Casually standing to his feet and taking yet another swig Namazu went to go tidy up his appearance prior to an important meeting taking place today.

Armed in a fitted black t-shirt that's neatly tucked, ANBU pants, and black combat boots. Namazu was confidently walking the corridors of the Sileo Tempestas towards his destination. Funny how he didn't do much thinking all day until now.

'So why are they gatherin' us?
Must be somethin' big
or they would have just told us individually? I hope I can finally get to meet up with some of my comrades.
Get some homies, you always need homies.
It seems everyone around here is so damn mysterious.
Like damn I know we are ANBU
But even the shadows live in the shadows.
Welp here we go.'

Namazu's right hand would twist the door handle opening the entryway. As he entered the man he assumed sitting on the desk was his superior, might he add he wore stylish frames. It seems he and this man have a similar taste on some level. Anyways saluting the man before Namazu did what an AiT was supposed to do right?

"Chikyuhito Namazu, Black Mamba
reporting in sir!"

Once and if he was granted permission to be at ease the ANBU underling would take his seat nearest to the door. He didn't expect to be first, but he was quite strict about his punctuality. Now the waiting game....

[MFT]

 

[Hameru Ren]

Flexing his arm and swinging it around a wee bit, the blonde AiT groaned. Even after all those years of rehabilitation and the countless check-ups, his arm frequently stung with pain. He hadn't let anyone know, of course. He was an ANBU, well AiT anyway, and he could deal with some pain! Yet doctors were always so paranoia. He had to get out of the Hospital though, even if there were quite a few attractive nurses and doctors. And so, here he stood in the Sileo again. He had stood here years before too, yet the place had seemingly changed little. It proved useful, as it made tracking down the classroom quite a tad easier.

Placing his hand on the door handle, he hesitated for a moment. Was this really the right choice? He was 25 already and even though it seemed young, certainly in contrast with the late Regent Commander, for a Shinobi he was old. Add onto that his injury and his performance could well be sub-par towards the younger generation. Speaking of that, he never had quite liked the younger generation. There was one kid who had been okay, Moki guessed. The rest of 'em were simply brats though, and he'd have to endure classes with them no doubt. Well, such was the life of an ANBU too, the man presumed. And if he'd ever want to reach that damned Mempo rank or even higher, he'd have to get used to them regardless.

"Hameru Moki, Thorn, reporting for class." He spoke as he entered the room. Quickly surveying the room, he noticed he had come in second. It was likely the other desks would be filled with faceless AiTs soon, but the man hoped at least some individuals would stand out. Contemplating for a moment which seat to take, he decided on the one next to Namazu. The younger man seemed decent enough and not too young that he'd start making a fuss anytime soon. For now, the blonde simply nodded in greeting however, choosing to remain silent after his introduction. Class surely would start soon, after all.

[OoC: Not my best post ever, but hey! It's been ages since I RPed with Moki so cut me some slack!]

 

[Ryu Hime]

Two identical looking wolves walk down the halls of the Sileo Tempestas. One was Shimete and the other Kirito. The only way to tell them apart was that Shimete wore a blank mask on her head with her ears poking out of the eye wholes; while Kirito wore the Anbu cloak. This was not a transformation jutsu, but a unique beast clone. In normal Inzuka’s both parties change, but it is the canine that does the most change by becoming humanoid. Shimete’s is the opposite. Instead of the canine becoming humanoid, she becomes feral. She likes to call it a true beast clone. Nothing keeps one identity secret as a completely different form. Luckily she was able to get a paw in before the door shut; save her time from needing to kick it open. Ayumu would recognize Kirito quickly and might be able to determine Shimete before they even introduce themselves. If Moki wished for a person that stood out, his wish was just granted. “Nigiri Shimete, Wolf Child, reporting for duty.” Her voice sound similar but was more rough and coarse compared to her human form.

The both of them walk up and lay on either side of an empty desk. Neither of them wished to sit in a chair for it was uncomfortable in their current forms. They rather just lay on the floor. They wondered what was going to happen in this meaning and what people might think of them.


[ooc: I assume we get to choose our own code names, if I am wrong I'll edit the post. Nobody saw that.]

 

[Kaoru]

Kaoru dashed through the halls of the Sileo. She had been training earlier that day and was still in her gear. She only had enough time to throw on a loose T shirt before she headed off.

The shy teen was nervous for the upcoming class. She had only met a handful of her fellow AiT's. Before she knew it, Kaoru was in front of her door. She slowly opened the door and peeked inside. She was surprised to see a pair of wolves in the room, but something about one of them seemed strangely familiar. Kaoru made her way into the room she scanned the room. She saw two men sitting next to each other, one seemed to be considerably older than Kaoru. She walked to the front of the room to where Ayumu sempai waited on his desk, the image of their first meeting flashed into her mind. She bowed before him and said "G - Good morning Ayumu sem.. I - I mean Ayumu sensei" her face turned a bright scarlet at her own embarrassment.

Before she could make another mistake she took a seat next to the older man. She gave a quick smile and whispered, "It's nice to m - meet you, my name is Kaoru." She looked back to the front of the class as she waited for it to begin.

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

It seemed like Ayumu had to wait a while for anybody to enter at all, but once the first came in, they all began to pour in. First was Chikyuhito Namazu, a relatively new AiT. As with many others, Ayumu had read his file as one whom he would potentially be seeing in these classes. He was Kumogakure born, a talented young trainee with a bloodline to boot. He seemed promising, but perhaps the most striking thing Ayumu noticed as he entered were his extremely stylish glasses. He gave Ayumu a proper salute as he introduced himself and then waited for Ayumu to release him. Ayumu wasn't a stickler for these things by a long shot, but he had to get used to people doing them. "At ease," he said, allowing the AiT to take a seat.

The next one to enter was a significantly older man. Older than even Ayumu, though still clearly in his twenties. Hameru Moki he had heard of if only for the abnormality of his situation. He had been injured and left active duty for years to recover, only rejoining recently. Ayumu was intrigued to see what a trainee who had joined long before him was capable of. He simply took his seat upon entering, which Ayumu had no problem with. At least he had given his name before sitting.

Directly after Moki, two wolves entered the room. Normally that might have been cause for concern, but Ayumu recognized them as Kirito, Shimete's companion. Both of them were him, though, which was a little odd. He could only assume the other was Shimete. His suspicions proved correct as Shimete introduced herself in a grisly sort of animal voice. Kirito made a bit of a barking noise, as if trying to introduce himself as well. Shimete was familiar to Ayumu as he had met her before and also interviewed her to join the trainees just the other day. She was the newest of the group, for certain. Ayumu nodded to her as she and Kirito went to lay down. It was a bit unorthodox for wolves to attend a meeting, but she was unusual herself.

Finally, Kaoru entered, another that Ayumu recognized. He had met with her and Takehiko while he was still a trainee, not terribly long ago. What a surprise it must have been to learn that he was promoted not to ANBU, but to Vice Commander. As usual, she seemed timid and a bit awkward as she said good morning to Ayumu. "Good morning, Kaoru," he responded before she went to sit down next to Moki and whisper to him. Ayumu wondered where Takehiko was, now knowing his true name since he had seen his file. It seemed Kaoru would be the last to arrive, on time at least.

This was no traditional class, it was more of a meeting in which discussion would take place about changes coming about to the branch. Changes had already occurred, and more were to come in the future. The other reason was for Ayumu to meet as many of the ANBU and trainees as he could, as well as to have them meet one another. Only trainees had shown up today. Ayumu had to wonder if the ANBU resented the fact that he had been promoted to Vice Commander, skipping over traditional ranks. Perhaps that was why they didn't show. Regardless, it was good to meet the trainees, as he would be interacting with them much more soon.

"Well. Not quite the turn out I wanted, but let's begin. Maybe I'll make the next one mandatory. Anywho, first thing's first... I want you guys to meet each other. There needs to be some more cohesiveness in this branch, and this is how it starts. Some of you have already said your names, some of you already know one another, but I want you to go ahead and introduce yourselves to the class and say a bit about yourself. I know it's kind of a lame exercise, but humor me- I'll start. I'm Kogami Ayumu... newest Vice Commander of the ANBU. I am in this position because it was entrusted to me by the previous Regent Commander. I am in this branch now, but I began in the Main Branch, having made it up to the rank of Jounin. My dad's a retired ANBU, that's why I ended up joining when I found out, I suppose," he said, drawing everyone's attention to him for the time being. He didn't reveal too much, but it would give them a basic understand of him and his career as a shinobi. He also intended to speak more about his appointment as Vice Commander, but that would come in a bit. For now, he wanted them each to take their turns introducing themselves. The order didn't matter.

[Shimete, I know you wanna be unique, but the ability for your companion to talk isn't really available on NC. That's not an Inuzuka ability. Only the Inuzuka can understand their dogs.]

 

[Takaki Saeko]

The door to the classroom slid open with its trademark hiss, letting in two women who were doubtless very well known to the new Vice Commander, especially after a certain mission-gone-bad in the treacherous Kelmuran underworld.

"Gomen nasai, Kogami-sama! Moro-kun held us up with this and that, you know how it is," chuckled Daitaichou Morishima Haruka as she entered with a playful salute. She was the head of the Strategic Operations Division of the ANBU, but with her casual attitude toward all things with the possible exception of bolter-safety, it was hard to tell. A woman who was lithe-figured but still blessed with a generous chest, she usually tormented men and women alike in the Sileo with her aversion to clothing, but for this meeting had managed to actually wear standard command-level dress beiges. One thing that Ayumu would realize was different about her was that in the interim, she had for some reason chosen to grow out her hair. It was surprisingly straight, given how wavy and carefree it had been while shortened. "Are you telling the new guys what's up? Ooh, I wanna do the trust-fall exercise!"

"Domo," said the second woman as she stiffly saluted to the new Vice Commander. Natsume Eru was a buntaichou of the SOD, and she was one of the few ANBU who still fought without the benefit of both eyes. Indeed, her right had been covered with a patch for as long as anyone could remember, and no one had to date seen what was underneath except for the Regent Commander Himself. She happened to be on call for deployment today, so she was dressed in the standard cuirass and loadout. A submachine-bolter dangled from its sling on her right side, and holstered to her thigh on the left was a seemingly oversized Gateru Delta Elite in 10mm caliber.

"Hey Moki-chan! So tense! Lighten up a bit," remarked Haruka to Hameru as she sat on the desk behind him and started to massage his shoulders (as most adult men and women in the Sileo could attest, her nickname, "The Predator," was well-earned) . Eru was her shadow, as usual, and sat down nearby without a word. Her remaining eye flicked its gaze over the rest of the trainees. One of them was completely new to her and preferred to sit on the floor instead of in a chair. Kaoru she was familiar with and generally liked (although the girl was probably too good-natured to be an ANBU after all). And it was easy to recognize Chikyuhito Namazu, as he was one of Shinbatsu's many children, at least in a metaphorical sense.

Hopefully, the Daitaichou thought, their appearance would lend some sort of credibility to the new Vice Commander's briefing. After all, it wasn't that long ago that Santaru Rin had directed the Sileo Tempestas with an unyielding Iron Grip, and in the wake of her death, moral had suffered greatly. Ayumu was necessary to energize the place, but he would probably need some help.

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

[OoC: Don't feel the need to stick to post order here, this could take ages otherwise.]

 

[Ryu Hime]

Of course they would have them do this stupid exercise. Shimete figure she might as well get it over with however she might have a little fun with it. No need to give out everything about herself. “Like I said I’m wolf child, but you can call me Fenlen. Lying on the other side of this desk is my brother, Kirito; I believe at least one of you have met him before. The two of us are children of Moro. Not the Regent Commander Moro; a wolf named Moro. She is a great white wolf that lives in the mountains. Some believe she is a goddess while others think she is a demon.” She spoke nothing but the truth; however she porously told only facts that would make people believe she is an actual wolf. She fails to mention the fact that Moro adopts her children and a ritual was used to trick Moro into adopting Shimete. “I’m also single and enjoy long walks in the park.” The last part was for some extra humor to break the ice.

 

[Hameru Ren]

And the classroom indeed starting filling, if less than what Moki had expected. A pair of wolves trotted into the room, causing him little more than raise an eyebrow. The things one saw in the Sileo were often quite beyond a simple pair of wolves. Even if one of them could speak. Admittedly, that was a nice trick, but the older AiT had never been much of an animal lover. Instead, it was a woman's beauty which could captivate him. Such as the seemingly timid young girl that entered the room now and sat next to him.

"Lovely to meet you as well, Kaoru. You can call me Moki." He said with a wink, before scolding himself mentally. What the hell are we doing man? She's like, half our age! Well, maybe not that much younger. But ten years at the least! You're not the young AiT from back in the day y'know! What you're doing would likely be considered illegal in plenty of countries if not extremely perverted! Luckily Ayumu quickly interrupted his train of thought by starting of the class. And what a standard class it would be! Just introduci-.. new Vice Commander? Well, that was unexpected. Maybe going through the AiT period again would have some surprises in store after all.

Just as the Moki was about to stand up however, the doors busted open to reveal two new faces. Well, not quite to him of course. Man-Eater Haruka and 2D Haruka. They sure could be a scary duo. The AiT started to try and greet the captains, but the Daitaichou was onto him already. As much as he might've scolded himself for the Kaoru scandal in his head, Haruka was of his own age. Thus, it was perfectly acceptable to receive a backrub from her.. Although the ranks might've been an issue for some. "Ah, apologies Haruka-chan. I just always freeze up around lovely ladies, you know." He said, face turned around to hand out another wink.

The blonde AiT briefly considered standing up for his introduction, but the Daitaichou was a very skilled masseuse, so he didn't feel much for interrupting her work. Or Shimite's Fenlen's words. Moki found himself quite confused about the wolf-child-thing. "Well then, as for me.. My name is Hameru Moki, ANBU in Training for the second time around. Due to an injury I had to drop out of the program right before I could take the exam. After plenty of recovery I am back however. As to why I joined the Branch.. First time due to a bet, this time to.. pay off a debt. The reasons aren't related to on another, mind you." With that, Moki figured he had told everyone enough and simply continued enjoying Haruka's attention while listening to the others.

[OoC: Apologies for the delay!]

 

[Kaoru]

Kaoru smiled up Moki san as he introduced himself. A rosy color filled her cheeks as he winked at her, but he seemed to be punishing himself afterwards.

Kaoru straightened up as Ayumu sensei started the class by introducing himself and asking the rest of the class to do the same. Not to long after a group of two women, one wore an eye patch and wore a serious face, while the other seemed to have a child like playfulness to her. Kaoru gazed up to them as they took their seats behind her. The one with the eye patch scanned the room with her uncovered eye, while the other, named Haruka chan, massaged Moki san's shoulders.

She faced back forward out of nervousness. Is she sizing us up? the timid girl thought as she looked to the front of the class.

Kaoru's thoughts were interrupted when she heard a voice, it was one of wolves introducing herself as Fenlen. The voice had a familiar ring to it, but Kaoru was positive she hadn't met any wolves or talking animals for that matter. But despite the bizarre nature of the situation, she could not help but chuckle at the joke at the end of the canine's introduction.

Next was Moki san. After he had finished, Kaoru promptly stood up and spoke in usual mousy voice," M - My name is Kaoru" she paused and took a breath to calm her nerves. "I've been an ANBU in Training f - for awhile now and I do look forward to working with all of you in the future." Kaoru finished with a bow. She wasn't sure what else to add to her presentation. There was nothing interesting to talk about unlike the others.

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Just as he had finished his own introduction, two familiar faces entered the room that he did not expect to see. Of course, the meeting was open to any ANBU, but the two of them already knew most of the information Ayumu was going to be discussing. He had not seen either for a while, and was surprised to see Haruka without her trademark short haircut... and fully clothed to boot. She was, at least, her same old self when it came to personality. She came in loud, as if they had not already begun without her, not in the least concerned that she might be interrupted. Good ol' Haruka. Eru still had her trademark mysterious eye patch and seemed a bit aloof towards Ayumu as usual, something he'd more or less gotten used to. "Sorry, we already did that exercise before you showed up. Well, better late than never," he commented as the two of them joined the class, Haruka slinking up to Moki to tease him as Ayumu had experienced on multiple occasions. Fortunately he seemed apt to counter her forwardness with his own.

"OK, who's first?" he asked, looking around. Usually people hated this sort of thing, so he was pleased to see someone volunteer straight away. First up was the newest of them all, Shimete. She introduced herself as Fenlen this time, causing Ayumu to cock an eyebrow. 'Fenlen? Whatever floats your boat, I guess,' he thought, turning his eyes to Kirito as she introduced him and explained their origin. He glanced at Haruka and Eru at the mention of Moro, wondering if they would be as amused as he was at hearing the name Moro associated with a wolf goddess. Regent Commander Moro the wolf goddess. He resisted the temptation to chuckle at the thought. Shimete's final comment earned another cocked eyebrown from Ayumu. The wolf was letting everyone know she was available, didn't see that every day.

Next up was Moki, whom seemed perfectly content sitting there, letting Haruka give him a back rub. He explained his situation, about how he had joined earlier and then left due to injury, only to return now. His reasons for joining either time were mysterious at best, but that was all the class was going to get out of him for now it seemed. Next up was Kaoru, whom spoke to the class in her usual nervous voice. She managed to introduce herself and state her rank like a champ, which was impressive for her Ayumu thought.

Once introductions were over, Ayumu knew it was time to get to the unpleasant part. He didn't like talking about this, but it needed to be aired out. Many ANBU had already heard exactly what happened, though lower ranks were less likely to have. It had been announced that Moro and Ayumu were taking over, though there wasn't much information as to why. This was the opportunity to set the record straight and allow anybody to ask questions if they had them. "Alright. Now, we need to discuss recent events. As most, if not all of you, have heard, Tagiushi-sama has taken over the position of Regent Commander, and I the position of Vice Commander. The reason for this..." he began to explain, pausing briefly to consider how to word the rest.

"Is because we were named by the late Santaru Rin as successors to the positions. Before he was killed, Captain Takayama was reported to have murdered the King of Bear Country, acting outside of any orders from Kumogakure. Santaru Rin, in order to take the sole blame for the incident, claimed responsibility and committed suicide to take the blame with her and away from ANBU itself. In her final instructions to the branch, she named Tagiushi-sama and I as the successors. The acting Regent Commander after her death decided to honor those instructions. Tagiushi-sama was a veteran ANBU who had just been granted Captain status. He was well known to the previous Regent and Vice Commanders, so it wasn't that surprising that he was chosen, despite his newly appointed rank," he continued, wondering if any of them knew of Moro regardless of his veteran status. They were all trainees, save for Haruka and Eru, after all. Moro was not difficult to explain, but Ayumu himself was a tough choice to understand.

"I myself had just been appointed ANBU. To be honest, one can only guess why I was chosen, but I had experience with leadership in the Main Branch, and Haruka-san is helping me to adjust to the position. I've no doubt that I can handle it. Since these changes were sudden and difficult for some to understand, you all are welcome to ask any questions you have now. After, or if there are none, I'd like to discuss squads," he concluded before opening himself up for questions from the class, if they had any. He also wanted to gauge their reactions to this information.

 

[Ryu Hime]

Shimete did a double take for she did not believe what she just heard. “Wait, on hold on one moment. Back up. Are you saying you went straight from Anbu in training to Vice Commander?” This had to be a misunderstanding for there is no way a person can make that big of a jump in rank. It is simply unbelievable. She turns to look at the two Anbu that entered into the room earlier, “Is this type of advancement normal in the Anbu branch?”

[post may be wimpy, but it is somethin'. Let keep this thing movin'.]

 

[Kaoru]

"WHAT?!" Kaoru abruptly stood in her seat at Ayumu sensei's announcement. This was very unlike Kaoru, she never spoke up for anything, she didn't even scream at her guardians' deaths. She usually remained quiet in her shy little shell, but this news came out of the blue. Kaoru couldn't imagine the strong she had known commit suicide. The teen's eyes began to sting with the forthcoming tears that threatened to line her cheeks. She stood there physically shaking, she couldn't believe not one bit. "H -how, why!" she continued to whisper to herself.

Kaoru slowly went back into her seat in disbelief. For the second time in her life she had lost someone dear. She heard the voice of someone else, the sound was drowned out by her shouting thoughts. Her hands flew to her ears as she attempted to drown out the noise of the classroom, although there wasn't much to begin with. She put her best effort forward not to cry. Kaoru knew it would be of no help, so she just sat there in a little ball of whispers and silent cries.

(I'm sorry for the lateness and shortness of this post)

 

[Takaki Saeko]

Haruka giggled softly at Hameru's response and whispered her retort back in his ear.

"Such a playboy, Moki-chan! I kind of want to just have my way with you right here, but there are children watching," she sighed wistfully. "Speaking of which, hi Kaoru-chan!" she waved cheerfully to the trainee in her normal tone. "Train harder so you can grow strong and fill out your bustline, okay?" she said cheerfully to the shy young girl. It was often hard to tell whether the Daitaichou was being facetious or not, just as it had been hard to tell whether Santaru Rin was being wrathful or not - either way, both had an unsettling effect on people.

"Alright. Now, we need to discuss recent events. As most, if not all of you, have heard, Tagiushi-sama has taken over the position of Regent Commander, and I the position of Vice Commander. The reason for this..." started Ayumu, beginning the class in earnest.

Could it be he's grown more confident lately? wondered Haruka, tipping her head to the side in thought. Ooh, that's a welcome change... "Hey Eru-chan, you think he's still, you know, a virg..." she started to ask her eyepatch-wearing friend, who shushed her with a pair of fingers on her superior's lips before standing up to speak.

"I am buntaichou Natsume Eru, of the Rapid Deployment Force. I've been in the ANBU for five years. For anyone who doubts Kogami-nii-san's abilities, don't," began the girl as she fixed a glare at Shimete. "Haruka-nee-chan and I trust him with everything. He can't promise not to send you to your death, but no one in the village can, not even Hayata-sama. He protected us then and he'll protect us now. And nothing perverted happened between us in Kelmura, either!" she said, blushing furiously before sitting down with her arms crossed.

Chastened a bit by Eru's hushing her earlier, Haruka's gaze wandered to Kaoru, who appeared to be suddenly distraught over the news. The girl was so small and quiet that almost no one else had heard her outburst, and her sobs were barely audible. Rin's death had left a hole in everyone's heart, but why was this one taking it so personally? Oh shit...dammit! she realized as she connected the dots. Rin had talked about fostering one of the trainees who had been described as a small, shy girl... Kaoru had just found out she was now an orphan again, and no one had told her until now. She tore her attention away from teasing Moki and sidled up next to Kaoru, slipping an arm around the girl's shoulders.

"It's okay, you're not alone anymore. We're all your family now, so don't ever worry about being left behind again..." she whispered.

 

[Hameru Ren]

A smile crept onto Moki's face at Haruka's words, the idea not entirely unappealing to him. After all a woman of such rank and.. The children. Of course. Those darned mini-humans could always spoil anything. Then again, so could the normal humans as Haruka quickly demonstrated. Giving such oddly cheerful advice to the young girl during a class this important.. The ANBU clearly hadn't changed too much since his decommission. Yes, there was a new Vice-Commander but other than that what could've possibly gone awry during his time off?

Bull. Shit. Moki thought, eyes wide in surprise. The man had heard several rumors while in the Hospital, even thought he'd seen the Main Branch Sennin drop by looking rather hurt. The blonde AiT had just written that off as another spousal argument, of course. But treason from Takayama-Sensei? Suicide from the Santaru Rin? He had seen the surge of activity in the Branch once she had been reinstated. Moki also had had the chance to attend a class of hers once. Could such a woman truly die? The strength she had radiated had convinced him she too could've been a demi-god like some of the previous Kages. Apparently not however..

The wolf-girl-thing seemed equally surprised, though not by the same things. Her concerns were of the advancement kind. Someone was eager to become a Captain it seemed. Or a full ANBU at any rate. Moki himself often entertained such fantasies too, but the devastating news about his two ANBU superiors made it look irrelevant at a time like this. Besides, if the Buntaichou present approved of this Kogami Ayumu, who was he to doubt her words. And he was certain Haruka approved of him too, or she would not have shown up here like this.

As said Haruka got up to take care of the sobbing Kaoru, Moki couldn't help but feel a touch of concern for her. It appeared even the younger generation understood the loss of at least either of the two ANBU. Placing a clean tissue on the girl's desk, the AiT studied his Vice-Commander once more. Raising a hand, he spoke: "I do not doubt your qualifications or your words. But I can not believe Takayama-Sensei would disobey orders.." He trailed off, thinking about the man. It had been a somewhat.. odd individual, but his teacup-spinning skills and dedication had always been remarkable. Even back in Moki's AiT days.

 

[Oshiro Saki]

Redish-orange hair bounced slightly as Kosei took long, resolute strides through the chilled halls of the underground Sileo Tempestas... or, as civilians would commonly refer to it, the ANBU HQ. Not that they knew where it was. Empty halls provided the teen with the fake confidence he needed to once again show his face in this place once more...

Kosei stopped, then took a deep breath. Just keep going. You can explain to whomever is in charge later Right now, you need to get to that briefing thing and figure out what the hell is going on with ANBU. Closing his eyes, he mentally prepared for the possible bombardment of questions by whomever was calling the shots for ANBU after this meeting. After all, he had kinda disappeared after that mission to spirit away those sacred gauntlets all that time ago. I mean, Kosei had a perfectly valid excuse (he’d fallen into a strange coma after said mission, for unknown reasons. He’s also recently awoken for reasons, as before, unknown.) He was given orders by ANBU to report to this room in the Sileo after he’d been cleared by the medical branch to return home, which meant that the person heading up ANBU knew he was awake, and that he was expected to get back into the swing of things. Kosei hoped that he would be ready for it. On the bright side, his back had healed from the whipping he’d received all that time ago. Gathering his fake courage once again, he stepped into the briefing room, and into the small crowd gathered inside.

The first thing that Kosei noticed was who was giving the lecture: Kogami Ayumu, the AiT he’d been partnered with on his last mission before he fell into the coma. Kosei didn’t remember exactly how long he’d been out (his memory was still a little fuzzy, and he couldn’t recall how long the nurse had said), but it must have been a significant time period to for him to be promoted to Vice Commander. He had a thought right then, remembering how he’d been an AiT for almost five years now (or perhaps longer than five years, depending on how long he’d been comatose), and he was still an AiT, despite his skill as a ninja. He disregarded the thought. No doubt Ayumu noticed his entrance, but how he felt about Kosei’s reappearance was yet to be seen.

”Sir.” he said, looking at Ayumu once he’d finished talking. He simply wanted to ensure that his presence was acknowledged, especially since the topic of squads was coming up. Perhaps with new leadership, he’d finally get out of this trainee slump.

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

As expected, there was some shock from the various news he had to pass on to the trainees. Some of them were new, some of them had been around for a while, but they all had their own reactions. Kaoru expressed her extreme surprise at the death of Rin, which was to be expected. What Ayumu did not realize was Kaoru's personal relationship to the former Regent Commander, which was why he did not stop to address her immediately. As soon as he finished speaking and opened himself up to questions, Shimete expressed her surprise to hear that Ayumu had only just recently even made it to ANBU, yet now stood before them as Vice Commander. Her shock was understandable, as it was an unusual situation. She wanted to know if it was normal, and it was definitely not. Before he could speak, Eru, the one who always seemed leery of Ayumu, spoke up to his defense. She backed him and apparently gave him her blessing, something that gave him a bit more confidence to make his own answer to Shimete's question. Despite the fact that she brought up Kelmura, which they had all promised not to do, Ayumu appreciated what she said. For a brief moment, a smirk flashed across his face, then disappeared. He had to answer as well.

"It's not normal at all, I assure you. Desperate times call for desperate measures. What happened was a shock to everyone, and we lost some of the upper echelon along with the Regent Commander, in one way or another. The options were slim to begin with, but the fact that Rin chose Moro and I specifically is why we are where we are. I would not have expected to be standing here so soon, but if she believed I was capable, and if I have the confidence of these two esteemed captains, I'm bound to succeed," he responded, showing no signs of doubt. Hopefully his confidence would reassure her, but one way or another he was in charge and she would have to respect that. He could only continue to try to gain all of his subordinates respect.

It was around this time that he noticed Haruka attempting to console Kaoru. Why was she in particular so upset? He thought about it for a moment before it dawned on him. When they had been discussing Rin's death it had come up that she had taken a young AiT girl under her wing, the very same girl that stood before him sobbing now. Ayumu was surprised that he was the one who was first to deliver this news to her. Unfortunately he had not known her relationship to Rin, and as such had not been as delicate as he could have been. Unfortunately, he was not the most graceful with tending to crying girls, so he allowed Haruka to console Kaoru as best she could. Meanwhile, Moki had his own input to give, expressing his doubt of Takayama's guilt. The official story stood that Takayama was guilty of the crime, but many held the same doubts that Moki did.

"That is the official story that has been adopted by Kumogakure. Of course, as individuals, everyone is free to believe what they wish. You would not be alone thinking the way you do," he said, hinting that his own feelings on the matter were the same. Of course he did not believe for a moment that Rin or Takayama had any intent to start war by killing the King of Bear. If the opportunity arose to disprove it, he would pursue it relentlessly. For the time being, they were forced to stomach the official story. It was around this time that Ayumu noticed Kosei, the AiT whom he had gone on a mission with Gin to retrieve a gauntlet of demonic origin. Shortly after the mission he had fallen in to a coma, but now he was awake once more. For a moment, Ayumu looked as though he'd seen a ghost.

"Ah, just in time... even if you are late! Might as well introduce you all to yet another trainee, Jinkotsu Kosei. Well, I was going to speak about squads, but now that I look around... this is going to be a short conversation. As you are all trainees aside from our two captains, you will find yourselves on the same squad. Look around, these are your squadmates. Welcome to the new trainee squad. Normally the Regent Commander himself would lead the trainee squad, but as he is so busy you'll have to put up with me. Of course there's always a chance for guest captains," he explained, glancing at Haruka and Eru briefly. Of course, they would likely just continue to do what they had been doing. They had important jobs to do to keep the branch afloat.

"You can expect to be on missions together soon, so be prepared. Perhaps take some time to get to know one another- either way you will know each other well soon, hopefully. Now, I've told you pretty much everything I needed to get across, but I'll remain for questions as long as needed. You can all stick around and get to know one another if you want too, of course," he said, wrapping up the official "class" period. It was a brief meeting, but the important things had been discussed and they were set to resume activities as a branch. Ayumu waited to see if anybody wanted to discuss things further with him. He was also curious to see the interactions between the trainees. There were quite a few of them, it would be interesting to see how things went having so many trainees.

[ OoC: Welp, the official part is over, you can leave now if you want, or feel free to stick around and RP for a bit. I want to have an ANBU mission up for you guys soon. ]

 

[Oshiro Saki]

There wasn't a whole lot said by anyone other than Ayumu after I walked in. I didn't really give them a chance to, that is, because I walked out before anyone really turned to talk to me. ANBU had shrunk even more since I'd fallen under the coma...

This greatly disturbed me, since it was too small beforehand. And now we'd lost more people? These were troubling times in the kingdom indeed. Perhaps, I thought as I had before, with this change in leadership would come a promotion. I would still need to test for it, of course, but now, more than ever, we needed full-fledged ANBU, not trainees who couldn't do what needed to be done. ANBU were much more useful than AiTs... I decided right there that I would have to have a word with Ayumu at some point later. Seeing that nobody was still talking to me, I stepped out and began the long walk home.

[TLUS]

 

[Kaoru]

Kaoru continued to weep after a moment she felt someone hug her shoulders. It was warm to the small girl. She the reassuring whispers of a woman, saying she wasn't alone. These remarks made Kaoru feel better, she knew that she couldn't cry forever for the Sennin.

The teenager snuck a glance at her comforter, she was surprised to see the seemingly cold Natsume san. Kaoru wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. It took all of her emotional strength to stop the tears. After a few deep breaths she turned to her co worker. "T- Thank you" she murmured putting on her kindest smile. "I - I really do mean it. I'm grateful to bee in such a close knit branch." Kaoru continued on not sure what else to say.

Ayumu sensei announced an upcoming mission. How long have I been crying? Kaoru thought as she noticed the class was coming to its end. With one final breath she stood up. Kaoru didn't want to stay in the room any longer, although she did appreciate all of the new faces she saw, especially her kind superior. She bowed to the eye patched woman quietly thanking her again for her comfort and swiftly left the room.

She zoomed through the streets until she was back in her apartment. She couldn't hold them in any longer. As soon as she passed the threshold, the young girl fell into a pile of sobs where she sat until sleep silenced her mourning.

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