Checking the ranks for lice (ANBU Class)

[Rega]

It had been months since she'd last tried to do anything to improve the ranks of ANBU, and she'd never actually held a class for her comrades before... but in the wake of recent revelations, her trust was running short. Things were in desperate need or re-evaluation, and the best way to know somebody was to give that old black robed biddy death a shove in their direction! Laid out on the ground was the whole of her battle inventory; the hammers, sawblades, crowbar, and nail guns were brightly polished and placed on one of several tarps. She wanted to be sure that everybody could trust her when she said that she was unarmed, and asked them all to follow the same example...

In front of them, she stared at the statue of the most revered of the Raikage, man-god Shinbatsu... allowed to literally walk off into the heavens with the blessings of the gods which called him brother. Was it so hard to ignore personal vices and embrace the righteous example of men such as this? In a world where power is so easy to come across, and plenty is so easy to distribute, why would anyone discard their humanity and honor? What prize could be worth losing yourself?

Deep thought always pissed off the young captain, preferring to settle her conflicts with battle rather than wordplay. She could mull over it all day by herself and be no closer to an answer, but she did have a position of power herself, and this sort of question needed to be answered with her peers. One way or another, she'd find if those primed to inherit her position would have the personal fortitude to embrace the future with Shinbatsu's zeal and integrity. The call was placed for any willing and active ANBU to receive a lesson, now to see who might show up.

 

[Moyamaru]

"Rega.."

The name was foriegn to him in every aspect outside of general knowledge with having heard the name once or twice while within the Sileo. From the outside looking in one would think that every member of the Anbu branch would be familiar with ranking officials but that was not actually the case. Hosuto had technically no personal interaction with any of the higher ups outside of Saito and only knew them by name, not appearance. This itself was something that did not weigh heavily on Hosuto's mind, because in being the kind of creature who avoided most social activites, he was generally un-phased about not knowing people. Staring momentarily at a small piece of paper which had been suddenly slipped into his hands by another Anbu while walking the facility floors of the Sileo, he analyzed the directions calmly. Written upon it was a single line of text...

Be at the statue of gold of kage's past.

So here he was, walking onto the scene of Shinbatsu's path, the only place that made any sense within the note. The few times he had actually been within radius of the statue was with Akira, who frequently discussed within him about the man whom the statue was built to idolize. His values and traits that made him revered within Kumogakure was well known by Hosuto if only because of Saito's passion about his memory and influence. With both palms resting now within the gray coat he wore over two other thinner coats, he'd stop just a bit away from where Rega was positioned. Beneath the high collar that hid his facial expressions and dark goggles which veiled his eye's gaze Hosuto scanned the area. A head turn to the left then the right would culminate in him finally setting his gaze on the weapons sprawled out between where he stood and where Rega was located.

First impression of the arsenal laid out was simple, he found the nature of the weapons at a visual glance to be crude and physical. Without having any former experiences with Rega as he stared at her, based on the weapon layout his initial analysis of her was that she most was very hot headed. Based on her general appearance however her surmised that she could either be somewhat of an airhead or was purposely giving off the impression that she was, at least. As he thought about these things sub-consciously his body never moved but waited for Rega's instruction. Not being a social creature himself, verbal exchanges for the fun of it was not in his cup to tea to sip so generally he would be the type to maintain silence unless something needed to be said.
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[Rega]

Her sixth sense alerted her to the presence of the young man, although she remained in silent thought for a few more minutes. There had to be more than this... more to the ANBU, more to Kumogakure! Her stillness soon devolved into impatient foot-tapping as the minutes began to shave away, and finally devolved into outright furious pacing. Finally, with a dissatisfied roar, the kunoichi spun about and marched directly to the ANBU in training and extending her trembling hand out. "This was supposed to be a mandatory training exercise for all available members! Who brought you into the ANBU, son?! Where is everyone? Let me see your invitation, something must be wrong here!"

Stomping her foot, her demonic strength let out a plume of dust from the colosseum grounds. So much for the resolution of brotherhood renewed with combat... All that came was one trainee. And that wasn't going to bode well for her one guest, she thought as she cracked her knuckles and rolled her head. "Well, no use crying over cowardly slackers, I suppose... I got you in the arena, son, and that means that my call for a free-for-all has now been narrowed down to a duel with a division captain! Perhaps the skills you learn alongside your bruises will show the others that..."

As her words slipped out from behind her gnashing teeth, she looked at the unflinching stoicism of the young man before burning out and turning around to face the statue of Shinbatsu once more. "Ah, who am I kidding... I could wail on you all day and it wouldn't bring back my Raikage or his comrade, nor would it inspire our fellow ANBU to be any more diligent in their jobs... I've been gone from my post far too long. All I can do is focus on the now and make sure it never happens again. SO! You shall be MY Saito, instead! Tell me, what brought you into the business of killing other ninja?"

Word Count :: 334, marked for training

 

[Moyamaru]

Secondary impressions of Rega was more fleshed out than his first, his eyes beneath his tinted goggles focused momentarily upon her trembling hand. Possible nervous tensions or was it that her muscles reacted to her emotions which were as he understood them currently on high. She was not his ideal estimation of what a captain should be, visibly losing her cool or at least giving off an aura of perceived lack of having a level head. When she had stopped spouting and after remaining unmoved or seemingly un-bothered by her encroachment, Hosuto produced a single slip of paper which had a vague statement on it. "I was brought into Anbu under the recommendation of Akira Saito, Sennin of the Anbu Branch.", said Hosuto in a composed manner.

Third impression was conflicted with the second especially after the captain demonstrated the level of physical strength she possessed. Although he did not move from his location, his open coat would blow back with the sudden but light shockwave from the woman's stomping. It was possible that her combat abilities was what made her captain material and not her mental control of her emotions. Her next statement made her in Hosuto's impression to be somewhat archaic in personality, someone who favored or enjoyed the nature of physical combat. As a shinobi, especially a black ops agent there was nothing wrong with this but he wondered just how gung-ho she truly was. At least this would explain why the weapon layout had been present..

Fourth impression completely called the previous two into question as the captain's personality flipped a script, just like a finger turning a page. He was left to wonder if the captain saw Shinbatsu in the same light as their sennin did and if the death of Hayata Shin might have stirred up those past memories. She must have been attached to the former Raikage and Medical Sennin in more ways than simple loyalty, she reacted in a way that possibly spelled out having strong memories to them. He wondered at this point however what the captain meant by him being her "Saito", as the reference went fully over his head though the main question posed was one he answered quickly without needing thought.

"Every shinobi trained is in the business of killing other ninja, it is our nature at it's core. Though that is not why I became a shinobi, that reason falls to a debt that can never be repaid only acted upon. I am here because my life belongs to Akira Saito and I will do what is required of me in order to keep what he holds dear protected."
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[Rega]

Rega quickly snatched the piece of paper from the young man, while scoffing at the idea that all shinobi were nin-hunters. "All ninja are prepared to do combat with other ninja. ANBU has the task of eliminating them in their foundation, it is a much darker labor with a need for strong willed and zealous officers... Oh for crying out loud, this is what I get for trying to micro-manage in the offices. Do I have to do everything myself?!" The paper floated up into the air for a moment before being incinerated by a wisp of green flame from the grumpy captain.

As the ashes spread in the wind, the dark haired girl began to walk around the bug-lover, sizing him up a bit before cracking her knuckles loudly and smirking wide. "So, you and the boss are pretty close, huh? You give him your life... that is interesting. It is something people can say easily, but promises of sacrifice are very difficult to live up to. Death is about as scary a thing as there is in the world, and what sets ANBU apart from other shinobi is that we MUST understand that there are plenty of worse things than death. Disloyalty, failure, incompetence. To live with these things cripples us, hurts worse than anything else could and motivates us to never suffer them. We don't need to kill ANBU who fall victim to these things... although sometimes we will anyways, depending on the severity in order to set a precedent and all... but to live on with these crimes is a punishment worse than death."

Finally, coming back around to the front of the young man, the captain turned her back to him and took a deep breath, before contorting her body a few times and unhinging her armor, the heavy steel falling to the ground with a loud thud and kicking up a bit of dust around her. When it settled, her top was in her arms, and her bare back was on display. Scars, staples, stitches, and patches of something distinctly different than flesh went all the way up to her neck and down to her elbows, tracing her waistline and descending below. What made the scene even more repulsive was that the patches of something weird occasionally moved, as if trying to separate from her body. "Up until a mission I took part in a year ago, I had the lives of my family absorbed against my will into my being... perhaps that is something of a lie. I had their bodies, and traces of their will and spirit, but they weren't really all there. They were dead, and in order to purge their decaying remains from myself, I took an absence. While this was happening, we ANBU displayed incompetence and failed in fantastic form to protect our leaders. Our shame would be total if you'd think our dissatisfaction with Raikage Shima amounted to disloyalty as well."

Sliding her top back on and reapplying her armor, the woman turned to face the lad with her grin once more showing wide. "But our loyalty is not simply given based on title! We are loyal to our Sennin, who in turn has the terrible job of deciding if our Raikage and the other Sennin are worthy of our loyalty as well! My mentor told me that lord-god Shinbatsu himself chose Saito when they were both youths to be his heir, and I have witnessed the bravery and power our Sennin possesses! If you would give your life to that man, you have chosen exceptionally well... But you also are damn brave or really stupid to place yourself between him and those who see him as an enemy! Tell me, if I were to reveal an intention to assassinate your beloved Akira Saito, would you fight me now, knowing that my power is that of a veteran ANBU captain?"

Word Count :: 656, marked for training, and a terribly lame drill sergeant style rant ^^' Sorry, running on fumes of late.

 

[Ryu Hime]

Shimete came running in late for the class due to clan duties. Being a part of a servant clan to a religious one time is not always on her side. Some days it feels like there is just not enough hours. She has changed quite a bit since her student years. When she first developed some of her Inuzuka powers she changed a little, but now that she is in the stages of puberty she is changing much into something more canine. She now has ears, tail and even a short coat of white fur. Her eyes are also a little unusual for they are different colors; her left eye is blue while her right is Amber. Shimete is a little embarrassed about her appearance for she has gotten some strange looks from the clan. To hide her wolf-like characteristics she wraps her body in bandage and often wears a mask with a blue robe.

With her wrapped in bandages and her canine companion left at home it would be hard to discern her bloodline without looking through the records. The aura of chakra around the captain, which can be seen by her Eye of Moro, suggests Rega was not too pleased of her lateness or on second thought perhaps it was the turnout that got her a little miffed. There was only one other shinobi that decided to join. Looking at his chakra made her skin crawl. The chraka signatures of insects with the body; it made Shimete visibly shiver. “My apologies for my lateness.”

[MFT]