Entrenched (Class)

[Takahashi Aki]

Teach the students Judori said. Don't let them fall into Cabal hands. Yeah. Yeah. The veteran Masashi Mako waited on the new brood to arrive. Judori had sent them all personal letters to have them meet with her. The old veteran wondered which part did her son-in-law mention most? The fact she was missing an eye? Missing an arm? Oh. Maybe it was her purple hair. Or her less than tolerant attitude.

Well, maybe the last thing wasn't true. Mako had been working on becoming tolerant of others. Mako was ... somewhat pleased that her encounter with Yume, her grandson's 'girlfriend' turned out fairly well. It didn't end with her having to hypnotize the girl with her sharingan. Sure Yume ran off, but that was probably for the best.

Times were dangerous, and Mako was entrusted with the young pups of Sungakure. It was time to put these kids through the school of hard knocks. More importantly it was time to recruit from young blood for her old Hell's Halberd division. So what if they were under aged? She would build the bonds of comradely. That is what endured war, at least for those amongst the living. Those who died in war were remembered for ill or for good. Mako figured that she would be remembered for all the ill she did.

The veteran's eye narrowed. She needed to keep her eye out for this youngins, whenever, however, or wherever they may come from. Well, at the very least she wouldn't miss their arrival, even if she blinked. Mako only needed her good eye to keep an eye on the kids.

 

[Kazeki Ao]

Ao was sporting the usual aquamarine colored zip-up jacket, black pants and ninja sandals. His messy black hair blew less than usual today, the feeling he experinced was an uneasiness that Ao had never felt before. Was he worried about his mother who was recently taken to safety, or was it just in his nature to worry? The mans voice was very soothing and reassuring, he took his time explaining the village's current dilemma. Ao listened, but did so from his bedroom. his heartbeat had risen , Ao was scared.

Ao's mother was given instructions to gather somewhere safe with the other residents. On the other hand Ao was past-on a letter with his name written on it, inside there was a note that gave indications of where his academy class would take place. "Why now.." Ao crossed his fingers hoping that he wouldn't have to get involved with the faction of bad people. But being with Shinobi who could protect him was also in his best interest, so he hurried outside, speed-walking to the destination indicated on the note.

Upon his arrival at the location, Ao noticed an older looking lady with purple hair. She was missing an arm and had a very intimidating look on her face, for just a second Ao was worried that this might be a trap set up by the enemy, but it wasn't too long before the lady had noticed him. He quickly regained his composure then spoke with a hesitant voice as if he wasnt sure how to properly communicate "Uhm .. Uh.. Are you my Sensei?"<i></i>

 

[Takahashi Aki]

(More are welcome to tag along, and we proceed on this class/quest. Gruntling is being used as a nickname like sport, or kiddo just fyi. Houjin resembles the Diablo 3 Male Barbarian if you're looking for a visual)

A very sharp grin appeared on Mako's face as she was inquired if she was this boy's sensei. He seemed hesitant. She would need to beat that out of him. Indecision was the death of women and men. "It's been a while since I've been called that. Usually people call me ma'am, or commander. People who know me well call me Mako, but we're not there yet."</B><i></i> Mako searched her long brow military coat for her smokes. Once she acquired it she pulled out a cigar, chomped down on it, spat out part of it, and flipped it in her mouth. The Veteran hadn't lit it yet. "Think Ma'am like ham, not mum mind you that. Most kids don't get it right, but you we're going to get right. Is that understood Gruntling? You ain't a solider yet in my division, you're not a grunt, but you're a Gruntling. When I'm done with you we're gonna have a good soldier-boy. You know what soldiers do Gruntling? They survive. They survive and they get to tell stories. You'll thank me when you get older."<i></i> She chewed on her cigar, having yet to light it up.

"Our enemy is out there Gruntling. They are terrorists, and criminals. Bad folks escaped from the jail. We're not going after the big bad men and women yet. No Gruntling, we're gonna go crack some skulls, and get some thugs off the streets."<i></i> Mako's voice was a growl. She was very much the beast she told Yume she was. Mako was no Inuzuka, if pressed to say what family she came from, it would be that of the ancient Uchiha clan. Masashi were distant cousins of the Uchiha. It was a very loose blood relation. As Mako finished speaking, a large muscular, older man came. He towered over Mako. He looked slightly older than her, but his hair was pure white. He looked more feral than Mako, and certainly more foreign.

Most surprisingly was the older man's voice when he spoke. He sounded more like a gentle giant than anything else. "They're out there. Plenty of them. Are you sure about bringing the youngling?" He inquired. The giant of a man would look down at little Ao and offered him a friendly smile. "Her bark is worse than her bite." His voice was clearly foreign, but if anything he was a friend. He offered his index finger out for the boy to shake. "I am Houjin the Mighty. Friend to Masashi Mako. Friend to Sungakure. Friend to the Steward-Kazekage."

"Don't worry about it Houjin. I'll keep my eye on the Gruntling. From this moment on he's part of my Hell's Halberd division."<i></i> Mako turned to the lad. She hoped he wasn't scared out of his mind just yet. <B>"Gruntling, this is Houjin. He's a friend of my grandson. He'll do the heavy lifting it gets rough. Now tell me son ... you wanna take the fight physically being through the use of taijutsu, through illusions being called genjutsu, or through the use of elemental arts or through ninjutsu? Today we're gonna show you a mix of the three, but we'll focus on the one you want to learn about most."

 

[Kazeki Ao]

Mako was an intense woman who seemed like someone more suited to training adults- not kids! Her straight forward tone, and her flaring eyes, they did nothing but send chills down Ao's spine. Never in his life did he expect to meet an old lady like her nor was he ready to take on the challenges she had laid out for him. What did she expect a kid like Ao would accomplish taking on a group of convicts? Was she strong enough to fight while protecting the boy from harm? or was she just missing a few screws. A very troubling situation indeed and Ao was not liking it. He began contemplating in that moment how he could escape, would she be fast enough to catch him if he ran off? or maybe if he just slipped away she wouldn't notice.

None of that mattered now, a large figure suddenly entered the scene before Ao could plan his escape. "Huge! The figure seemed like something out of his novels. Surprisingly enough, the giant man had a positive aura and despite his intimidating look, he came off as a friendly giant. Ao felt somewhat at ease with this type of protection by his side. He cursed Mako for rejecting Houjin's offer in Ao's place. What would have been better than riding on this giant mans back, that would have been reassuring he thought but that was only wishful thinking. With Mako around he pondered if he would live to see eleven and if he did, maybe he really would be a "solider-boy" as she called it.

"Taijutsu, Genjutsu, elemental or ninjutsu? Guess i never thought about what i wanted to master at this academy.."
"Sen- I mean Ma'am I want to learn taijutsu."

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Mako and Houjin exchanged glances. Taijustsu. It was rare for kids these days to learn martial prowess, the art of weaponry, unarmed, or ranged combat. "Well Gruntling. You'll want to keep an eye on Houjin. He's not a ninja, stealth isn't his thing, but he certainly does have martial prowess."<i></i> Mako explained. As she did spoke, Houjin reached for the large hammer on his back. The weapon looked fairly advanced. It wasn't crafted by his hands as there were intricate details on the hammer. Mako's eye lazily shifted to what caught Houjin's attention. An unruly mob of thugs. Most of them looked like clowns. Was the circus in town?

"Looks like that physco circus got out of jail when the Cabal agents blew a hole in it." Houjin spoke. The giant man gently patted his hammer. "I may finally get to stop Ring Master. Last time he trapped me in one of those ... cowardly genjutsus." The giant grumbled. It seemed he had a score to settle. With that the giant strode towards the crowd of thuggish clowns. Hammer in hand of course. Houjin first started by taking his hammer and striking the ground soundly with it. The ground that Ao and Mako stood on rumbled. Mako grasped Ao and held him firmly so he would not fall. The boy would see that even Mako herself had some minor difficulty keeping her balance.

"Taijutsu can be broken up into different groupings. It refers to the physical. Houjin here taking up the fight in meelee combat. He could also resort to his fists if needed."<i></i> Mako chuckled. "I've seen him weild ranged weapons like glaives, spears, and a bow. Nasty stuff to be on the other end of that. I've seen his arrows impale people."<i></i> Ao would watch as the men swarmed Houjin, but the giant handled them like children. He shoke them off, threw them, span around rapidly releasing a torrent of wind. It was surprising considering a man of his size was capable of moving thatfast. "Taijutsu involves speed. You might be able to punch a person hard enough to cause a crater, but ninjutsu will usually be more devestating."<i></i> Mako remarked. (In a modded battle, Taijutsu techniques usually cost less chakra points, and require slightly less ability points to use, bear in mind the damage might be weaker, and some taijutsus will require a weapon to use.)

"Now we're not going to enter combat here... but watch this."<i></i> Mako reached into her war coat and removed three shurkien. "Ranged weaponry. Wanna give these a throw at those bad guys over there Gruntling? don't worry about hitting Houjin with them. His skin is quick thick."<i></i>

 

[Kazeki Ao]

Hiujin was a beast! Each swing sent chills down Ao's spine but surprisingly the boy wasn't afraid. To put it simple he was amazing! a real asset to Sunagakure. It was better than counting on an old lady with one-eye and one-hand. Mako's grip on Ao was tight, she kept the boy from falling. He got an even closer look gazing up while she spoke, he was astound. In that moment he wondered how someone could end up the way she did. There must have been countless hardships throughout her life. Was she really able to teach in her condition? Ao wasn't convinced, he slowly turned his attention back to Houjin who was already wrapping up his fight with the large group. This was definitely the start of the rest of his life, this was the life of a Shinobi. " Ma'am do you think a weak boy like me can really become a Shinobi? Don't you think your wasting your time training me? The only thing I've ever done my entire life is help out with household chores. Clean dishes, mop floors and run errands, nothing like this." Ao then moved out of Mako's grip. "The only reason I'm even here is because my mother forced me to come. I chose taijutsu yea! but it was random. I had no desire to become a ninja, and I'm not sure if i can be what you want me to be.. I'll probably only disappoint you."

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Mako snorted as she heard Ao speak. "Gruntling. We don't talk like that around here. When people don't train, or learn new skills this happens. What worse is that happens and you cannot defend your household."<i></i> Mako shook her head. "I can't blame your mother for forcing you out here. She wants you to defend yourself, and you're only going to learn that as we go along. We Suna nin, we survive. We keep going on. We kick and scream. We trash and bloody our foe as they try to end our lives. People in this world will show you no mercy, so we show them none in return. Do you understand me Gruntling? You wanna end your life not here, you want to be old and surrounded by your children and your wife. If you wanna get there then you fight. All what matters is that you fight."<i></i>

Houjin would return to the company, he had a few nicks and cuts. He was no worse for wear. The veteran chuckled at him. Houjin merely shook his head. As Houjin made his return, it would seem as if the number of thugs increased. The company of the three of would find themselves cornered off. Strangely Mako was grinning now. "Well Grunting. Before you put those shurkiens to use, let's make target practice a little easier now shall we?"<i></i> Mako would place Ao behind her and Houjin. She would step forward and take a deep breath in. She would clear his throat, and then emit a scream of sorts. The scream would cause several of the thugs before them to fall over gripping their ears. Some of them curled into balls, and others would scream out. "An audible genjutsu. Death Chime. My scream to them is sounding like a severe ringing in their ears. Quite nasty. The illusion here is that my scream is not what they're hearing. Genjutsu affects the senses. Hearing. Sight. Those are two of the big ones. Some people at a higher skill can realize that they're being subjected to an illusion and will take actions to see past it."<i></i>

(Don't forget to post a training, and train up so you can use techniques such as Death Chime, granted you'd need to be of a higher level)