First Lessons [Yumiko and Naien Student Class]

[Enatsu]

Following behind him was Yumiko in tow. They had scampered off to the Elder Woods hoping to train and learn in peace. The streets were crawling the psychos and full of chaos. However most of those who indulged the violent behavior were enthralled with it. However the Elder Woods seemed more peaceful than most areas. Slowly the two would come up to a clearing where Koga would pull out a sealing scroll. Koga would use the scroll to summon his backpack which would have plenty of items for the two to utilize. There were four belt pouches with holsters, four water canteens, a few apples, two large jars of peanuts, 6 daggers, and lot of steel wire. There happened to be a first aid kit attached to the bag covering many of the bases. He would trace his fingers over each item becoming aware of what they were memorizing them in his head. Take the holster and attach your canteen to it. Take a jar, and an apple put them into your belt pouch. Holster a dagger or two for yourself as well." Koga would follow suit attaching the canteen and pocketing the peanuts, apple, and dagger. Koga would work out two large bundles of Ninja wire passing one bundle to Yumiko. "Do me a favor, describe the surroundings to me and be very specific." He could not see everything even with his sonar, but he could at least get some general description of their area. It would be a good starting point to finding fresh food or animal tracks.

"There was a time when many shinobi could not utilize chakra and it was a scarce few that could every other clan or so. It's recorded that they relied on their own talent and their own power to accomplish their missions. They were the normal people you saw everyday but had intuition, and guts. They were daring and did not falter in their tasks. Now after hearing that it makes you wonder, what pushed them through? Anyone could have those qualities but what made them efficient? So efficient that even honor bound warrior like the samurai sought them out?" Koga would wait for Yumiko's answer as they prepared to enter the forest.

The forest is quiet and smells of fresh dew. Upon entering the forest Koga began clicking his tongue using his walking cane to guide him. Yumiko might hear a soft buzz in the distance differing from Koga's click. It's so different in fact as his clicks are harsh, but the buzz is serene. It could almost be compared to running water. Any wild life near the two have ran away and people may be attracted to the sound of the clicks as they are exceptionally loud. Follow Koga's instruction and answer is question. Make sure when describing the area to Koga you are very descriptive and pay close attention.

 

[Yumiko]

"Well... uhh..." Yumiko began, checking her surroundings thoroughly. She'd never been here before. "There are... a lot of stony, rocky trees around. And... Not... much else?" she didn't know what exactly she was supposed to be looking for. "I don't see any animals or people... but there's this humming noise." she shrugged sheepishly. That was about the best she had as far as description. In reality there were many things off about the area; several broken branches marked where the heavy weight of some large animal had broken them, and patterns of rustled dirt and leaves were tracks left by others. The assorted trees in the area were breathtaking and unique, but there was only so much an 8 year old leatherworker's daughter knew how to say in such a situation.

It was about that moment that Koga began his story about Shinobi long ago. She hadn't actually heard the story before and pondered it for awhile. "Was... it because they trained really hard?" she asked. That seemed to be the obvious answer, at least to her. She awaited further clarification and instruction.

 

[Susumu Naien]

Naien looked around him. Trees and crystals. Crystal trees? Whatever they were, there were plenty of them all around him. And in an underground cavern of all places. While certainly a thing to behold (especially for a nine year old child), there was one thing certain to him at this point.

He was completely lost.

Naien couldn't quite say how he ended up here. He was mostly moving with the ever shifting presence of danger and safety that was within the village, trying himself to stay out of the way of what was going on right now. But having been born and raised a desert nomad up until now, he had a hard time navigating a village or a forest, much less an underground crystal forest. Different environment, different rules. He was lucky enough in the village, there were plenty of people to give him directions and cues to follow. Not so much in here. He was on his own in unfamiliar territory.

Naien looked down and stared silently at the bone whistle around his neck. Three blasts. That typically would get anyone nearby to come running in his direction. However, the "anyone" bit was the problem. There were a lot of people running around and hurting each other in the village. Announcing his location could bring the wrong kind of people to him. Naien decided that it would be best not to use it for now. He'll have to hold out until things change...

*click* *click* *click*

The sound caught his attention. It was faint, but it sounded like someone clicking their tongue. Why would they be doing that?

*click* *click* *click*

Curiousity got the better of Naien and he headed of in the general direction of the sound, being careful to be as quiet and hidden as he could. Before long, he came across two people as he quietly skirted the edges of the area they were in. An adult man and little girl about his age. He then realized that it was Yumiko.

Yumiko didn't seem to be threatened by this man so Naien decided to quietly appear into view. Who knows? Maybe he can help?

 

[Enatsu]

There was soft shuffling in the crystalline woods. Koga would continue clicking to determine if whatever was moving was to search them out or run away. When the noises became clear footsteps he knew that someone was getting close. Air would begin to vibrate around his hand and a metallic bone would creep up his hand halfway covering it like a rash. However it seemed as though this threat was calm and to double check he'd click a sound wave against the ground and use his sonar to get a read on the area. In this area there was not much that he already did not know was there. The hardened trees, and some broken ones. There was Yumiko in front of him and another small child to his rear. The metallic bones would recede crawling back into his skin resealing the wound it created to get out. A smirk would spread across his lips as this was another person who could potentially enter his training. It would be a great way to test his theories. It eas simply speculation that this was another child, but he would invite the stranger to come over to them as well.

"What's your name stranger?" After the newcomer would introduce themselves Koga would wave and begin to invite them on the trip. "Come join us, if you have the time to spare. If you wish to hunt with us you'll have to equip yourself with the same equipment over there as Yumiko. Now where was I, oh yes the truth of shinobi. An innocent answer, while they trained hard so did the samurai. Any warrior has the capacity to train hard but it's a matter of what they stand on. The Samurai held to honor and loyalty to a master even so far as to cause themselves death. The shinobi not so much. They were the agents of the shadows. Their credo was that they get the job done by any means necessary.They had their honor but would see the mission through to the very end. At the end of the day that is what made the shinobi efficient and sought out by anyone. This nation was founded on the power of Chakra Manipulation and the shinobi clans who banded together to unify it. While we may be divided by villages that is the complete thought of the ninja theory." He would pick up his cane and point it at the belongings.

"Grab your things and let's move people. We've got ground to cover." When the group was altogether he'd lead the way heading towards the northern direction. As they continued the newcomer, Naien would also begin to hear the buzzing sound, although in Yumiko's ears it would be ringing louder. Koga however clicked his tongue and would cock his head in different directions. After ten minutes of walking and scouring he'd come to a stop and point towards the east. "If we drift that way we'll come to small spring. Look for animal tracks and any signs of hunting. If you find any food don't eat it, because you never know if it's poisoned. You might find some fish in the water, if you try to catch any make sure you do it patiently. Waiting in the water and watching for your time to strike. Your first lesson as a shinobi is survival and while I'm your teacher I won't hold your hand. So I'll be going off into the forests to scout ahead but you guys get to make your own choices here. If something becomes too much survive no matter what. Remember I'll be in earshot distance but you can't rely on me fully." With that being said Koga would jump into the trees vanishing from sight.

Koga would leave the kids to search the ground for animal tracks as he listened to the sounds of the forest from the trees. Koga's not in eye view but he's close by. If the kids search the road they will find animal tracks (small paw prints, and large ones) leading to the spring. There are many bushels of vegetation and fruit hanging around that they may pick and preserve. When doing so if you choose think about how you will carry the fruits, what will you use?

If they decide to go to the spring you will find fish, all of medium size that you may try to catch but be careful and watch your surroundings. There are prints all round the edge of the spring showing that this spot has seen life.

If you decide to fish roleplay the experience thoroughly based on what Koga has told you.

If you don't decide to follow the tracks to the spring, you will hear screams in the distance. Trailing off to those will lead you to a small campsite with fresh fire and blood. You will see drag marks and a bloodied sword on the ground. The tents will be broken and packaged food all over the ground. There will be cooking fish above the fire. Medicine, food, and even weapons will be littered around the campsite proving a better haul than you'd find searching all day.

If you look in the tents you will find a man stabbed to death, which shows there is a violent person out in these woods. Doubling back on the drag marks will show footprints along with the drag marks. If you follow the footprints it will take you half a mile away from this initial spot. Further up the road you will come to the body of a woman with her head lopped off. More dragmarks and footprints will take you further out east but the buzzing noise will become louder.

You must move as a group and choose one of the paths.

This is about how observant you are and how well you do on your own. It may seem rough since your teacher is leaving but in time things will become much clearer. Just enjoy the roleplay the experiences and have fun.

 

[Yumiko]

"Oh, hey Naien." said Yumiko, glancing around the area, "I guess i'm not alone anymore." with Koga gone, things were pretty dangerous, but she was at least relatively certain that it was nothing she couldn't handle. She pondered Koga's words. Their credo was that they get the job done by any means necessary... a pretty dark credo to follow to be sure...

While she was thinking, Yumiko was looking, trying to figure out exactly where they should go and it didn't take even her very long before she stumbled across the animal tracks. "Hey, look at this." she said to Naien, poking at them with a finger. "Must be pretty big if it made tracks this deep..." she followed them with her eyes, "I'm not sure, but it looks like they're headed towards that Spring..." she thought for a bit, "We might want to wait until whatever that animal is leaves to-" she heard the screams. Chills ran up and down her spine and her eyes darted in the direction of the screaming. The childish part of her screamed at her to run the opposite direction, but after a moment's hesitation she got her legs moving towards them. "Come on!" she breathed at Naien, hoping he could keep up. He probably couldn't- she was extremely fast for her age when she wanted to be, and it didn't take long at all before she'd picked up enough speed to reach her maximum velocity, cruising through the forest, likely with Naien in tow if a ways behind her.

By the time she reached her destination, whatever happened was already done. She skidded to a halt in a tattered, damaged campsite. The smell of Iron and ozone filled her nostrils as her brain picked up the pace even farther, adrenaline kicking in as she examined the campsite. There was a lot of food here they could use to survive, but Koga had told them not to eat any they found so she ignored it outright, instead trying to deduce what had caused the screaming. She looked in the tent and immediately gagged, traumatized. She had never seen death this close up before and that was a rather grizzly way to come across it. She found herself haunted by the staring eyes, the horrible smell, and the spattered red blood. Somewhere in the upper regions of her brain, something registered: Animals don't make marks like that... but her body lagged far beyond her brain.

She stood, frozen, for far too many seconds before closing the tent back up and looking extremely queasy. Naien was likely around by this point so she would almost mutely warn him not to look at the tent as she focused hard on not throwing up. Ten seconds went by. fzzt. She looked at the sword, then back at the tent. fzzt. There was something off here... fzzt... click! her eyes widened. "Animals... don't make marks like that." she said aloud, "Someone must have done this... probably one of the escaped criminals..." she had sucked in air, about to call Koga, when she stopped. No. They would do something, Naien and she. They would help Sunagakure- not as kids, but as Ninja. "Naien." she said, eyeing the dragmarks heading towards the buzzing noise, "We've got to stop whatever guy or guys did this from hurting anyone else. Are you with me?" she sounded oddly resolute, though her voice still twinged with green. That image was going to see her in her nightmares tonight, that was for sure.

 

[Susumu Naien]

Naien walked into the campsite and looked around. Yumiko waved at him to stay back, but it seemed mostly about what was in the tent so he ignored it for the most part. Campfire and food. He had no idea what was cooking, though. However, it had been cooking over a fire so it was probably the safest food in the camp. Naien ignored the rest of the food. Should be easy enough to find other food wandering around out here.

Tools and medical supplies were laying around. Good. He had little on his person apart from his whistle so this was a good time to go scavenging. Knives, rope, wire, pouches and bags, and a first aid kit. Good for a starter. Smoke bombs? Might be useful. Paper charms? Not sure what they do, but paper can be useful. Best to stop there. Travel light, move fast. Naien can easily hide away the rest of the supplies for later anyway.

There was a good deal of blood around the camp. Enough to consider its owner more than likely dead in his mind. Looking into the tent he saw the dead man. Stab wounds. Cause of death maybe? They looked pretty mortal. The smell of the corpse was strong, but not due to rotting. Too soon for that. A violent death like this? Most likely the bowls had emptied and the main source of the stench.

Backing away from the tent he gave the campsite another look, sticking close to the ground this time. Drag marks, footsteps, more blood, this time leading out of the camp. The ever present buzzing in the air seemed to get stronger in the direction they go in.

That buzzing... it wasn't particularly loud, but... it unnerved Naien. He never heard anything like it before. An unknown sound in an unknown terrain with an unknown assailant roming around. The entire situation set his senses on edge.

Yumiko's pleas brought his attention back to the issue on hand. She wanted to chase down whoever did this and try to prevent them from doing so again. Naien didn't even need to think on his answer. He looked around him as he replied.

"No. Dangerous person. Dangerous buzzing. Killed stronger, more skilled people. Survival first. Man also said so." Naien then looked Yumiko in the eye. "Aihara-san. Ninjas don't let themselves get killed. Ninjas are also human."

 

[Enatsu]

It seemed as though the children were daring heading to the sound of screams. Upon this campsite they found many things some scarier than the next. Yumiko had observed the site throwing up at the scene but not faltering in observation. Naien seemed to be more composed not feeling much for the dead man in the tent. His attitude could be seen as cold for a child possibly a prodigy for killing in the future. The young Naien would gather equipment from the camp, smart move. Yumiko would begin to plot that they needed to stop the killers, a brave and bold one. Although Naien seemed to object against feeling that they were in over their heads.

The buzzing noise had caught them both, only intensifying the sounds it made. In due time the young ones would hear the voice of a woman trailing off in the distance. She sounded as if she was in pain and yelled out for help softly. It was saddening to them most likely, what would they do? This voice followed the trail of drag marks and footprints, clearly pointing to that direction as the one needed to find the victim. However Naien had brought up a good point about getting themselves killed. Would it be smart to turn back? Call for their sensei? or pursue the tracks. It wasn't too late they could definitely gather the material here, and go back to the other trail with animal tracks if they remembered which way they came. Or they could pursue these footsteps and come to the potential aide. However no matter what there was evidence that someone else was out here.

If the young ones choose to turn back and go towards the spring they will find the same clues as before. However there will be boot tracks along the river as well and a small bonfire set up yet not lit.

If they choose to pursue the soft whimpers of a girl in trouble they will come follow the drag marks and footsteps until they reach the body of the decapitated woman. Her head would be on a spike with fresh tears that had just ran from her eyes. It was clear that she had been killed sometime in between her yelps and their decision making. How would the young ones feel? What conclusion would they come to? Would they need their sensei or could they stomach this and move on?

After careful observation Naien and Yumiko would find footprints leading to yet another road way off course of the spring. It's possible they wouldn't be able to find their way back with ease, could they craft a way to trail themselves back to this area? On the new road there would be more footprints to bring them to yet another camp where two men sat bloodied and eating food as if they were celebrating. There were wires all around their camp with bells attached to them serving as some sort of perimeter. However if the children climbed the trees they'd be able to avoid setting off the wire. However would normal climbing stone like trees be plausible? It was clear their easiest option was to use their chakra to stick to the trees but had they ever learned that before? They could always try and use the daggers Koga gave them but it wasn't a sure thing they'd work.

If the children managed to get close enough without detection they'd be able to hear the conversation of the two men. However they had to get closer first.

This is about choices, and judgement. What do you think is the best thing to do? How do you go about executing your best plan? While one road may present options is it truly the best thing to do? Use your resources and don't be afraid to throw your twist onto things. Just not too much twisting ;-)

 

[Yumiko]

Yumiko snarled upon hearing the crying sounds. "Fine." she said, "I'll go myself. Coward." it wasn't really fair to Naien who was making the observably smart decision, but nonetheless Yumiko took off running a second time. If Naien wanted to focus on the lesson, that was fine, but this wasn't about the lesson to Yumiko anymore. She followed the footprints and the drag marks at top speed, but once again, she was too slow and came upon the body of a decapitated woman with fresh tears on her face. That meant only one thing; whoever had done it was close.

She could almost physically feel the trauma seeping into her psyche. For all her training she still wasn't fast enough to be of use to anyone? She almost broke down crying herself, but the adrenaline had her feeling numb. "I'm sorry..." she said to the woman. Who had she been? Why was she out here? What was her name, her hopes, her dreams? Yumiko's sadness quickly turned to anger. She found more footprints. She started running again. The only sound she could really hear was the buzzing and the sound of her throbbing heartbeat. Faster. She urged herself on. Faster. she somehow managed to pick up speed. FASTER!

She didn't have any time at all to notice the booby trap, but it didn't even matter. She had built up so much momentum, she couldn't have stopped even if she had been that observant. What she did see was the men, just as she felt the wire press into her body, the bells jingling even as she burst through it, losing some but not all of her speed. She was so amped on adrenaline that she wasn't even thinking consciously anymore- everything was reflex. Emotion. She leapt when she felt she was close enough, giving into the hype in her chest and roaring, "MURDER THIS YOU CREEP!" moments from impact. She extended her leg in the hardest kick she could bring herself to make at whoever was closest to her. (Not sure how combat works so extremely not sure how I go about doing that)

 

[Susumu Naien]

Naien ran. He ran as fast as he could. He didn't think Yumiko would react as badly to his answer as she did. That was stupid on his part. No time to think on it. No time to even dwell on the beheaded woman along the way. He needed to catch up with her and he needed to do so now. Easier said than done, though. She was fast. He couldn't afford to lag behind, though.

Yumiko was Naien's friend. Probably his closest friend. Heck, maybe even his only friend at this point. Naien's looks and demenor didn't inspire much friendship when he first arrived to the village. Yumiko didn't seem to care, though. For whatever reason, she decided to spend time with him whenever she wasn't training. He was greatful for those moments together, even if he didn't show it too well. He cared for their friendship and that was part of the reason why he said what he did earlier.

And so for that reason Naien gave chase after Yumiko. She wasn't hard to follow, even with the lead she had. She had thrown all stealth to the wind and had left an easy to track trail behind her. The buzzing, though... The buzzing was starting to get to him. There was something wrong about it. What was the meaning? The purpose? The source? Should he be plugging his ears? If he could only catch up to her before she did something rash...

Too late. By the time he managed to catch sight of her, Yumiko had charged headlong into the enemy's camp, defenses and dangers be damned. There was no time to think, and no sense in both of them being immediately captured. Naien immediately tried to take advantage of the commotion that Yumiko had caused to dive into cover and hopefully stay out of sight long enough to take one of them off guard. Perhaps some tinkering with a few of the knives, a length of wire, a couple of smoke bombs, and some rocks...

 

[Enatsu]

Yumiko was brave but the effort was not an intelligent one. While she had the courage of a giant, her power was smaller in comparison. Yumiko's speed was abnormal for a child and her foot swung out in full extension trying to pin an attack on her enemies. Although they heard the bells they both did not have time to react to her properly. This showed signs of a warrior training their body and these "normal" men were simple bandits with a murderous streak picking off refugees where they could.

The young kunoichi's foot connected with one of the bandits squarely knocking him off his ass however it was not enough power to do permanent damage. The second bandit was already drawing his blade as he tackled young Yumiko and elbowed her in the cheek. The bandit would pin her left arm down and press his blade against her neck. "Stupid Cunt! Do you know who you're messing with!? We follow the Cabal! Don't you know, anyone who does will soon become gods!" The disgusting bandit was raving about their future as the other one came up to his feet. He held his head and pulled a club from his back walking towards Yumiko's right leg. "Stupid brat... You kick me!? I'll make you regret it, show me her leg." the other bandit would shimmy himself over as the brute brought the club down without hesitation. The blunt weapon would meet Yumiko's foreleg as the sound of bone snapping followed. Her right leg was fractured, luckily not fully broken but if the oaf got a second swing it definitely would be.

Naien was hiding some distance away watching the events. While he didn't have enough time to react to the first swing anymore hesitation would definitely cause Yumiko further harm. Two opponents, both hovering over her, and her right leg was messed up, what would he do?

Even though her leg was broken there were still options, what else could Yumiko do in this situation? When the bandit shifted he left her arm exposed meaning she had enough of an opening to reach into her belt pouch. Even though Koga only gave her some tools did she already have her own? What more could this young warrior accomplish in such a predicament.


-Yumiko your right leg is fractured making it a bit more difficult for you to move. However you have acccess to your belt pouch with the possibility of catching them off guard.
-Naien you are stealthed to the enemy they haven't caught on to you yet. However your hesitation to help Yumiko has caused her damage.

 

[Enatsu]

Spoiler

A tidbit from an OOC conversation with a participant.
"I shall not continue"

So with that I'll be ending this class in spite of holding anyone else up.

Koga felt the illusion's changes as he used the Crippled jutsu on Yumiko. It seemed that hope was going out the window as the young Naien hid although his option was the smarter one yet he did not try to react. Yumiko was brave and Naien was a coward or at least those were his final assumptions on the two. Rather than allowing this to continue Koga would begin to emit another sound wave one more calming. Through the ancient scrolls they had found while not descriptive the Hashigaki used songs based off their emotions. It gave no detail to the Song Genjutsu, but he at least had a base. This class was practice for his genjutsu and these children's fortitude to trauma. He expected them to follow the screams but rush headfirst into the situation. Yumiko and Naien would awake, in the same positions they were before Koga "ran off". The melody would be melodic in their ears, and soothe whatever mental trauma they might have been experiencing. This healing song, was based off of positive emotions and what happier ones could Koga have than the thoughts of his mother. However he would not be singing it instead he'd be channeling it into soft words for those who wished to hear.


"Awake are you? How was it dealing with those situations, not easy I presume? Well I guess I should explain myself. What you just endured was considered a Song Genjutsu. I lulled your minds, with my voice bringing you to a daze and giving you this false but very plausible situation. Now give yourself some time and taken in the positive tone of my voice. It will help with the recovery while there's no "physical damage" I'm sure you are both still mentally shaken up. I must applaud you for heading towards the screams although either path would have taken you to danger you chose to try to help those in need. The problem arises when you ran out headfirst to seek the criminals. There's a chance the two of you could have taken them down. However you lacked teamwork and had you both combined your skills there's a good chance you'd have been successful. Yumiko while you were brave and headstrong you set off their alert trap, and Naien while you had the right idea about taking cover you failed to help your fellow teammate out. It brings me to the conclusion that you both still have much to learn.

What I gave you was simply a taste of the shinobi reality, and it was to teach you what you should or should not do. Instead of rushing in you should have taken the time to around the trap and listened in on your targets. It may have given you useful information or possibly they could have went to sleep. You could have even took some of those berries off the bushels and tested to see if they were poisonous using your enemies as the guinea pigs. There were many ways to go about this, but in all honesty, the main front should have been stealth. In these harsh times we shinobi must move quietly and completely erase our presence if at all possible. We cannot allow an enemy to catch wind of us but if they do it means we have to adapt to the situation and reconfigure our plans. However you don't rush head first into the enemy unless you have certainty that you will succeed. Even then you must second guess your certainty because you never know what tricks the enemy may be holding. These people we face could be anywhere at any time, and if you rush into them without thought you may wind up dead. I didn't really need any help hunting, but I did wish to show you some more truth to the shinobi world. Next time you rush forward you must think while acting. Ninja are on their feet and ready to pursue their objective but with success in mind. Deception, and subterfuge are good elements to make use of. For example you could have used the transformation jutsu to become a seductress and trick them to letting their guard down or getting close. It's quite possible you could have struck from behind slitting their throat and when one of them is caught off guard the other one of you strike. You must be deadly and you must be swift otherwise it will be you dead and not them."


Koga would begin to walk back into the direction they came showing the children the way out of the forest. "Other than the combat portion, you did well taking care of the observation. You did not touch the poisonous food or rather ingest it. Otherwise, I'd have never been able to let you go onto the next part. Survival is something you learn by experience and I hope you both received just some of that. Class well done for the most part, I'm sure Zetsumo will be pleased to see you Yumiko, you should tag along Naien I'm sure you'll get some experience out of combat and physical training from that man as well. I've spent my time out here clearing a bit of the road up and keeping tabs on the activity. If you go straight down this road and head to the first eastern street you'll come to a back road that will lead you back home. I have some kinsmen helping to watch the road but I can't get too far from the forest. Godspeed children, godspeed." With that he would bid them farewell allowing them to keep whatever he gave them for their belt pouches. At least this way they could get a jump-start in basic equipment. It would bode well for the children in the end. Koga however would walk back towards the forest for his hunting had only just begun.

[Class End]
[MFT]
[Rewards will be worked out]