[Marsh Country] Improv [Shizuka & Siu Tutor]

[Shieo]

One might advise exercising caution when traveling through the country of Marsh. It is no wonder why either, given its rich history that frequently dwells in the shadows of Kumogakure no Sato; it carries that of a sorrowful story of ravaging wars and conflict that left the country in shambles and scarred to no end. Thus it's people, and land was left to fester in their rotten wounds and simply accept the fate that was handed to them... Because of this, their forces devoted to combat were nothing short of guerrilla; leaving honor, tradition and any morals at their doorsteps. Making any travelers of any origin and purpose, at the mercy of those who bore decades of pent-up aggression.

"Troublesome..." Leading us to the oddity, that muttered scornfully under his breath. Perched alone at the center of a rickety bridge that hung over a gently coursing river below; the color was clear and undisturbed; one could make quick conclusions that it wasn't being used by any society nearby. While he sat there, in the lulling sounds of nature and life being prioritized, wielding what could be distinguished as a worn-out fishing rod and a line that strung down to the water- gently bobbing to the flow of the river.
He was adorned with no initially identify marks or attire. With hide garments, miscellaneous pieces of cloth; and what appeared to be alabaster white scales acting as what could be assumed as make-shift armor strewn about his torso. Atop his head rest a simple and ragged Kasa. And beside him, a simple travel pack; which too- appeared to have seen days far better. Upon closer inspection, he had a Kumogakure mark embroidered on his upper left sleeve.</GLOW>

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<GLOW glow="#2E8B57">
Lifting his free hand to his nose, to scratch at the base. An expression that could be described as no less than dour; but an unusual sense of content that wore to his facial muscles. With attention affixed to the lure below, a number of moments passed without cause. Until it slipped below the surface, with a 'bloop!'; the man quickly began the process of reeling the aquatic species towards the open air. Drawn to the conflict between rod and fish, he drew into a moment of fierce intensity. The air around him exhumed that of battle. And in a swoop of victorious momentum, a sizable fish erupted out.
With nimble movements, he had wrapped the wire around his palm and drew the fish up to his persons. Slipping his index and middle-finger into its gills to examine it, with a quick shock to ensure it's timely death through the use of ninjutsu. It was then... That he looked to his peripherals to see a pair of individuals, rustling through the unmarked path; where grass overgrew and everything seemed to have forgotten the existence of man. All save the bridge he sat on.

"Who the..." It appears, we've got familiar company.

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[Senju Shizuka]

As they swiftly moved through the dense vegetation that was the result of the country’s war torn history, and the lack of decent paths that came with it, Shizuka thought to have heard water nearby. Distracted from the little drawings on her notepad that she had been filling with different creatures and previously unknown to her plants, she accelerated a bit to the side before excitingly noticing a bridge not too far away. A lone man could be seen finish from where she stood. Freezing the moment he looked up she tensed a bit in case of it turning out to be someone hostile. Perhaps it was for the best that she was the one to appear first because Siu was more experienced, and much stronger than her in general, so her being stealthy could be in their advantage shou-

“Huh?..” she exhaled with some disbelief. Slowly her eyes narrowed while all of her thoughts came to an abrupt stop. The familiar face glued to the tall frame was that of Shieo. “Sensei!”

The Senju girl widely grinned before waving toward the one who had taught her to mold her chakra in a more efficient way. Without considering anything at all she found herself hopping over the small stream of water - she had been right! - and make her way through the long grass on the other side. The curving riverbank, if one could call it that, was a better option than the struggle they’ve been having so far with the branches on the other side. Even if the bank was a bit muddy.

Realizing soon enough that she could simply follow the water, she jumped on the surface in an attempt to show him her progress. The water wrinkled but allowed her to stand, chakra flowing into the surface as she walked forward.

“How’s the fishing working out?”

A quick look down let her to believe that some fish didn’t quite like being ‘walked on’, and so, in an attempt to save him the time of waiting for them to calm down, she crouched, making the signs for the electroshock before letting the energy into the water. Alright, it did cause her toes to go numb and she had to bite her lip to hide the fact that she had hurt herself a bit as well. More shock than anything else, but the fish she did see float toward the bottom of the stream had her shakingly grab them.

Two.. three.. her fingers had turned out to be a bit fried as well, she struggled with the slippery creatures before giving up after the fourth one and making her way to the bridge nearby. Dropping them on the ground she sat down next to them and awkwardly wiggled her toes. Laughing a bit, knowing they probably knew what was going on, she showed them a lazy smile.

“That went fast, right?”


**
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[Siu]

While the seclusion away from civilization could perhaps be viewed as a positive circumstance for the young shinobi duo's journey, both for meditative reasons and due to the fact that not all the residents of Marsh Country were most famous for their 'hospitality' towards foreigners, it also posed a certain struggle--the lack of obvious pathways and road signs.
Maneuvering through the dense blades of grass, map in hand, the older girl was struggling with proper navigation. She had not been giving much attention to her younger companion, given the fact that the Senju usually was one who kept mostly to herself; managing to keep herself busy through her own various doings, such as drawing on her notepad. Rarely had she proved herself to be one requiring constant supervision due to some spontaneous act of suddenly jumping into danger without rational thought or consent; Or so Siu had assumed. That was, until--

“Sensei!”

The older girl quickly turned her head at the sudden exclamation. "Eh?" She noised with a baffled head tilt, before watching her companion excitingly run off into the unknown. As her eyes traveled towards Shizuka's intended destination, great panic immediately came upon her.
"Oi!" The older girl began to call out in disapproval, fearful of her younger companion's safety; but it was too late, Shizuka was long gone. Sensei? The two had never been trained by, neither knew anyone in this foreign country. What was she doing?!
Siu narrowed her eyes, attempting to get a clearer view of the highly regarded stranger. It would be then, that she would recognize something on the man's left sleeve; something that looked 'very' familiar to her. "A Kumogakure symbol?!" She inwardly exclaimed. What was someone else from her village doing way out here?

While Shizuka wasted little to no time greeting and approaching the stranger, Siu continued to observe from afar with great caution. Finding herself witnessing the young Senju suddenly electrocuting the very water she stood upon, however, the older kunoichi mentally facepalmed. She grieved at the thought of having to explain to the Academy just how one of the students they'd consented to accompany the soon-to-be-Chuunin on what she'd convinced them to be a relatively safe mission in a foreign country, still somehow managed to electrocute themselves to death. Any hope of trust and future consent from the Academy could very likely be kissed goodbye after that.

Eventually, Siu would finally be able to more clearly distinguish the older man's facial features; And as she did, her pupils suddenly dialated as her eyes widened with great surprise.

"That's...." She began in almost utter disbelief.

"..Out here?!"

Finally stepping out from behind the thick grass to fully reveal herself, she called out from the distance. "Instructor...Shieo?!"

"What...how...'why'?! What are you doing all the way out here?!"

It looked like him alright, save for the desperate need for a decent trim and good shower. The young girl had not initially recognized him without his usual Academy attire. It had been so long since she last saw the man. They had not trained together since her early beginnings as a Genin.
Yet, though the two had not seen each other for such an extensive period of time, the influence of the dour eyed instructor's lessons still remained fervently burning within the growing kunoichi's heart as if they had been taught yesterday.

As another possibly suddenly came to mind, however, the girl once again became greatly concerned. "Wait.." She began again. "Did you..go missing?!"

[WC=581 l Post 1/5]

 

[Shieo]

Dumbfounded silence is the best way to describe Shieo, through the quick reveal of one of his students- and inevitably the second. While he sat there, with a dead fish dangling by his finger; the rest of his body remained of relative motionlessness; legs remained crossed and the general air of his person's left stilled.

As Shizuka made her way carefully towards his position, with a hop-skip and an effortless water-walk later. She had stood below him some ways, his attention was in-effect; entirely on her for the duration of her shenanigans.

“How’s the fishing working out?”

Given her motions, he could only fathom the outcome of the next few motions the young-girl made. Witnessing the electrocution, a defiant scorching light that erupted through the water like claws for the hunger. Followed by the corpses of the fish that lived happily in the waters below. This only dawned the dour look that Shieo wore evermore; causing him to exhaust a momentary and audible 'huuuugh..' a sigh, of course. Without much of a word from him, as he watched her awkwardly fish the now pre-cooked fish out of the water. And struggling to do so with some efforts of numbness.

“That went fast, right?”

Placing his own fish on his lap; he too shifted the angle of his fishing rod and rested it beside his form. "You know... I already had a fish-- And the act of fishing is more than simply catching to eat. It's relaxing." Reaching up, he scratched the tip of his nose. Hearing the uproar of the other individual in vicinity, he drew his focus over to Siu; two recognizable forms in the end. It wasn't as if he wasn't aware of her presence formerly either; the world came in two shades to the man.

"Instructor...Shieo?!"
"What...how...'why'?! What are you doing all the way out here?!"

There was an ever brief moment of pause, from all parties as Siu had slowly been formulating her own thoughts to articulate verbally; her expression only emphasized this notion. Leaning Shieo to the incline of remaining silent until she had properly voiced everything.

"Wait.. -- Did you..go missing?!"

Given the questions, lead him to merely arch a brow inquisitively. Drawing his left hand up to rest his head atop; the elbow propped to his knee. "I'd ask you both the same question-- About being out here; but I think that'd be setting myself up for disappointment. -- As for missing, I figure I'm doing a rather poor job at it if I were. Wearing the village insignia and being found by two pip-squeaks; though you both have a vivid imagination, so I'll grant some closure. No I'm not missing... Just a vacation of sorts." Shieo's attention would idly drift across the horizon, scanning for anything. A precautionary measure that he'd grown used to his whole life.

"While you two being here, complicates the whole vacation aspect. I s'pose it'd be inappropriate to tell you to scdaddle or for me to simply take off." Giving a roll of his eyes, he continued. "There shouldn't be many people out in these parts, so if neither of you has it in your minds to leave as soon as you've arrived. You're welcome to pull up a stump. Though-- Shizuka, you should tread with more caution. These are hostile lands; you also injured yourself- Carelessness will get you a quick trip to the netherworld." Without much pause, his attention shifted from Shizuka as he spoke about her, to Siu. "And you, keep better tow of your subordinates. I see and sense no others with you; making you the captain of your little rag-tag." Falling to puffing his cheeks up, having given knee-jerk scolds. He turned his eyes to Shizuka, and with his right hand motioned her up to the bridge. "Even if you decide to leave, come here; I'll at least get your wounds tended." Having moved his form to his backpack to fetch some cloth and what could be discerned as some herbs, crushed into a paste.

He muttered as he prepared the tools. "On second thought; why are you two out here?"

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[Senju Shizuka]

Relaxing? She pondered on that while gently blowing on her fingertips. The last part wasn’t really helping if she was honest; the tingling sensation had turned into a low, persistent burning. Meanwhile, her toes were still somewhat numb, however, she could definitely live with that because not feeling anything was better than being in pain.

Dropping the studying of her digits in favor of giving her attention to Siu, Shizuka turned a little to face her ‘leader’ of sorts whose face was a mask of surprise and shock. At least she wasn’t angry with her, yet. Not that she had really seen Siu been actually mad. Now that she thought about it the emotions displayed by her superior were mostly variations of calmness. Even when annoyed or strict she still managed to keep it cool. At the moment, however, she looked somewhat ruffled; it’s why Shizuka kept listening.

The moment the word ‘missing’ rolled from the kunoichi’s lips the Senju froze. Eyes widening at the possibility of their previous instructor abandoning the village and becoming a rogue whose life would exist from hiding, running, and killing whenever necessary. Well, the idea was horrible and quite frightening. If he didn’t want to be found or considered them to be an enemy then he would surely want to take them out. And she was very close to him. Too close.

Gasping, she came to life, turning to Shieo with her fist coming up to do.. what, exactly?

Fortunately, he made no sudden movements, and aside from that even showed their village’s sign. It caused a huge weight to slide from Shizuka’s shoulder, and she grinned stupidly, dropping her fist into her lap and sitting there with relief on her face until his lecture started. The remarks were true and had her shift uncomfortably, though, it wasn’t as if she was dying. The burning would fade with time and then... Ugh, she nodded, accepting his help by taking off her shoes and offering both toes and fingers for the treatment.

Letting Siu deal with the ‘why are you here’-part, she took the time to think about the older girl as a ‘captain’. She led them, it was true. And only now did it occur to Shizuka how little she knew both about the mission and the land they were in for quite a while now. In all honesty, she had been blindly trusting Siu in knowing what to do whenever something tough came up. Somehow it had been the natural thing to do. Siu could fix things, Siu could protect them, right? Right!

With newfound admiration, she watched the older girl while waiting for the paste to be applied to her skin.


**
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[Siu]

"No I'm not missing... Just a vacation of sorts."

"Va..cation?" The kunoichi curiously mumbled in response, her facial expression looking somewhat confused from the explanation. Vacation; Shinobi could..do that?

The minor scolding caused the young girl to shift her view downwards, turning red with embarrassment. Fortunately for the duo, in this case, the spotted stranger had been someone whom the two were both well familiar with and wished them no ill-will upon them. However, if the scenario had been entirely different, and the two had come across a more dangerous individual, or even worse, Shieo actually 'had' gone missing, then the outcome would have unlikely been a lot more tragic.
And if Shizuka had suddenly lost her life in such a scenario, who would be the one to blame? Wasn't it Siu's responsibility to ensure the younger kunoichi was safe? Hadn't she been the one whom had requested permission for Shizuka to accompany her in the first place? Deeply perceiving the weight of her responsibility, the kunoichi heart began to feel more strongly burdened.

"On second thought; why are you two out here?" Came the golden question, causing the girl to finally look up from her shame.

"We..." The Genin began, shifting her focus towards the bag on her side as she rummaged its contents. "..Are on a mission!" She eventually would inform as she pulled out the scroll and unrolled its contents before the man, as if he'd possessed some form of superhuman-eyesight which allowed him actually read the contents of the scroll from so afar.

Leaping about the area in order to make her way to the other Kumogakure shinobi, Siu arose from her landing on the bridge to face the older man attending to Shizuka with a faint smile; Still somewhat tense from her previous emotions. "We are retrieving artifacts and historical documents for the archeologist and museums of Marsh." She further revealed in a suddenly more solemn, almost military-speech like tone. Now better able to examine her Instructor's rather ragged features up close, her expression shifted into what appeared to be a look of concern "Instructor Shieo.." She began again, arching an eyebrow. "How long have you been away from Kumogakaru?"

[WC=384 l Post 2/5]

 

[Shieo]

It would be a bit foolish of Shieo simply not take notice of the rising fist; especially so as he had been turning back to face Shizuka about the wounds. Only causing him to raise his left eye-brow ever so slightly,
both as a measure to indicate the inquisitive side of 'what would you do' and simply the matter that it brought light to where they were in a scale of trusting him. If only a fraction of a moment later, did the young student wiggle out their fingers and toes for attention. 'Hauhh...' exhuming a sigh, from both the amusement; but ridiculousness of the whole scene before him. His facial expression only helped further this feeling; as he wore his usual half-lidded dour look once more.

Carefully he took the paste and placed it in and around the affected areas of her feet. Afterwards he carefully wrapped clean bandage around the scorched pieces of flesh from the lightning and shock damage. This followed when applying it to her hands and fingers; the paste itself was cold to the touch- surprisingly, only to become more of a surprise when the bandages were applied it started almost a burning sensation- Not enough to hurt.
But plenty to become aware that it was heating up. Worse off, the smell was something of a manure scent- like just coming off of a farm. "You should try to be more careful, be cognizant of your environment and what you're using on and around it." Afterwards, he finished tying off the last of the bandages.

Turning his attention to the dumbfounded Siu in the distance. Who made an effort to explain their presence at a distance; only drawing him to squint in disapproval of her actions. Thankfully, she found herself correcting such after she too- realized the error in the way.

A mission? Strange to send two youth out here so carelessly. Unless, of course. It was intentional for some ulterior motive, hm. the two that occupied Shieo's mind in unison seemed to find themselves discussing in mused silence. All while Siu had made her way up and onto the bridge afore them, giving him ample vision to see the scroll. Having moved the fish on his lap aside; and stood to do just that. ". . I see- And they sent--" He had paused, to examine Siu up close with an inquisitive gaze. "You? To lead?" Drawing his hand to his chin, he still stood quite towering in comparison to the two youthful kunoichi.

"An interesting event no less." At this point, it was clear he had come to his own conclusions; which the tone of his droll voice gave way that he was comfortable with the mental outcome. During all this,
Siu and Shizuka were plenty capable of identifying a number of minor; but clear changes of his being.

"How long have you been away from Kumogakure?"

"Oh-- Awhile, I suppose? I'd wager a few months at the least, but due to some untimely circumstances. I'm still somewhat gathering my bearings." Awhile indeed; the mid-twenties man had since acquired a newfound scar that stroke carefully down the right side of his face, from forehead to chin. His hair had grown much in the time since they had last seen him, it was somewhat greasy from long-wear and little care,
which was further emphasized by the rough texture it held and the matter that he had a large majority of it bundled up into a pony-tail to avoid having to care for it. In mention of his time out, was granted even further by the matter that his skin was darkened ever so slightly- perhaps from simply sitting out in the sun for too long.
Perhaps the most foreign to him however; was the choice attire. It was mostly animal hide, with patches of cloth and some shinobi fatigues; and on the outer wear, was scales that shone in alabaster and looked almost mythical. Wherever he had come from, appeared at first glance to have brought some interesting tidings.

"So. Historical artifacts and documents? They're already getting you two kids into stealing the belongings of Marsh?-- Well, can't say I blame them. This place isn't entirely kind to us Shinobi, or Kumogakure especially." Having stepped back and started gathering his belongings. Wrapping the fish he caught in cloth and into his bag. Taking care to sling the bag over his shoulder he got both of the kunoichi in his vision. "Although it is I imagine, your first leading mission Siu. I can't help but find there is some room for you to improve... Come, I'm gonna go find somewhere to set my camp. Out in the open like this is a recipe to get attacked in my sleep. As payment for ruining my hobby, and making me use some of my herbs; you two are being volunteered to set it up." With little notice, he started walking down the bridge; opposite to the way they came. Seemingly further into the country of Marsh; one could assume he was headed for a small forest in the horizon. Plenty of time to talk in distance it seemed.

"By the way, you two stink. You should bath." Hopping off the raggedy bridge, he started shuffling through the grass at a casual pace. Somewhat expecting the two to tow in line.

"Bahamut, scout the distance." Having muttered just loudly enough for the two to hear if they were paying attention. And shortly followed a dark glow of chakra erupted from his form, firing into the skies as a dragon of monumental proportions manifested. In a beat of its wings, it soared incredibly high into the skies; just past the clouds and enough to peer below. It headed towards the forest.

Having turned over his shoulder, to confirm whether they were in-fact in tow. And if they were, he would inquire. "So it's been awhile. What have you two been doing lately?"

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[Senju Shizuka]

Her nose twitched in response to the weird smell coming from the ointment he smeared over her skin. The coolness was pleasant, though. Unfortunately, the nice sensation didn’t last for long. Soon enough the odd burning was back, not too painful, but enough to keep her slightly frowny and a tiny bit moody. At least the bandages kept the smell away from her, a little. She planned to not touch her face anytime soon. Hmfp, she mimicked Shieo’s sigh in her own way but knew that nobody was really to blame for this outcome. He was right, she would need to pay some more attention to what did and didn’t go well together. Another thing she planned to do was get rid of these bandages and the smell once they would have a place to relax. Then, slowly, she would take her time to heal the bits of raw skin.

“You look like a wild man from the jungle, Shieo-san.” Adjusting her backpack she was back onto her feet when he moved, looking to the side to make sure that Siu was coming along as well. In the end, she had been sent here under Siu’s watchful eye, wing, or whatever, what mattered was that she was supposed to follow her orders, not his. It was weird, she realized while standing there, in the middle of nowhere, far away from home, somewhere in Marsh, but on this mission, Siu was her commander no matter who joined them.

Tracing the odd scales that made up a part of his clothing, she shook her head. Could this be a part of one of those lizards they had in the jungle? Did Marsh have those? Had he killed one of them? Or had he robbed someone from their self-made clothing?

“Eh?” She turned, torn from her reverie by the comment of having to do something like setting up a camp. A quick look at Siu was meant to make things clear but then he dared to call them smelly. “Hey! You’re the one who’s smeared this weird stuff over my fingers. Besides, I bet you’re just smelling yourself, me and Siu smell just fine!”

Ready to stand her ground should it become necessary her eyes widened beyond any normal proportions when something demon-like appeared from out of nowhere. No, wait, it wasn’t out of thin air that it was created. The colossus was coming from Shieo! Dark, glowing aura seemed to burn the sky itself before spreading its wings and heading off into the distance.

Unsure if her heart was still beating she found herself left behind a couple of steps. Still confused, somewhat afraid, but mostly shocked at the sudden display of.. whatever this had been, she pointed bluntly toward the figure getting smaller on the horizon while loudly exclaiming the following.

“What the hell was that?!”


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[Siu]

"Months?!" The young girl murmured with a gasp of surprise. The older shinobi had really been out alone in the wilds without a companion or support like Siu had for that long of a period?
At the man's mention of stealing Marsh's belongings, however, Siu's face shifted into a rather baffled expression. She had never considered her assigned mission to be anything akin to 'stealing'. As far as she had assumed, she had been performing the good deed of assisting the country in recovering and preserving their historical heritage and culture. Then came the dissaproving assessment of her leadership capabilities, which the kunoichi couldn't help but to look downwards again in response to, ashamed.

Suddenly, the two would find themselves 'involuntarily-volunteered' to assist the older shinobi in setting up his camp as compensation for the little commotion they had caused, which had disturbed the vacationing shinobi's peace in addition to draining his resources; Though, Siu actually didn't mind the case. For her, this was a rare and precious opportunity to see and spend time with her instructor once again after such a long period of time. A nod of consent in response to Shizuka's verifying look would communicate the older girl's approval of the matter.

"By the way, you two stink. You should bath."

While the Academy student seemed rather offended by the statement, opting to verbally retaliate in response to the suddenly unexpected accusation, Siu could be witnessed bringing her upper arm closer to her nose. Taking a few audible sniffs, a rather concerned expression was apparent upon her face. "Do I..really smell that bad?" She inwardly stressed.

Bahamut, scout the distance."

The kunoichi's eyes followed the abnormal eruption of dark-glowing chakra as went into the air, observing as the familiar creature eventually fully manifested itself into reality, and took off soaring through the skies. Taking into consideration her usually easily startled nature, the kunoichi was surprisingly calm and collected throughout the abnormal phenomenon.
If this were her first time witnessing the sight of the massive behemoth, Siu would have very likely reacted similarly to the younger girl; In fact, in the past, her very first experience and confrontation with the massive entity had even caused her to tear. At this point, however, Siu was so familiar with the entity, that its appearance no longer unsettled her as much. She was well aware by now that, as long as the Instructor held no ill will against the two younger girls, then there would was little to nothing to worry about concerning the creature.
An amused smirk was apparent upon the kunoichi's face as she began to address the younger girl's rather shocked response "It's Instructor Shieo's Persona." She informed with a reassuring tone. The older kunoichi's rather short an undescriptive explanation, however, very likely would end up 'raising' more' questions rather than actually answering any, considering Shizuka probably had no idea what a 'Persona' even was.

"So it's been awhile. What have you two been doing lately?"

The girl noised an elongated 'Hmmm' as she went into a deep muse concerning the question, looking upward in order to better gather her thoughts. "Instructor Shieo," She would eventually begin after some time, "I..passed the Chuunin exams. And--and i'm training to become a Medical-Nin!" She informed him somewhat excitedly, in a manner similar to when children attempt to receive acknowledgment from their parents after performing some kind of achievement.

[WC=598 l Post 3/5]

 

[Shieo]

“You look like a wild man from the jungle, Shieo-san."

With only a mere roll of his eyes in retort to Siu's comment of months; and Shizuka's own, he continued "That is in-fact what happens when you are out in the wilds for several months. But I digress." Despite not making much progress Shizuka had continued with her stray comments.

“Hey! You’re the one who’s smeared this weird stuff over my fingers. Besides, I bet you’re just smelling yourself, me and Siu smell just fine!"

Granting an amused smirk, he would give an emphasized shrug. "You had a choice to refuse; besides, it's easier for me to willfully neglect mentioning compensation. -- And I probably do, it's been a week or so since I've had a proper bath." Having cast a curious glance over his shoulder to gauge the sudden silence, yet the inevitability of them following. "It is what Siu said, it's the manifestation of sorts of my dwelling personality." He sniffed; letting that thought settle for the young-student, it had never really occurred to him that she was unfamiliar with the being. Not that it changed much.

As a few moments passed; he'd asked the question of their recent endeavors. And was met with the newfound progress of Siu, and untimely silence of Shizuka.

"Huh, well that's certainly quite the achievement. S'pose that makes you a Chūnin like me then- And Medical Ninja huh? That's admirable." Having given a thumbs up as he had turned his attention back to the distance. Continuing his pace towards the distant thicket of woods.</GLOW>

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<GLOW glow="#2E8B57">
After a passing of time, they had reached the desired location- With some rather uneventful happenings. The forest was surprisingly vacant of both human and animal interaction; withholding the fact there were still plenty of insects and the like. As they came to a rather small opening, Shieo had dropped his backpack and started unpacking some key components to a campsite, namely his tent and began setting it up. "You two can find appropriate wood and a suitable setting for a fire. And then get it started-- Shizuka, you can cook the fish. And the two of you can prepare the necessary setup for a defensible campsite together... Call it a pop-quiz. Besides, Siu you're a Chūnin right? Should be child's play." He gave something akin to a challenging smirk to the two.

Finding himself a place to sit down after finishing the setup of his single-person tent. Giving a furtive glance to the canopy of leaves above, and the general cast shows from the sun above. "I'd wager you have a couple hours of proper light to get what you need, defense the area and prep your tents." Afterwards he drew out a small leather-bound book, it looked something akin to a journal and started jotting down. "I s'pose I can make it a bit more interesting, if you pass I can show you two something neat; assuming you need any assistance with anything..."

Tapping the butt of his pencil against his chin; he gave his usual dour look towards both of them. Casting a glance to each for a paused moment. "Good luck?"

---

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[Senju Shizuka]

Slowly getting over the shock that the enormous creature had caused with its sudden appearance, and feeling relieved about it not trying to devour any of them, Shizuka silently played with the word ‘persona’. Honestly, she had no idea what the hell a ‘persona’ was. Well, aside from a huge chakra monster like.. creature. Like the one that had flown off toward the forest.

She looked up from the path they were creating, eyes narrowing because she half expected for the thing to return any second. It didn’t. Perhaps that was why she chose to be quiet for now, allowing the two older Shinobi to catch up with each other. Carefully listening now and then she felt a stinging sensation in her chest at the mentioning of Siu having passed the Chuunin exam. Meanwhile, Shizuka wasn’t even a Genin yet! The thought irked her so she returned to chewing on the persona matter and planning to poke Shieo about it once the camp was settled.

Hanging the fish on a branch nearby where Shieo was moving around she figured that the noise he made would keep it safe from any hungry birds and the like. Then was the time to gather twigs, dry leaves, and anything she thought would burn. Afterward, she silently made a little pit for the fire and dumped the wood there. The thinnest twigs and driest leaves were then formed into a cup on top of the mess. Later she would light it with a fire jutsu, but right now it was time to help Siu. Almost forgetting about the fish she had to return back and place it on top of the stone but under a thicker branch. Hopefully, no animal would be willing to jump into the little pit.

Appearing next to Siu she looked around for a moment, then asked the obvious. “Do you want me to set up the tents or would you rather have me helping over here?”

Once an answer was provided she chose to remain where she was, hesitating for a brief moment. “What’s a ‘persona’?” The question had been simmering for a while now, so she had to get it out before concentrating on the task at hand.

"Oh and," her eyes narrowed a little, she moved a step closer. "where did it go to?"


**
[1,794/1,500 || 4/5]

 

[Siu]

Though the older Chuunin's reaction may not have been what one might have considered to be the most 'animated' of responses, hearing the very word 'admirable' followed by the witnessing of a thumbs up from the older shinobi was all that was really needed for the youth's eyes to suddenly brighten with happiness and a smile to curl upon her lips; greatly joyful at having receiving a form of acknowledgement from the older man.
Observing as the instructor dropped his backpack and began making preparations for the building his tent, the kunoichi listened attentively as he issued orders. At the playful reminder of her Chuunin status and the challenging smirk, the young girl's eyes and demeanor suddenly displayed stronger determination before she provided an almost military-like bow and audible "Hai!" (Which means, 'Yes'), and dashed off into the surrounding forest.
Gathering campfire material was not anything difficult, especially with the aid of the younger academy student. After gathering what she'd considered to be an ample enough share for the younger girl to easily finish the rest of the task on her own, Siu separated from the Shizuka in order to begin preparing camp defenses. It wouldn't be long after before the casting of the Senju's fire-element jutsu finalized the completion of the first part of the duo's assignment.

Turning her attention back to the older shinobi as he began to speak again, curiously eying the leatherbound book he'd suddenly revealed, the girl's pupils sparkled with intrigue at the mention of possibly showing the duo something 'neat'. What could it possibly be? Perhaps, a new jutsu or ability or some sort? Siu had great interest in what this 'neat' thing was the older shinobi had offered if the duo successfully completed everything. Dour eyed and oftentimes unanimated the older man was; However, his trainings were always far from uninteresting.

“Do you want me to set up the tents or would you rather have me helping over here?” Inquired the younger voice in the midst of the Siu's preparations. The Genin had been in the middle of setting up ninja wire traps to compliment the ditches she had created and concealed with leaves and branches around various parts of the camp. If she had really wanted to go the fully defensive route, in order to ensure the best possibility for the camp's safety, she could have went as far as additionally setting up explosive tags. However, she feared for the well-being of any innocent animal or even individual who just so happened to accidently find themselves stumbling across the group's camp in such a scenario.
"Have you finished cooking the fish already?" The older girl curiously inquired in response, her head cocked to the side and looking somewhat surprised. Turning her attention to the open area next to the campfire for a few moments, she eventually continued on to provide an answer. "I'm okey here, I believe you can just set up the tents. I should be done by the time you set everything set up--Just make sure you don't trigger any of the traps." The kunoichi mentally paused for a moment, imagining the trouble involved in suddenly having to entangle the younger girl from ninja wire, or pull her out of one of the man-made ditches.

“What’s a ‘persona’?” Came another inquiry. "Oh and, where did it go to?"

"Hmmm," Siu mused aloud, raising a hand to her chin and looking upwards for a bit. "A 'Persona' is.." The Genin eventually began after some thought, suddenly raising a finger in order to lightly poke the student's forehead. "..You." She finished, her eyes solemnly gazing into the younger girl's for a few moments, before removing her finger and turning her attention back to setting up the ninja wire.
"Or perhaps, a part of you anyways--One which you yourself may not even recognize" Siu went on to continue, adding a bit more detail to the context as the audible strain of wire stretching could be heard. "Instructor Shieo knows more about it than me, you should ask him more about it. As for where it went, I have no idea either. But I don't think it really matters much. It won't harm us." She finished rather nonchalantly.

[WC=737 l Post 4/5]

 

[Shieo]

For sometime, Shieo had sat where he landed without moving. Aside from the minor motions of his hands gently swishing an ink pen against the pages of his journal; and the swiveling of his head on occasion to both see what the two girls were up too, and whether they had any unfamiliar presences nearby. With his attention drawn to the canopy of leaves up above ever such on occasion; the beating of wings were heard rather far away, but carried a certain heavy acoustic too each stroke of what one could assume was the dragon.

Sniffing once, he paused. And allowed the ink pen to let go from the pinch of his fingers; falling into the gutter of his journal. This happened around the time the two convened and discussed amongst themselves following steps, and the matter of his persona. Withholding any comments, he let them proceed up until they were all effectively completed in their preparations.

With their tents propped, a gentle crackling fire placed in the center of their little encampment set the mood for the sun to slowly dip into the horizon. Bathing everything in a vivid orange and rose hue, with heavily contrasted shadows that stretched across the entire camp leaving a rather challenging task of just seeing anything; at least for the first thirty minutes of everyone settling. Up until the sun disappeared and gave way into the coming night.

"Well. It appears you two have completed the request; good-job. The care in ensuring that our defenses weren't glaringly obvious was a sound decision- especially given how open the fields are. Any significant destruction could alert people for miles. Though; I think you should have included Shizuka more in your efforts, I understand that you're confident in her strengths, but she is still learning- And some things I'm sure she would like to see done first hand." Closing and sliding the journal away finally, into the recesses and folds of his clothing. Clearing his throat, he hovered his opened palms by the fire and let them warm up as the cooled air brushed through the trees rather gently. Affixing his attention only for a moment to the fire; continuing on with his ever droll voice. "Shizuka, while minor in consequence this time around; I suggest relying more on rudimentary tools to execute things like fires. One can never be too careful when in enemy lands; and conserving your energy is key to ensuring you're prepared for the worst." Clearing his throat, he had pulled out a cleaned off kunai from a pouch. Leaning forwards to the fire and poked into one of the fish. Lifting it up like a marshmallow and started peeling off skin, bits he found looking gross and otherwise just being picky. All before he started eating it plain, and from the kunai. Casting furtive glances to the two girls. "Otherwise, I think you two did fine. So I s'pose that leaves me up to helping you two with something; I wonder." Sniffing, he leaned backwards and adjusted how he sat to keep blood flowing properly. Swallowing up the remainder of his food, he proceeded to clean off his kunai and continued speaking. "Instead of leaving it up to chance that I show either of you something good on a whim; how about you make a suggestion. And we'll cover what you ask for tomorrow?" He had allowed the thought to rest in silent air.
Up until he stood up rather suddenly. Propping either hand on his hips; "Yeah, I like the thought of that. So lets hear it." Given the pacing; he figured it would be preferable to allow them to speak their minds, and hopefully include some content of their interest and desires.

Clapping his hands together once, only after the others spoke. "Good. I'll be going to bed then, and will think on today. Make sure the fire is put out when you two decide to call it a night too." And perhaps a bit unusual to the two; he gave them a sincere smile. Afore twisting on his heel and receding into the confines of his tent. Which; realistically, resembled closer to a supported bed sheet than anything.

---

[Post 5/5 | 3,362/1,500 WC]
[MFT]
[Gonna leave this open to choice, if you two want to keep going story-wise (And tutor-wise) if you want. I'm more than game]

 

[Senju Shizuka]

‘No’, she shook her head when asked about the fish being done. That would take a while, and she would have to remember to turn it around, in the meantime though, she could help with something else. Like setting up some sort of tent. However, the comment about setting off traps forced her to frown lightly with a bit of indignance. She wasn’t that bad of a ninja to be! With eyes full of suspicion she followed the finger until it gently poked her right in the forehead. In that moment the green orbs widened in surprise. Staring at Siu like a puppy whose toy was just hidden behind the owner’s back - and therefore it had to be magic - she felt confused and caught off guard. “Heh?” A light blush crept up her cheeks. She slowly touched the spot where the older girl had poked her. “What? Me?”

Shuffling away to busy herself with their sleeping place, she ended up making a tiny hut with two elevated spots that would serve as beds. The leaves should keep them dry in case of rain and the wooden spots would be fine with the sleeping bags on them. At least she hoped they would be. Siu mostly helped her here and there when they set up the sleeping place. Shizuka frequently busied herself with the fire and other minor things like getting all the necessary material for making the camp.

Neatly placing their bags in the hut she then moved onto the fish. It was nearly done when she turned it, one side slightly crustier than the other, but far from black. She was relieved to see that. The last thing she needed was for two older Shinobi to laugh at her cooking skills. Even while she had the feeling that neither of the two were the type to do something like that.

Once settled next to the fire, with a fish placed on one of the larger leaves she had found, Shizuka nodded toward Shieo when he gave her the advice to not use jutsu unless there was no other choice. It was just that she had grown so used to relying on various types of jutsu that doing things like starting a fire by rubbing sticks seemed like a waste of time. It would have been tedious, boring even. The mental image of doing it that way the next time had her wondering if Siu still had any matches left.

Snapping from her thoughts she directed her attention to Shieo. There was one thing she really had to know about and this offer of his was perfect for that. “Can you tell me about this Persona tomorrow?” She could wait that much, especially because she was getting somewhat tired from the long day of walking.

Happily biting into her fish she made sure to take out any bones as not to end up suffocating. Then, in the middle of the gently cracking fire, she turned her head a little to face Siu. Shadows danced across their faces hiding some of Shizuka’s doubts.

“Did you really think I would trigger the traps?” She wanted to know. The fish could be finished afterwards, and then she could sleep. Yeah, she was really looking forward to the softness of her sleeping bag. Just the thought had her stifling a yawn.


**
[2,353/1,500 || 5/5]