Out in the Woods [ANBU/Survival Class]

Akimitsu Doi · Jan 17, 2018

They only had 10 minutes left before the storm hit? Doi figured they'd taken less time to prepare everything. Nevertheless, the shelter was ready for the most part.

The 10 minutes quickly passed by, and the storm was now upon them. Despite being inside of the makeshift shelter, Doi could still feel the freezing winds. He could tell the other kids were just as cold as he was. The young genin blew into his cupped hands and began to quickly rub them together. His use of lightning chakra to keep himself warm can only do so much. He had to make sure to produce as much heat as possible without using a fire jutsu. It'd be really bad if he burned down the wooden structure that was protecting everyone from the storm raging outside.

Waiting for the storm to subside was a bit too boring for Doi. Most of the other kids already seemed to know one another. He barely recognized any of them. As a result, the genin closed his eyes and got himself comfortable. He would sleep until the storm had passed.


oOo


"Doi!"

"Doi!"

A feminine voice was calling his name. He opened his eyes to the sight of a blue sky filled with cumulus clouds. Where was he? Prom his position on the ground, Doi could tell he was currently in a grassy area. He pushed himself up from the grassy floor and began to take in his surroundings. He was at his usual training field right now. There was a woman there with him too. It was his mother.

"Wake up, break times over." She said while entering her unique taijutsu stance.

"Huh?"

"Were you so tired that you forgot that we were just sparring? I must be quite the opponent."

Not quite understanding what was going one, Doi still prepared to engage his mother in battle. If he really was sparring, he might as well continue. Without a second thought, Doi launched himself towards his expecting oponent. He attacked with a series of high kicks aimed at her face and then went low in an attempt to sweep her feet. She dodged every kick with little to no effort. Rising from his crouched position, Doi followed up with an elbow aimed at her midsection. His mother easily caught the elbow and contorted his arm in a way that would restrain him, but wouldn't cause any lasting harm. With his right arm restrained, Doi tried to attack with his other arm to no avail.She threw him down onto the floor while keeping his arm restrained, and placed a foot on his back to keep him from getting up.

"When are you going to stop making these easy mistakes? Taijutsu can be just as important as ninjutsu you know. Don't just focus on one aspect of being a shinobi."

"Whatever. I'll get you next time."

"I don't thi-"

oOo

Doi opened his eyes to see the other children had already left the shelter. He'd managed to sleep through the entire storm. Doi got up from his spot inside the shelter, and walked outside to stand with the rest of the group. The boy arrived in time to hear the last part of Kyo's speech. They were now supposed to choose who would hunt amongst themselves. Doi was a bit groggy from having just awoken from a long nap, so he decided to stay back at the camp for now.

[WC: 569] [WC Total: 1,447] [Post 3/5]

Saotome Asami · Jan 17, 2018

Asami rarely took kindly to surprises. The stranger trying to shake her to attention was but the latest unpleasant shock in the ongoing train wreck Kyo called Survival Class. Her body jolted, but she turned to face the girl regardless. She wasn’t quite sure what it was about shinobi and odd traits. Sure, she had seen the girl’s ears before, but up close it was hard to ignore her claws and… fangs? She was staring again, but given that she was also bleeding, tired, cold and maintaining a jutsu to fight said cold, it took her a second to realise that… And that the girl was speaking to her. “Eh? Er…” The girl furrowed her brow. Snow. Snow was a good idea. She should use snow instead. “Yeah, sure…” She didn’t sound very confident, but she followed anyway. She could assume that the catgirl knew better than she did, since that feat wasn’t hard to accomplish.

Thankfully, the concept of a snow fort was one she was familiar with. The problem arose as soon as she attempted to lift said snow. The fire armour reduced the snow she picked up wasted no time in beginning to melt. The look of dismay on Asami’s face was hard to miss, but she silently obliged, giving up her one comfort in the wilderness. The chill wasted no time embracing her body again, and the shivers were quick to follow. Quiet curses were muttered under the girl’s breath as she made another attempt to be useful. Her fingers had only just begun to numb when Shizuka called out. The second time around, being grabbed wasn’t as much of a shock, mostly because the girl spoke beforehand. It took a second too long for her to understand why the girl was upset. Oh, right. She was bleeding. “T-That’s not her fault. I just slipped a bit.” An act of false confidence was even more difficult through shivers. Somehow, she doubted that she could have convinced the girl anyway, especially since she was focused on the wrong point.

She was stolen away yet again, but she much preferred being led and instructed than trying to climb the crag. At Shizuka’s behest, she sat in front of her and waited. Another mild look of confusion showed itself as her jutsu took effect. The girl wasn’t a genin, was she? How was she already able to heal? She wasn’t going to complain, but her surprise was quite clear. She found it increasingly difficult for her to not take the help in the worst way possible. “…No. Thank you. …Sorry. I…” She shook her head, forcing a small smile for the girl. There was still more to do, and she’d already spent enough time idling.

Her peers had covered most of the tasks, leaving her to try and finish up as best she could. She could only hope that she was safe to help pack the snow until the storm front hit them. By then, her senses had returned to her, and she didn’t need to be told twice to hide in the shelter. Finally, some time to talk and rest. “I’m alive,” she said to Shizuka, which was the best truth she could think of at that moment. “I can’t say I see the point in this. I mean, I would, if I had a cruel sense of humour and wanted to see children suffer.” She paused, staring down at the ground. There was a storm raging outside – surely, their tutor wouldn’t hear any talk of dissent. “I can’t help but think… This village that we’re supposed to love and protect, so much that we’d die for it… This is how it treats us? Drugged and left to save ourselves in… somewhere. I don’t know where we are. Not that it would help. Are we meant to believe that they really think that’s the best way to teach? Does that sound rig- …” She stopped herself short. For all intents and purposes, they were mostly a group of strangers, and there was a good chance they had bought into the propaganda. There was no need for her to get herself in any more trouble. “Thanks. Again.” Another forced smile for her friend.

One boy couldn’t help but make a jab, and he’d succeeded at striking a nerve. Under better circumstances, she could argue for weeks, but the weather had sapped most of her energy. Instead, she put on a faint smile. “Is that… necessary?” Her lips wavered for a split-second. “I’m glad you had the choice to be here, but we weren’t all taught how to handle the wilds before we got here. That was supposed to be the point of the class. I… don’t see why you want to single me out for doing what I can.” Was she the only person that had struggled? She hadn’t been paying enough attention to know, but it was hard to believe that all six students performed perfectly. A saddened smile took the stage. “I won’t apologise for not being raised in a cave, but I don’t think you need to…” She closed her eyes. A sigh left her, as did any semblance of happiness. “…Not worth it,” she muttered, moving to join Shizuka. She might not have been fond of their makeshift leader, but his cloak was warm and waiting to be shared.

***

No dreams. By some miracle, she’d managed to sleep through the storm. Between climbing, building, bleeding and being battered by howling winds, what little makeup Asami had tried to use had vanished. The cosmetics only served to clear some faint scars, meaning that she was still, for all intents and purposes, a pretty person – just a dirty, half-awake pretty person. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, made a brief attempt to free a dishevelled braid of flora and joined the group outside. There was talk of hunting, and she wanted no part in it. Half of her peers had already noticed her shortcomings – why would she make them more obvious by trying to fight? “I’ll keep watch here.” Her glances at the teacher were brief, but it was difficult to miss a growing look of distaste in her eyes. Was it meant for him or his idea of a camping trip?

Word Count: 1047/2715 (3/5)

Tsuyo Oushi · Jan 18, 2018

Oushi watched his step as he carried the bowl of water back to the shelter with Yosuke, glad to see the progress of the shelter. It looked plenty strong and would be big enough to protect them all, though it would still be a little cramped considering the half wood, half snow dome would be housing seven children and a canine. He would just have to be mindful of where he sat himself. After the finishing touches had been placed, the sound of the direwolf’s bark hit the air like a warning. The docile boy instinctively turned his attention to the noise, noticing in turn that Kyo-sensei was giving them a signal. ‘20? 20 wha-’

His eyes following where the young man was pointing, his gaze widened at the sight of the storm approaching. Now was the time to get inside. Others had seen it coming as well, the boy with the pup shouting to get inside. No one had to tell Oushi what to do twice. Everybody had made it in, and Oushi set the crudely crafted bowl of water near the center, where it could be easily accessed by all. It took no time at all for the storm to hit their shelter, the hard wind blistering around it. Just how long would they be stuck in here?

He had nestled himself somewhere between the akita pup and Yosuke, so long as there was another person or being between him and a girl, he was fine. Bringing up his hood to provide some inkling of warmth to his ears, Oushi figured he would take the time to properly observe those around him. His initial line of sight started across the dome, noticing Shizuka cuddled underneath the cloak of Takeshi, who was kind enough to lend it to her. The boy’s head nodded slightly in recognition, glad to see her sleeping frame at least looked after. She seemed a little more on the tired side than others, so maybe she had used too much of her chakra reserve with making the base structure of their shelter. With that, his attention was drawn to Takeshi who put forward his offer of sharing the cloak with Shizuka if anyone needed to, or cuddling with the dog, Kumo. That being said, the older boy was going to try and make a small fire, for what warmth it would possibly give off. This would be an opportune time to rest like he had suggested, but the quiet boy wasn’t sure he could. It felt that if he went to sleep, maybe he would have trouble getting up...and that scared him.

Others didn’t seem to have that problem though, Oushi’s caramel brown orbs falling on the white haired genin, already asleep. He wondered what it was like to be a genin, seeing as that was something he had to aspire to be. Was that really his though? The young boy was more or less shoved into this world, no longer living on his farm with his family...but was that for the better? A slight frown creased his lips, as he huddled himself in a ball, now watching the small fire being made and focusing on that. For a while, that was all he did. Every so often he would test his mobility, making sure he was still able to touch his fingertips together, stretching out his limbs in what space he could, wiggling his toes...all he could given the space.

As he went back to curling up to stay warm, resting his face against his knees, the boy’s ears perked as others spoke up. It was apparently confession time. He stayed quiet, wanting no part of it, though he felt some words were uncalled for. Despite Oushi’s minor fear of girls, he found he deeply respected the girl who had had a rough time as it was. She did her best to try and help, and that was all anyone could ask for. The girl seemed beaten down emotionally though, and understandably wanted nothing more with the conversation, moving to join Shizuka under the cloak for warmth and went to sleep herself. He found himself feeling something akin to annoyance within him, causing him to stubbornly stay awake as he blankly stared at the floor, quietly muttering two broken words as hadn’t physically spoken in quite a while. “Not cool.”

Oushi lumped it all to a buildup of stress, considering their situation. They were drained, it couldn’t be helped. Maybe that was what helped him stay calm, what with being trapped in an enclosed space with those of the female persuasion. Keeping his distance was also key, it usually was, not that it would do anything in getting over his affliction. His gaze fell on the remaining girl from underneath his hood, noting the ears atop her head. He’d almost forgotten those unique physical traits of hers. Not wanting to linger, Oushi looked to his pink haired friend who seemed to have buried himself in his own thoughts. ‘How much longer, I wonder…’

He leaned his head back, the hood slipping off to let his cowlick roam free once more. It was quiet, all things considered. Wait...it was quiet. Oushi looked back to Yosuke as the boy spoke, noticing his smiling countenance. With a nod, he agreed and scooched himself closer to Kumo so as not to get singed. Only once the boy had melted away a section of snow did he stand up and follow his friend outside. He stretched his body up into the air, the feeling more of a delight than expected after being balled up for who knows how long. Proceeding to test his limberness until he was satisfied, he let out gentle sigh, watching as his cold breath dissipated in front of him. Stuffing his hands into the deep pockets of his jacket vest, he blinked slowly at the wreckage that had been Kyo-Sensei’s own shelter. It hadn’t done so well, but he still managed to get through the storm, as one would expect. They had done a good job with their shelter, and it showed.

Hunting was next it seemed. Oushi could feel the faint rumblings of his stomach, the desire for food evident. He wasn’t all too sure if he would prove any use compared to a direwolf, but only a select few seemed interested in going. Yosuke was all for it, but on the other hand, the boy with the dog was contesting it. Sure, they could probably go without food for an allotted amount of time, but it would help plenty in getting some energy back. Making his way over to Yosuke, he dug around his pocket and procured the pink haired boy’s knife and handed it to him with a nod. “You might need this.”

His caramel brown eyes lowered his gaze to the snowy ground, still debating whether he should go with them. Would it be better for him to stick around and help keep an eye on the camp, and those who were exhausted? He still had spare energy, enough so that he could probably manage keeping up. Stealing a glance at Shizuka, he wasn’t sure how well she was doing. Looking up, the purple hair boy gave a strong nod, his eyes hinting determination. This would be a better learning experience than anything his father had ever bothered to teach him, and that he couldn’t turn down. Especially if it became a skill he could depend on.

---
WC: [ 1,250 | 3,362 ]
Posts: [ 3 | 5 ]

Takamura Natsumi · Jan 21, 2018

What was the--

She bared her teeth, fangs readily apparent, in Shizuka's direction. "Better than what you were having her doing, you wretched-" She was cut off by the duo's retreating back. Spat at the stupid one's footprint in disgust and returned to her task. Stupid, stupid child. Didn't she know that in a real emergency that wounds that minor would have to be taken care of after shelter was built? Whatever. Not her problem, she could get docked for points for being stupid and useless. Natsumi would focus on what she was doing; keeping them safe and helping reenforce the shelter against the weather.

It wasn't going to be perfect, but it would block out the majority of the storm while still allowing for airflow so they didn't suffocate to death. The bark of the dog called time and Natsumi's ears flattened. Caught the faint howl of the wind and kept an eye on the shelter's entrance as people dove in at the instructor's warning. She was one of the last in, and took a seat closest to the entrance. As frigid and beyond the definition of 'cold' as it happened to be? She'd be better at the subzero temperatures than a lot of the others and didn't mind taking that position up.

Some guy with an absolutely stunning shock of pink hair that made her do a double take. Enough that it delayed the words he said from fully sinking in for a moment longer than it should have. It earned him a dark scowl in response. "She's had it out for me since the Tea Country trip; she doesn't get her head outta her ass and she'll end up dead."

She was careful in her hand shake. Fingers still pink and slightly chilled from working as the storm howled around them, her nails were some thicker than they likey should have been. If she weren't careful, she'd flex and out came the claws into some unsuspecting kid's flesh. "Takamura Natsumi." Her eyes caught the scarred hand curiously. "Accident?" She inquired, open enough question to leave it alone if he chose to change the subject.

Paused.

"Hey, you're pretty warm. Useful as hell in this situation, that's a great quality to have." An awkward compliment, but a genuine one.

Her palm, every part of her skin was actually cool bordering on cold, and yet, she seemed unaffected as could be by it.

A bit later and the one who'd been barking orders confessed to forgetting bedding. "Happens." Natsumi commented with a shrug. "That's why you have other people to remind you, just in case, right?"

What she didn't like was the insult hurled that injured kid's way. "Hey. She coulda tapped out when she cut herself up and she didn't until someone went and babied her and pulled her away when she was doing fine."

She didn't glare in Shizuka's direction, but the words were clear enough that Natsumi felt that the overprotective streak the other girl had was detrimental to her teammate's well being. "Besides, without her, the snow wall wouldn't have gotten nearly as high as it did. She showed spirit and you can't take that away from her just 'cause you, me, and some others are farther ahead of her in skill."

Amber eyes were defiant in that regard, ears flicked back in annoyance, and she cast a quick, stern look in Asami's direction. Don't shrink back, fight. Said look told her without words.

--

They dug out with the help of the pink haired boy and his scarred hand and several others. She breathed in clean, crisp mountain air and shivered. Shook herself in delight, reached into the snow, gathered it into a ball, took aim-- and launched it right into the slightly open mouth of that stupid Shizuka girl to wake her up. Revenge was a dish best served cold.

Hunting was their next exercise and, deciding to be an interferring pain in the ass once more, the cat eared girl caught Asami's sleeve and tugged. "C'mon, don't be like that." She was taller, but still. "We'll go together, I'm kinda patient and I won't yell at you unless you're doin' something really dangerous or something bad."

And, she thought to herself, she wouldn't baby her either and make her feel worse than she probably did already. "You can do it." She added as an extra helpful bit of encouragement.

--
WC: 744/1,834
Post: 3/5

Kanagawa Nozomi · Jan 22, 2018

[col]Kyo's disappointment was easily read upon his face as he noticed all of the students in this 'class' had maintained their wits and continued on with the course. He figured the storm that was concocted by a member of the ANBU was more than enough to cause any of the weak and lesser-willed children to tap-out. To his dismay, they all stuck through it and stayed strong. It's not often that mother nature caused everyone to stay alive as it was a rather unfair mistress at times; take his failed hut, put together in a hurry for the sake of instruction, as a valid example of mother nature not caring much about the plight of humanity. He grumbled and turned to look towards the students as they scurried out of their shelter and even offer Kyo something more rational. His eyes darted towards the child that stated that it wasn't important. Wrong! It was his class and he was the one teaching. However, due to the circumstances and lack of time, hunting was probably just a second thought and wasn't necessarily that important. Just another thing he could base a class on.

"Fine," he said in response to the rather reasonable child. "That's your only freebie," he said intentionally keeping the meaning of the words cryptic. His eyes focused on a pair of the students -- Shizuka and Asami. One was badly injured, which had escaped his gaze initially, and the other was offering help. Good thing she offered to fix it promptly; infection out in the wild is a death-sentence. The dangers to Asami didn't bother Kyo as they weren't life-threatening at the moment.

Dakota walked up to the small dog (compared to her own size) and started to sniff the other animal's face and then moving behind the creature and sniffing it's behind. Kyo's eyes caught this out of the corner of his eye and shook his head. That was one of the many customs of canines that he gladly skipped over and ignored. Could one imagine Kyo doing that to other humans? He'd probably be in jail right now. To those that volunteered to go hunting, Kyo gave a dismissive wave and took a seat in the snow. It was dark, already dipping into the evening, and hunting with a bunch of new children in this dangerous wilderness could smell trouble. Kyo grumbled out unenthusiastically, "We ain't going. You can thank Mister Brain, here," he said hooking a thumb to Takeshi's direction. "I'll just make a hunting class later on," he said as he turned his attention to watch the other children for a brief moment.

After a brief moment passed, Kyo grumbled and stretched his arms high into the air. "Well, it's almost time for bed. There isn't much we can do in this low-light so sleeping is the best option. One of you are going to take watch for the entire night. Don't worry, you'll get plenty of sleep after this class is over. Once you all have figured out who is taking watch, everyone else needs to go to sleep. We're going to wake up early -- very early -- tomorrow," Kyo said before digging out the little hole in the snow before him and Dakota quickly crawl back in. Dakota let out a bark towards the small akita dog before finding herself in the hole as well.|

Tabs for Extra Information

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Saotome Asami · Jan 22, 2018

Asami gave the catgirl a very uncertain look. She could admire such confidence, but she also knew it came from having the skills to back it up. With one kunai, a few shuriken and even less offensive jutsu, she had a good reason to avoid anything that required testing her combat ability. It was another reason to be thankful for Takeshi’s contributions. Still, there was one more job left to do, and compared to the others, it sounded like a piece of cake. She found Kyo’s eyes again; hers had a story to tell. His ‘class’ was a pile of doggy dung. He was a pile of doggy dung, but he would have to try harder than that to break her… And if he wasn’t breaking her, good luck getting to the rest of their pack. “I can keep watch. The rest of you are probably more tired than I am, since you did so much. I have a lot to think about, anyway.” Like the ongoing feud between Shizuka and Natsumi, who didn’t seem half as bad as she looked. The way her peers saw her. Their entire stupid trip, and the madman that devised it. How on earth she was going to escape the shinobi life, if 'adventures' like these were supposed to be the easy part.

She already had a plan in mind. The Immolation Armour would keep her warm and relatively safe. If sleep attempted to claim her, her chakra control would be the first to go, and the biting winds would stop her from dozing off. In theory, it was a solid strategy. In practice… Well, she’d never tried it before. She also wasn’t taking into account her chakra levels, their lack of food, how long the night would be with nothing to do…

No. Wait. There was no reason for them to make things so difficult, other than because the teacher wanted it to be. She already believed he only meant to be sadistic (had he even checked on them through the storm?) but she had some hope. Just a bit. “I don’t see why we can’t take shifts, though.” She intentionally waited for the man to disappear into his hole before she spoke. “I’m no expert, obviously, but wouldn’t it be better for everybody if we had two people with some energy left than one with none? …I mean, I’m not planning to let myself fall asleep, but this trip has been… full of surprises.” She made no attempt to hide the distaste in her voice, or her suspicions that the man had one last cruel trick in store for them. The wiser members of the group could figure that out from her tone, but the lack of response she’d gained from her displeasure before their nap told her not to bother outright voicing her displeasure.

Word Count: 473/3188(4/5)

Tsuyo Oushi · Jan 23, 2018

‘Freebie?’ Oushi found himself not quite liking the sound of that. It had a feeling of something else hiding behind it, and what that something was would be unknown to him until it sprung. His mouth tightened and his brow furrowed slightly out of concern. This was just another worry he had to add to his list. Great. He was a little surprised though that Kyo-sensei had ended up deciding not to go hunting. Had the boy with the pup made a convincing argument? The boy’s shoulders slumped just enough to notice. Oushi had built up his determination in order to follow through with the act of hunting, only for it to blown away in the wind. By the sounds of it, there was a possibility of there being another class for hunting at some point, but it would now be a time will tell moment for the young boy.

Slipping his hands into the deep pockets of his vest jacket, he straightened himself out. Slouching wouldn’t do him any good if he didn’t want his height stunted. Since they were no longer hunting, what exactly were they supposed to do now? That was answered by a high stretch of their instructor’s arms. Bed. He wasn’t wrong for it either. It wouldn’t serve them well to go hunting out on the mountains with low light. Considering the environment, it would be real easy for an accident to happen. That being said, they couldn’t all go to bed. Someone had to stay up and keep watch of the camp. Having said all he was going to say, Kyo-sensei and his direwolf companion went back to their hole, dug it back out from all the snow that had buried them in, and then crawled back into it. As simple as that.

Now, it was back to deciding who would stay up. He was a little surprised to hear Asami speak up first, nominating herself to keep watch while everyone slept. Thinking on it, she had been one of the ones who had gotten some sleep while they had waited out the storm, so she wasn’t a bad choice. The girl made an excellent point too. It would be much easier to get through it if there was some shift work involved. There could be something else planned that they were fully unaware of, or there could be nothing. All they could do would be to wait and see, and stay alert.

With a quick nod, the purple haired boy noticeably agreed with her, commending her effort after her rough start to the survival class. He hadn’t really thought to sleep while the storm raged earlier, but the quiet boy found that the cold kept him up more than anything. Sure, he would probably feel it the next day, but what the heck. Oushi figured he could manage it, he’d just have to keep weary was all. Shyly, the boy raised his hand, quietly clearing his throat. “I...uh...c-could take the second shift. Just...poke me with a stick to wake me up.”

Oushi realized this request sounded...weird, but for peace of his own mind, it was required. Keeping his distance was all he needed to avoid a panic attack. He did his best not to dwell on how things would go, just had to stay focused.

WC: [ 558 | 3,920 ]
Posts: [ 4 | 5 ]

Shimamura Yosuke · Jan 24, 2018

Yosuke blushed when she mentioned the warmness of his hands, thanks to the dying heat from the Immolation Armor. His heart began to beat slightly faster than it did a few minutes ago, and he held his gloved hand with the bare one. In fact, due to his shyness he didn’t hear the question she asked him. A couple seconds went by until he gathered his thoughts and answered, “Oh...this?” He looked at his hand that was covered in scars, “O-oh...got them from working with family.” He assured her with a friendly smile.

Once they were out of the cave, he became disappointed with Takeshi’s decision of not going hunting. Sure there was a risk, but it would be way better to sleep with food in your stomach then suffer under the stress of hunger in these unforgivingly cold temperatures. Unlike everyone else though, Yosuke seemed to appreciate Moon Sensei’s strange sense of teaching them the hardships of being a Shinobi. These lessons, despite brutal, pinpointed their skills and what they needed work on. And the way Yosuke saw it, he was passing with flying colors. So if he could take anything from this it was that he was ready to receive that hitai-ate and the village accomplished their task at being able to make him a walking weapon.

Wait? A walking weapon…

His heart sank, and his eyes drooped. Finally it clicked. The fire, the ability to survive during harsh conditions, his urge to fight. Though he had compassion, when he was in combat he no longer was himself. Kumogakure accomplished their task, as they do with most worthy students, of making him a walking weapon. All the torturous combat courses that he aced (for each combat course he aced he failed a lecture), and being able to stand his own in combat against some of the youngest up and coming products of the village. This is what he was meant to be.

He uttered no words when they spoke about shifts, and evaded eye contact with everyone. He walked past Oushi, then past Shizuka who was probably covered in snow, and into the shelter. He sat at the far end, and brought his knees up to his chest. This mission didn’t challenge him the way it did Asami, but it opened his eyes and that was nerve wracking enough for him.

Takeshi was right….they failed in strengthening Asami, but at least she has mental fortitude.

(WC=410/2,983)
(Post: 4/5)

Akimitsu Doi · Jan 24, 2018

Doi watched as the other class participants decided who would keep watch amongst themselves. Eventually, one girl decided to take the responsibility. With that decided, Doi sat down at the base of the nearest tree. He leaned against the tough bark and closed his eyes, waiting for the moment he'd fall asleep. If what Kyo said was true, they'd all be waking up early tomorrow.

[WC: 65] [1,512/1,500] [Post: 4/5]

Takamura Natsumi · Jan 26, 2018

Natsumi, ignorant to the differences in male versus female shinobi in training, didn't seem to see or catch the blush on Yosuke's face. She was still studying the scars on his hand until he hid it from sight. Her mouth curved into a frown. Was he ashamed of the product of hard word? Or because they could identify him somehow because of it?

Ahh well, not her place to question it, so she'd let it go unless it made things complicated. If it did? She'd offer to give him a matching set so he'd quit worrying about it unnecessarily.

Disappointment on her face was clear as the hunting was cancelled. Damn it, she liked creeping around at night! Everything was fascinating and the shadows didn't bother her nearly as much as they did anyone else-- why would they? She had awesome night vision and could scent and hear things for quite a distance! She prided herself on such things, and her ability to tolerate temperatures that her parents even disliked going out in.

Only freebie? That didn't sound promising; whatever mercy he might have had was gone after that, and they might have needed it later on. Damn it.

Oh well, she'd take it as a challenge to be overcome; bring it on!

Natsumi perked up at the sound of more hunting classes in the future and tugged Asami's sleeve again with a vigorous nod of, 'we're totally going to that, you're with me, right?'.

The only way this girl was going to be any more confident was to have someone, or multiple someones, drag her out constantly and make her practice. Maybe she'd introduce her to Tsubame and the two of them could really hit it off. She might think the blonde haired swordswoman was annoying as hell, but she was chipper, confident, and encouraging beyond all reason, and Asami could probably use it.

"Good idea, Asami. Making use of your allies in a crisis situation, especially when there's danger out there, is a pro move." She praised the disheartened girl and in a way that would help her, hopefully, know why the move/suggestion was a right one.

She left Asami's side to pop over to the stuttering kid with purple hair. "Get me for third." She told him quietly, a finger to her lips to show it was a secret. Dropped it and raised her voice to normal. "If you're cold, we can build up the fire and put a couple stones in, warm 'em up, and you can put 'em in your pockets to keep you warm for a while."

Actually, good plan on that.

She poked her head into the shelter, eyes adjusting quickly to the difference in light, and spotted the pink haired guy again. "Hey, Shimamura, you wanna help me heat some stones to keep everyone warmer throughout the n...ight..."

Glanced out, everyone else was likely still outside figuring shit out, and back in. Deliberated for a moment, shrugged, and plopped herself next to mister unhappy scarred hand and pink hair. Stared fixated at the fire as though she could keep it burning by looking at it. "I'm talking to myself," she told him. "so you talk to yourself too. Quietly if you really wanna."

She stretched, reached down to touch her toes. And as she did so, began to talk low enough he could hear it. "I think something's upsetting Shimamura. Askin' seems like I'm bein' nosy, so maybe I'll put some rocks in the fire, especially for Asami since she's taking first watch, and he'll decide to talk and maybe help me do that too."

Lifted back up and stretched her arms. "He's good with fire and heat, better than me and prolly most of these kids too, and he's got lots of other good skills too; ninja ones and others he can use if he thinks ninja stuff is boring or not his thing."

Bounced up to her feet. "And that's enough talking to myself. Gonna do those rocks." And plucked a few poking out around the outer layer of the bough covered ground, brushed them off against her clothing, and squinted against the brightness of the fire as she tried looking for a good spot to poke them into where she could pretty easily drag them back out again.

Interfering? Maybe. But it was his choice to talk to himself, or her, or both or neither. Everyone had a choice; some people just had to be encouraged to utilize it.

--
WC: 754/2,588
Posts: 4/5

Senju Shizuka · Jan 26, 2018

Groggy, tired, and cold to the bone, she woke up wrapped in a cloak that wasn’t hers. The young man to whom it belonged refused to take it back, so she kept it with a grateful nod. Sliding back to gather the strength to actually get up, her attempt to do so was met with a snowball to the face. It was refreshing, cold, soft, and woke her up immediately. It didn’t make her happy, though. She wiped the icy crystals from her face, using some of it to clean the sleepiness from her eyes, then got up onto her feet. The remaining warmth was slowly being sucked outside through the large gap in their shelter, she peered through it. Not feeling like going outside where the others were debating whether to go hunting or not. She already knew that she wouldn’t. With no fire to keep her warm things would only become worse for the small Senju. Instead of helping out she would become a boulder tied to their ankles.

Hanging in the back, she moved forward when Kyo called upon her wood jutsu. It would cost her, but he required the wood, so she went along with it. Sparsely channeling the chakra, she ignored the biting cold while leaning against the side of the shelter, eyes glued to the spot she wanted the logs to ‘grow’. The shivering didn’t help her hand seals, she felt weak, but knew they needed wood for the fire. If they were to bring back a large animal the fire would need to be big enough for it to be grilled. Giving up now would mean letting down the entire team. It wasn’t an option.

Pushing through with gritting teeth she watched the logs shoot up from the ground. Not as big or well coordinated as the ones forming the base of their shelter, but good enough to be chopped down as fuel for a bonfire. Satisfied with her work she then pulled back into the warmth. Obvious to everyone who had paid attention - she wasn’t going to hunt, and apparently neither would they.

Like a ghost the short girl brushed passed the cloak’s owner. Her eyes smiled a little, though it was clear by the way she wrapped the fabric around herself that she wasn’t quite happy. “Hey, I’m Shizuka, thanks for letting me keep this,” nodding she dropped her gaze toward the protective layer around her chest and everything down all the way to her toes.

With that out of the way she shifted closer to Asami. Oushi had sacrificed himself to go second, so if she were to keep her friend company she could sleep as well when they switched. Besides, she had just taken a nap. Even while the cold didn’t fade from her bones, she preferred to stay awake for now, perhaps cuddle next to the fire, make sure it doesn’t die.

“Can I join? Hmm I’ve never given you a decent reply back then, sorry, I was really tired, must have fallen asleep while we spoke.” Offering one side of the cloak after sitting down, she blinked furiously when some snowflakes came floating inside and landed on her face. A couple got stuck in her eyelashes forcing her to rub her eyes again.

“You didn’t need to thank me, we’re a team here, so we take care of each other, I can heal a bit, but I can’t make a nice fire, so everyone has their own thing.” Smiling brightly, no longer upset about the mud and potential infection that might have come with being so reckless, she hummed gently, wondering if this was indeed the best way to teach them about survival.

“Somehow I don’t feel like this is too bad, Kyo-san’s still around, and so far we’ve managed, even if you had some cuts and I’m still cold and slightly drained. Everyone struggles a bit, but together we can manage it.” Unsure if that was enough to explain her own feelings about the trip, she waited patiently for Asami, or anyone around should they have heard her speak, to comment on her words.

Perhaps she was wrong.

**
[693/2685 || 4/5]
Jutsu Mastery 693/100

Takahashi Takeshi · Jan 26, 2018

It was their only freebie he said, as if it wasn't the right call to make. If they had been in a legitimate survival situation Takeshi would have consented to finding some food, they'd need it for the trials that stood between them and staying alive. But they weren't in a legitimate survival situation. This was a class, or at least it was supposed to be, Takeshi was no longer sure. They were going to be out in the mountains for a day, maybe two, and then they'd go home. There was no need to risk themselves for something they could last for weeks without. If any of them chose to go hunting they were more likely to die because of an injury than to die of starvation in two days. It was ridiculous, and the more "wisdom" their teacher tried to impart the more convinced the young man was that the person leading the class had no idea what he was doing, which only bolstered Takeshi's resolve in his decision to stay. Who knows what could have gone wrong if they'd gone hunting with an inexperienced buffoon leading them. Kyo certainly hadn't planned the class, hadn't really planned to teach them anything, he'd just dragged them into the wild and forced them to make do; which begged the question: If he wasn't teaching then what on earth was he doing?

A few seemed dejected when Kyo cancelled the hunting trip, but Takeshi weathered that storm with indignation. What they wanted didn't matter, it was what they needed that concerned him, and they didn't need to be put in such a dangerous situation needlessly. He didn't trust Kyo, he wasn't going to let half the team wander off with him.

"Taking shifts is a good idea." He said, reaching down to clutch at Kumo's fur for support. Despite how the two humans had disagreed the canines seemed to have gotten on amicably. The smaller pup had submitted to being identified by the larger and rolled in the snow to expose his stomach as a sign of deference. It was simpler with dogs. Dakota was bigger and stronger, therefore she was right. Kyo had called off the interaction though and now both dogs stood beside their partners.

Brave Girl had sidled up to him at some point and thanked him for his cloak. A moment passed in which there was no response, the gears turning in the young mans head as he formulated a response. The words slowly emerged, calculated but not unkind. "You've worked hard and we still need you, no sense letting you freeze."

"I'll take the fourth watch. Pinky can take the fifth, then we'll cycle back around. Hard to tell what time it is, or when he's gonna wake us up." He was saying as they all filed back into the shelter. Some sat around the fire and talked, one made sure the embers had enough fuel for the night. Takeshi was slipping the gloves from his hands. With a sigh he offered them to the pampered girl, as a token of goodwill if nothing else.

"I'm sorry." Was all he told her, lingering a moment as he contemplated elaborating. He hadn't meant to sound so cruel when he spoke to her the night before. Yet that was the tone he had used, and those were the words that had come out. He wasn't sure why he spoke that way to her, couldn't explain it. Eventually he decided that delicate words were not his forte. "Keep your hands warm." Then he settled himself in near the entrance, far from the spot he knew Kyo lay under the snow. And, with no plans to sleep, he watched.

[Words: 624][Total WC: 3917][Post 4/5]

Kanagawa Nozomi · Jan 27, 2018

[col]Shifts were decided against his demands and the children slept soundly throughout the night only for Kyo to pop up out of his cave during the middle of the second shift to relieve himself far away from camp. He let out a grumble as he stared at a tree far from camp and clicked on his headset with a "Let them sleep this time around. Don't have the time nor give-a-damns right now to mess with them further," Kyo stated before stating the word, "Ok," before his communication with whomever was terminated. He readjusted himself after relieving himself and turned to look back towards the one that was on the second shift; the plain looking black haired boy named Oushi. Kyo asked him to come over towards his cave as Kyo reached into the cave and pulled out a gourd. With a gentle pull of the cork, a small popping sound could be heard before he took a big swig of the liquid within. The liquid was a strong soju, causing Kyo to breathe out after taking the big swig. He offered the gourd to the child. He didn't care if they got drunk; it was their choice. He didn't particularly care for age restrictions; it was his belief that if a child is capable of dying in combat, they could do so with the taste of sweet drink on their lips.

"I was going to have you all drugged again and brought back to the village. Meh," he said before taking back the gourd and taking another swig of the drink. "You all acted out pretty well as a team -- that'll make things a bit more difficult if I want to break you all down," he said candidly. He reached into the cave and grabbed his pouch which held a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He pulled out a cigarette, offering one to the pink-haired boy. Whether he took one or not, Kyo lit his own cigarette and put the rest of the stuff back into the ice-cave that he made for himself.

"Having only 1 day in survival was probably a bad idea. Whatever," he said to himself regardless of if Yosuke was listening or not. "At least we didn't go hunting. There was only enough food here to feed 3 people anyway. I wanted to created a divide among you pups to see who would get the food, but I guess you all weren't starving enough for that to matter," he said as he took a deep puff out of his cigarette. It was almost time for the third shift to show up with Kyo sitting at the mouth of the ice cave that he dug out with his gourd of booze to his side and cigarette in his mouth. "Go get some sleep," he said before taking another puff of his cigarette.

He remained outside smoking and drinking for the rest of the night, making small-talk with any of the night-guards if they so chose to do so. The small-talk was kind of awkward because he wasn't used to doing so, but due to the training for integration that he was forced into, he had to make an attempt at it. This went on until day-break, which Kyo stood up once the sun peeked over the horizon and shouted out in an extremely loud manner. "Wake the fuck up!" he shouted out to get the children to get up on their feet and awaken.

Once everyone is awake, Kyo stood outside with Dakota to his side. Kyo had a lit cigarette hanging off of his mouth and waited for the children to gather. "Well, you all survived a single night in the wild. In some missions, you'd probably have to spend several nights in shit conditions like this and would have to live off of the land. This was only a small taste of what you have to experience. In terms of teamwork, you all did pretty well. In terms of listening, you all did a pretty shit job," he said as he took another drag of his cigarette. He let out a cloud of smoke towards the students. "You all pass," he let out a little defeated grumble. His next class, however, won't be as relenting as this one. "Last part of the class is to get back to Kumogakure. Follow me," he said as he made a couple clicking noises with his tongue, causing the large direwolf to stand ready. Kyo mounted the dire wolf and off they went into the forest back towards Kumogakure. For those that paid attention to where they showed up, they weren't that far from the campgrounds that they originally appeared at. It would have been a place they'd seen had they gone hunting last night.

Even after taking them to the campgrounds, Kyo continued to lead them towards the village gates where they would be set free from this class.|

Tabs for Extra Information

[/col]
- No post order so post when you can (But only once this round)
- Once everyone finishes posting, I'll post up the request and PM each of you with the link.
- My first class so forgive the awful pacing. Had more planned but due to the small number of posts, I did what I had time for. More to come if you little students want more classes from me -- Will definitely be a smaller size.
- Good job to those that put forth the effort in their posts.
- This class will give credit as both an ANBU class and a normal class.
- The faster you all post the more likely it is we get credit for this during this training.

Saotome Asami · Jan 27, 2018

The girl raised an eyebrow at Oushi’s request. They weren’t exactly short for sticks, but what was the harm of nudging him? Oh well. As strange as it was, she was nothing if not respectful, and she couldn’t ignore that he was trying to help. “I’d appreciate it a lot.” It felt like smiling took more energy than usual; every movement was a brief struggle against the weather. Having spent most of the day in such a climate had made it a little more bearable. Hers was briefly replaced by straight lips and a raised eyebrow as Natsumi attempted to get her approval for hunting classes, but hearing her classmates agree with her was enough to bring it back. She would never claim to be the most physically fit student, but she knew she had a sound mind (when she didn’t feel halfway to death’s door) and a decent argument. The last surprise of the night came from Takeshi and his apology. For a moment, the girl bore a straight face, unsure what to make of his efforts. As always, a respectful smile showed itself soon after. “It’s fine. Hard weather and no food makes everybody grumpy eventually. All we can do is keep remembering that.” She accepted his gift with a quiet word of thanks and positioned herself for the watch.

She missed the pleasure of talking with Kyo that night, and wouldn’t have had it any other way. She had Shizuka, and true to her word, a lot of thoughts to process. A re-activated Immolation Armor, borrowed gloves and a shared cloak helped to keep both of them toasty. Altogether, they staved off growing hunger pains, but they were sneaking up on her over time, helping her feel more frustrated with their lesson. There wasn’t much she could do about that, however – there was little doubt in her mind that the man and his beast would have the last laugh, and as their superior, there was no chance of him facing repercussions for it. She would just have to deal with it.

“Isn’t that the problem?” she asked, responding both to herself and Shizuka. “Yeah, we’re all here and alive, but… what have you learned from this? What have any of us learned? That you need a shelter to keep weather out? That storms are cold and bad for you? I can’t say I needed to experience that to realise it.” She was talking that time around, but she was still quieter than her usual self. Replies were slow, mostly because she was having an internal conversation in addition to one with her Senju friend. Eventually their plan rolled into action, and she pulled a stray stick from the floor to rouse Oushi from his slumber. “Hey. You’ll probably need these more than I do.” She offered Takeshi’s gloves to him, hoping he wouldn’t mind when morning came. “Please give them back to frowny-face in the morning.” Hopefully he didn’t hear that last part. With her watch over, she brought herself to rest by Shizuka, just as they had done before.

---

She awoke to the calls of their supposed guide. He’d kept to his word, she thought – the sun had barely risen, and they were already preparing to move. Suffice to say, Asami looked a fair bit worse for wear than she had when they’d arrived. Natural beauty could only do so much without a shower and a brush, but she wasn’t in much of a position to complain about it, or anything else. If Kyo hadn’t had the gall to criticize their ‘skill’, she might have spent the rest of the trip in silence. Even then, it wasn’t until they passed their arrival point that she brought herself to speak up. Maybe Natsumi had quietly spurred her on. Maybe such confidence had always been there, but she knew when and where to pick her battles. In reality, both helped, but it was just another habit of hers. Some people vented their frustrations through violence or tears. Asami talked. A lot. Unfortunately for them, the class was now a captive audience.

“Honestly? I wouldn’t call this a good class. I don’t see what you taught us that we couldn’t have learned inside the village, besides the feeling of being abandoned by our helper. Everything else we managed well enough without your help.” Despite her intentions, she managed to keep her voice calm and collected. Her face gave but a hint of her annoyance, but even that lessened as she turned to her classmates.

“Sorry. I don’t think I caught most of your names, and it was pretty obvious I was a bit too… distracted to remember even if I did. You were all very helpful. I don’t think we would have managed nearly as well if we didn’t have Shizuka to make our shelter, or our... furry friend’s survival skills.” There was a cheeky edge to her voice as she eyed Takeshi. “Speaking of furry friends-“ She had a feeling Natsumi wouldn’t appreciate her nickname, but she was on a roll! “Thank you for giving me a hand. You didn’t have to, but I’m glad you did. Thank you to everybody else, for doing the best you could. Hopefully none of you are struggling for food after this, but I do know a bakery in the village that would be happy to treat a group of starving students.” At her request, out of her pocket, but one of the perks of being the owner’s daughter was never having to pay full price.

“I’m getting off track. My point was that I learned more from you all than I did from our supposed teacher, and you knew everything you did before you came here.” She turned back to him, and the irritation returned to her face. “You were wrong about how well we did, too. We listened to each other, and in the end that helped us survive more than anything you said or did for us. …Then again, I’d be lying if I said I thought you cared. You’d probably be more bothered by the academy troubling you for losing one of Kumogakure’s precious one-hundred than the fact that you let a child’s life end.” There was nothing for her to gain from telling him that, nor did she have any proof of it, but perhaps it would open the eyes of one of her peers. She was no med-nin, but a clearer head gave her time to realise her earlier mishaps could have sent her to the hospital – or the graveyard. Their ‘protector’ was nowhere to be seen until after the threat had passed, as far as she knew. Perhaps he or his dog would respond with violence for her words, but she seemed to consider it worth the risk for now.

“I hope you learned more from that than half of us did in this ‘class’. Maybe next time you’ll be able to teach more.” 'Or at all', she thought, but she knew better than to push her luck further. Soon enough, they would reach the village gates. She gave them a smile and a wave. Regardless of if any of them took her up on her offer, she headed to the bakery, knowing that somehow, someway, her defiance would come back to bite her. In that moment, however, she felt that she’d claimed a small victory. Another class survived, and she was unbroken, but how long could she keep that up for?

WC: 1241/4429 (5/5)

Akimitsu Doi · Jan 27, 2018

Doi yawned as he awoke from his slumber. Their tutor, Kyo, was being rather loud. The boy got up from his seat at the base of the tree and walked towards the rest of the group. Slightly groggy, Doi could only listen as Asami made her opinion heard. It was obvious she wasn't happy about the way the class was handled.

Doi brought his right forearm up to wipe some of the left over drool that had gathered at the corner of his mouth. It wasn't common for him to drool while sleeping, so he was a little bit surprised.

Well, at least the class was over now.

And he was bit hungry so he wouldn't mind taking Asami up on her offer.

[WC: 122] [Total: 1,634/1,500 ] [Post 5/5]
[COMPLETE]

Tsuyo Oushi · Jan 27, 2018

He knew it. The request was weird, but overall it seemed the girl accepted it as such and would go along with it. With a quick nod, the boy’s smile was genuinely kind. Laughable fear he might of had, but that didn’t stop him from being nice to others. For now, that would be all he could do until it was his time to watch over the flock. It couldn’t hurt to actually get a bit of shut eye, now that they had a system setup. Oushi nestled himself within the shelter that was still standing, making sure he kept his distance from those of female persuasion, or at least within stick reaching range. Any farther and he would feel like an inconvenience, conflicting as it was for him.

Doing a final dexterity check of his fingers and toes, once he was satisfied, the purple haired boy slipped the hood of his vest jacket over his head for the extra warmth. His preparations complete, he curled himself up and closed his caramel brown eyes for some sleep. Lucid was his mind as he sat there, clear of any and all dreams that might disrupt his snooze. They were unnecessary for him in an environment such as this, and would do him no good.

Time passed and the oxen tailed boy could feel something poking him, hard and pointy...like a stick. His head drowsily rose from his knees, slowly whipping around to see what was up. His caramel gaze rested on Asami to see that she had stayed true to his request. No panic attack required. After rubbing the sleep from his eyes, his gaze dropped to the gloves she offered to him. Didn’t they belong to the guy with the dog? Carefully, he took them from her, quietly nodding. He probably wouldn’t wear them per say, maybe line his pockets for extra warmth though. He wasn’t sure how the other boy would feel about him wearing them since he had obviously offered them to her. The least Oushi could do though was hold on to them and return them later as she wished.

Cautiously, he stepped out of the shelter so that he could keep an eye on things, his hands stuffed into his deep pockets. He gave a short yawn, his breath clouded in the cold air. If anything, the temperature was sure to keep him awake till it was time for the next shift. Tapping the snowy ground with the toe of his hiking boot, he kept watch. Shortly after, his ears perked at the sound of Kyo-sensei calling him over. Instantly, he was a little weary of what exactly he wanted, but he made his way over nonetheless, trying to keep his steps quiet so they wouldn’t wake anyone else up. He watched as he pulled a gourd from his dug out shelter, popping the cork and taking a good swig from it. When he was done, he offered it to the purple haired boy. Oushi was a little hesitant, but it couldn’t be all that bad, could it? Taking the offered gourd from Kyo, the quiet boy gave a subtle sniff of it and could strongly smell the alcohol. ‘Couldn’t hurt…,’ he took a small swig, not brave enough to match Kyo’s.

The alcohol burned his throat and his eyes threatened to water, but he managed to swallow it down. He coughed into his arm a little at the feeling, but he did it. As first tastes of alcohol went, it could have been a worse experience he supposed. Oushi handed it back, sure that he himself didn’t need another sip and completely ruin his first time. Brushing the back of his sleeve across the bridge of his nose, he tried to use the friction to warm up his skin as he listened. His lips shifted into an unsure smile, his brow furrowed slightly, voice cracking slightly as he talked. “For the best that we weren’t drugged again. It made us wary.”

Oushi shook his head, putting a hand up to politely decline the cigarette. Stuffing his hands back into his pockets, he continued to listen to the sensei talk further. He nodded here and there at appropriate intervals, mulling it over. Sure, one day probably wasn’t quite enough to cover more than what they had, but it had still given them a brief taste. Oushi shrugged his shoulders and looked out through the tree line, his eyes a little disappointed. “I don’t think it would have divided us all that much...the others seem very...helpful. They’ve put others before themselves. Though...I was looking forward to hunting.” He expression looked...apologetic? Maybe he felt bad a tiny bit that things hadn’t quite gone the way Kyo had hoped. A soft exhale of breath escaped him as he briefly nodded his head and departed back to the shelter, in time to switch shifts.

He paused just outside, remembering who wanted next shift and took in air sharply. Panicking slightly, his eyes fell on a stick and quickly picked it up. Giving the cat girl a firm enough prod with the stick, but gentle enough to hopefully not seem disrespectful, he let her know that she it was turn for the night watch. As Oushi sat back down, his caramel gaze took notice that the boy with the dog was still awake. ‘Does he not sleep?’ Pulling the gloves from his pockets, he handed them back, figuring now was a good a time as any to return them if the owner hadn’t planned on sleeping anyways. “Here, your gloves.” He paused in thought. This was about the most he had talked during the whole survival training. “Have you been awake this whole time? You should probably get some sleep, y’know.” Taking his own words to heart, he curled back up as he had before and resumed his sleep, not before testing the movements of his fingers and toes.

The next thing he knew, the early morning had come and Kyo was yelling at them to rise from their slumber. Exiting the shelter, the purple haired boy gave himself some space away from the girls to stretch out his body and get the stiffness out from being balled up as he had. Despite the man’s disappointment of having not broken them and the fact that, yeah, maybe they hadn’t completely listened to him...they had all passed. Asami seemed to have a different view on their experience though. She hadn’t really been wrong. The boy preferred to believe that if it came down to it, Kyo wouldn’t have let it get as far as she said...would he? Oushi scratched at the side of his face with a single fingernail, a nervous smile on his face. Either way, they had all passed and it was time to head back to Kumogakure. Embarrassingly enough, his stomach growled quite loudly. Perhaps it would be good to take the girl up on her offer to the bakery. Where else did he have to go besides the academy dormitory anyways? Either way, he followed after the man riding a top his direwolf as he led them back to the gates of Kumogakure.

WC: [ 1,202 | 5,122 ]
Posts: [ 5 | 5 ]

Senju Shizuka · Jan 27, 2018

“To be honest, I’m not sure.” She wasn’t. Didn’t know if Kyo was right or not to throw them into the wild just like that. At the same time she didn’t believe him to be entirely wrong. They had bonded, to an extent, done things their way, made it through the night, and hopefully they would get back to the village without any major problems in the morning. If you asked Shizuka it was a bit of an odd trip which started out really rough, gave some sort of lesson on managing how to deal with the unexpected, and in the end let them simmer in their own thoughts. Perhaps that was the whole point? Just letting them deal with things in their own way. Maybe, just maybe, they were simply being observed to see who would take on the leader’s coat, and who would fall off the wagon. Fortunately everyone had stayed on track so far.

She let her eyes rest, drifting into sleep and back until Asami’s watch was over. Then she simply curled up and slept, knowing that Oushi wouldn’t like it too much if she would stick around him. At times it felt as if he didn’t really like her at all, but somehow Shizuka refused to believe that. If he didn’t want to be bothered by her then why did he join Yosuke whenever the latter came knocking on her door? It wouldn’t make any sense, in her opinion, so there had to be something else. Perhaps some sort of masculinity she didn’t understand which told him he could do things at a distance. One day she would definitely figure it out, but right now she would nap.

*

The night had flown by. When she woke up again she was aware that time had passed but didn’t know how much exactly. Kyo was being loud again, and it felt like she was having a flashback from the day before. At least she wasn’t waking up on the cold, hard ground. The twigs and fire, together with the cloak and being near another human being had helped. Above that she no longer felt like she was freezing from the inside out. Right now, everything felt hot. She sweated, yearned for the cold breeze outside and even rubbed some of the snow into her face - being reminded by it of the catgirl. That one she would get later down the line, she knew. Green eyes flashed with determination, then located her friends.

By the time the group had almost reached the village’s gates Asami let Kyo have it. As the older girl shone a different light on the scenario they were in, Shizuka tried to see it from various perspectives. She twisted and turned the field trip, quietly musing over the good and the bad things. And when Oushi seemed to follow Asami to the bakery she had spoken of, Shizuka lazily followed. Her stomach grumpily agreed that food came before a hot shower.

**
[498/3183 || 5/5]

Takahashi Takeshi · Jan 28, 2018

It was mistrust that had kept Takeshi awake. Kyo wasn't somebody that the boy could put faith in and, to a lesser extent, he mistrusted his fellow teammates too; he could work with them, get along with them, but there would always be that underlying sense of unfamiliarity that distanced him from them. He didn't trust them to keep watch, for example. Didn't trust them to see Kyo for what he was. So for their sake he chose to forgo sleep, this time using the icy cold wall of snow at the entrance to keep him alert.

The rest of the outing passed without incident and Takeshi retrieved both his gloves and cloak. Pampered girl, or Chatterbox as he thought would be more apt all of a sudden, offered to take them out for food though he politely declined.

"Another time, perhaps. I shouldn't be too hard to find if you need me in the future." He added, more eager to feed Kumo than he was to tend to his own needs. "And I'm sure Kumo will come looking for you eventually." The shadow of a grin bloomed at the corners of his mouth and his canine companion barked with affirmative glee. The dog had taken a liking to the children; the little one, Senju, was tiny and playful and the taller prettier one smelled nice and made lots of fun noises.

After the little black and white ball of fur had made his goodbyes, licking hands and pressing his head into fingers so ripe for giving scratches, the two departed in search of food and a bed.

[Words: 270][Total WC: 4187][Post: 5/5]

Takamura Natsumi · Jan 29, 2018

She didn't sleep that night. Tried, and oh how she did try-- but there was too much to think about. Too much that she didn't know, didn't understand, and didn't figure out the motive behind. Only food enough for three people? Three people to eat and be absolutely full, or three people who'd get barely enough to take the edge off the hunger? What about foraging and hunting? There were plenty of things one could eat in a forest; not the tastiest things ever, but they could work in a pinch!

She took her turn at the fire quietly when the time came-- and without any struggle or conversation toward their attempting to be chatty instructor. If there was one thing Natsumi prided herself on? It was being able to be a sullen almost teenager with style; down to and including the silent treatment and cold shoulder technique. His bellow hurt her ears when the crack of dawn began to lighten the sky, and she shot a look at the back of his head in return.

Jerk. Full of interesting ideas and theories, but a jerk nonetheless. They followed him back-- of course they weren't too far from the village-- and settled in while he made last minute discussions and opened up for feedback.

She didn't know how to respond to that, but one that apparently the downtrodden young girl who'd been babied and disheartened the entire trip did-- and she let him have it. Natsumi's eyes widened. Jaw almost dropping in surprise to the about face the girl'd shown before her mouth widened in a gleeful grin at the sudden show of fire and spirit. I knew it! I knew she had it in her! If she showed that more? Things would be a total piece of cake for her as time went on.

And speaking of, apparently free treats from the bakery her parents must have owned for her to make such an offer? Oh hell yes, she was totally going even if it meant having to tolerate that idiot Senju girl for even a few minutes more. Free treats were free treats, and like any pre-teen with a sweet tooth, that overruled pretty well any and all immediate animosity against other people.

As they reached the gates, she opened her mouth to chime in that she was going to come as well-- and shut it immediately after. Just inside the gates was a very unwelcome figure looking eternally amused and patient. Long legs crossed, leaning against the wall, and arms folded over his chest with that stupid, irritating smile on his face as he caught her eye, lifted one hand long enough to wave her over, and settled back.

Her ears flattened against her skull, hair at the back of her neck bristling in intense dislike as a low growl rumbled in her throat. She hated that man. Hated who he was. Hated who he worked for and why he was there. It's not fair. She thought angrily to herself, marching past him long enough for a hand to drop on her shoulder and steer her away from her fellows.

Back towards home without so much as a word of greeting. Just a simple, "Your parents are worried sick, let's go see them so they know you're okay."

And so ended her first real class on a completely sour note.

--
WC: 575
Total WC: 3,163/1,500
Post: 5/5
[COMPLETE]

Shimamura Yosuke · Jan 29, 2018

He spent the night as restless as Asami had, huddled in the corner lost in his thoughts. This existential crisis wasn’t something that suddenly fell upon him either. It was a build up of event after event, one situation after another where he found himself wondering exactly who he was. Why was he doing the things he was doing. But it all fell upon the same, undeniable and vague answer, to be the strongest he could possibly be. But what limits would he test, where would the boundaries be placed?

When it was his turn to watch over the camp, they didn’t have to bother waking him up. He shimmied out of the shelter, walked over to their instructor and leaned against the walls of the cave. It was silent for a long while, no words uttered, and the night was full of the bellowing winds and smoke from his cigarettes. Usually Yosuke would be very conversational, but tonight it was rather different. “Moon Sensei,” He broke the silence, “What does being a Shinobi mean to you?”

He didn’t expect an answer. And that was fine with him. His shift was up, his time here was spent, and it was almost time to go. The trek down the mountain felt like it took days, and Yosuke stayed at the far end of the group. Finally when they almost reached the village’s gates, Asami decided to speak up on how she truly felt. He watched her rummage for words, calling their Sensei out and speaking up against the events and how they unfolded.

His mouth remained slightly agape, even after everyone dispersed one by one. Before Shizuka and Oushi left he mumbled, “I’ll catch you guys later, I’m not very hungry,” he was lying but they didn't need to know that. Then it was just him and Moon Sensei.

“Tch,” Yosuke looked at the ground with his fists balled, “...She was weak. Dragging us down and then blaming you for not giving her the easy way out. If it wasn’t for-” He shut his mouth, knowing that he wasn’t sounding much like himself and if his friends heard him they would be surprised. But someone had to speak the truth,he didn’t mind that someone being him. He looked up at his instructor who sat above his direwolf and nodded confidently, “Call upon me the next time you have a class, I wouldn’t mind...learning...more from you.”

And with that, he dug his hands into his pockets, and walked away. Re-entering the village with a whole new mindset.

[wc=428/3,411]
[Posts=5/5]
[Completed]

Out in the Woods [ANBU/Survival Class]

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