The Return Home (Team one, Hokage only)

It had only been a few days since Kaosu had left the village for a mission alone. He left bad for leaving his genin behind, with nothing to do. He had hoped they trained while he was away. He made his way out of the forest and stepped foot right into the village. He stopped and looked around and it had not been attacked since he had been gone and that was a good thing. He did not have much to worry about, besides his genin. He began to walk towards his home, so he could get in a small break before his genin arrived. He had told them to arrive at his house, when he sent his insects to their homes, once he had returned. Soon, he had arrived to his small home, that look small for what Kaosu was making. Inside was a tad messy, because he did not feel the need to clean very much. It was a one floor house, with only what was needed, and of course a basement. Kaosu took a sit in his chair and laid it back. He wanted a little time to himself before he had summoned his team. Even though he felt the need to get them right away, he was getting old and needed a little rest here and there.

He stopped from something to eat first, because he was in a hurry to get back he had no time to eat. He went into a bar, because he did not want his genin to see him, so he could rest at his home. Had one of them saw him, he would have to do something with them, and he just needed some time alone. The mission he was on had put a lot of stress on him and an hour alone was all he asked for. He soon began to eat, and it had hit the spot. He ate quicker than normal, because he did wish to get back as soon as he could. He paid and soon left.

He knew they were ready to get things going, and Kaosu had a big surprise awaiting them when he got back, he just needed this rest, for at least an hour. He would use this time to sleep, because he had gotten little while out on his mission. As he feel asleep, his insects where sent out to each of his Genin, to let them know that Kaosu had arrived home, and to lead them to his home. After about a half hour he awoke from his light nap, to prepare for the meeting of his whole team. He knew they would probably happy to see him, on account of when he left, he left them with almost nothing. He said and looked out the window, into the streets. He stood up and stretched knowing that he would probably had to start moving again, and fighting as well. He walked down to his basement and turned on all the lights, waiting for the three to arrive. The basement was huge, even bigger than the house itself. This is where Kaosu would do most of his training because the room was almost bare, besides one door on the far, in the end of the basement. Behind the door was training supplies and another door.

After all the lights were on, he walked upstairs to await the arrival of all his genin. He was happy that he was going to see, the final member of his team for the first time. He had hoped he was not like Shihouin and rude. He had also hoped that Shihouin had recovered from the genjutsu he placed on him, if not, Kaosu's surprise would have to wait until he did. Shihouin was a growing boy, so he figured the heal process would not take very long, so Kaosu was hopeful that he was ready. He walked outside and sat on the bench in front of his house and closed his eyes. He soon began to drift to sleep, because he had gone without so little. He hoped that his insects would make it in time, to wake him, so his Genin did not think he was old. He soon dozed off, waiting for all three.

ooc: sorry for shortness.

Ever since his punishment in front of the entire village Shihouin had been homeless and alone. He sacrificed his apartment in attempts to escape punishment and failed due to the ANBU Jounin the Hokage had dispatched along with Togyou. During that time, Shihouin had undergone what would best be noted as a complete transformation. From the genjutsu cast on him by Kaosu to being embarrassed in front of the entire village, Shihouin's attitude had taken a beating several times over. He realized that he had certain goals he wanted to accomplish, and were he to keep his rude and rowdy attitude he would get nowhere. He had to change for the better.

The sun hung low in the sky, casting out luminescent beams of light across the village. On the training field, the trees blotted out the bright rays and strung long shadows on top of the unkempt grass and matted dirt. His training wasn't rigorous at all, but it was just enough to keep him occupied. Shihouin re-set his ninja pouch on his hip and collected the kunai and shuriken which were embedded into the trees for target practice. With a skillful hand, he wrapped the wire around it's base and placed it in his ninja pocket amongst the other variety of tools he kept in there. With his sword held firm in his hand, he slid either side of it against a large leaf held in his palm, cleaning the blade of the sticky insides of large trees and other plants which he was using to test out his sword. It was time to go--

He didn't have a home. Not anymore. Not after he'd sacrificed it and failed. Memories of that unforgettable moment when he was taken by surprised and forced to endure humiliation and shame. He'd gotten what he deserved. Shihouin walked slowly out of the training field, as if his feet had been filled with lead. Each step was a solemn thud on the ground, the feet of a homeless man, with no place to say. His eyes hung low in his head and the pockets in his hand looked like they could not reach deep enough to feel the emptiness he felt. Shame. A sincere and deep feeling, a doubt of one's own self. What would Ayame think of him? Nasa-chan? What about Raizo and Kaosu sensei? Luckily, he hadn't been there, or to his knowledge, he hadn't seen him get strung up on the Hokage's faces. He hoped his embarrassment would be kept to a minimum around his comrades. Would Raizo still see him as the jerk that couldn't keep his trap shut? Did Ayame's opinion change of him? The thoughts of other people's opinion bore down on his mind hard, as if they were gravity itself. Shihouin blinked hard and shook his head, flinging the thoughts out of his mind with a low sigh. Time to press on.

A bug dance across his ear with a loud vibrating noise. Not one for surprises, Shihouin moved his head back and swat his hands around in the air and kept moving forward. The same sound buzzed in his ear twice, and he repeated his first motion. That was, until the bug started to be more noticeable, and the same bugs came in clusters. It was Kaosu-sensei. They began to drift away from his position, headed towards another area. With an obvious signal to follow them, Shihouin dashed to the streets of the village and held his body skillfully. Passing the through the light traffic grace of feet, he wondered what exactly Kaosu had on his mind. Maybe more training? Shihouin wanted to master his Sharingan, thanks to Kaosu he had the final third tomoe. Maybe it was a mission. He really wasn't looking forward to another one of those, well he wasn't looking forward to another low ranked mission.

Shihouin's goal in becoming a shinobi was to prove his worth. Even if it meant attack the Hokage's office he would do it. Since his attitude had been changed after the recent events, his goals still remained firm his mind, unmoving from his thoughts. Instead of being so overzealous, he would just have to find another way to complete his goals. As he traveled into the residential area following the mass of insects, he let the thoughts escape from his mind. Whatever Kaosu-sensei wanted him to do he'd do it. It didn't matter. If this was the best way to get him to become a Jounin and possibly ANBU, he would follow without question.

Soon after, he'd arrived at Kaosu's front door waiting on the other team mates. He lifted his hand up to the door and quickly knocked on it, but soon noticed Kaosu-sensei outside on a bench. He walked over to his spot with loud steps, and stood before him. He looked pretty tired. "Kaosu-sensei. It's me Shihouin." The bugs would return to Kaosu, more than likely. "You called?"

The sounds of bones and such making contact with wood can be heard throughout the back yard of Keiji and Ayame Akira’s mansion like house. It synced not so perfectly with the birds’ chirping but it was the sound of hard work and the sound of hard work always came with results. Ayame knew this and that was why she always did a good few hours of training every day. Not just in Kenjutsu either, Ayame would often train in other fields such as Ninjutsu, Weaponry, etc. so that she wouldn’t be left in the dust should she face an opponent who excelled in these fields.

Today, Ayame was training herself in the martial arts of Taijutsu by attacking varies wooden objects that was designed to rotate frequently and had thick branches on them to help with dodging and defense. Ayame was preforming various combos while at the same time dodging. The amount of sweat draping across her body was a sign of the hard work, some of the bruising however was also a sign of failure, which Ayame just was not ready to accept in her time as a shinobi of the leaf village. She was going to excel in these fields if it killed her. Well, not really but to nearly that point.

She continued throwing combos, a few jabs here and there, some roundhouse kicks along with various combinations that she would hope to put someone down. Ayame also dodged the incoming attacks from the dummy. Ayame didn’t know whether she wanted to remain a close ranged fighter or she wanted to be long ranged, or perhaps mid-ranged. They all seemed to work well in their own rights but they also had their own disadvantages also that didn’t put her at much ease. She just continued dodging and parrying, looking for some openings.

During her dodge training, Ayame felt something land on the back of her neck, which she instinctively smacked away, she then felt something land on her arm, which she repeated the same action with, except to her arm. This went on around 2 or 3 more times until Ayame had finally broken enough concentration to get hit between her mouth and her jaw by the very hard dummy branch, causing her to double back and move away from the dummy’s range. Ayame collected the saliva in her mouth before spitting it out, the saliva being red, showing that it was mixing in with her blood.

Ayame looked as the bugs came into some sort of circle right before her, seemingly giving her a message. There were only two explanations that Ayame could think of for this, either they really needed to get this place tented or it was a message from a certain Aburame. Taking this in, Ayame nodded toward the insects, hopefully letting them know that she got the massage and walked into the house. She would first off, need to take a quick shower and also wash this blood from in her mouth before going anywhere, taking about 10 minutes to complete before she was ready to go.

Ayame was currently in her room, putting in the tie in her hair to make a ponytail since she didn’t have her stylist on the clock and braiding it herself would take way too long. She made sure she had all her shinobi equipment before picking up her sword and strapping it to her back. She then ran over to her patio and hopped off from the railing, heading over to the directions the bugs would lead her too. Once she had made it to his house, Ayame went to his front door but before she had made it, she looked over to see Shihouin going a certain direction so she simply followed him. Once she had met up with them, she gave both of her team members her usual greeting smile. “Hi, Shi, how are you?”She also took a look over at her sensei. “You rang?”

Fog rolled over the village of Konohagakure no Sato. Deep within the village, nestled beside a dango shop and a weapon store, sat a lone apartment building. The building was old, falling apart in some places and was overgrown with vines. Most people below it on the streets viewed it as something that should be tore down to make room from a new shop but the inhabitants of this place thought otherwise. They saw the building as their home and the place they had lived most of their adult life. The older occupants remembered when the place was brand new. They told stories of how everyone in Konoha wanted to live there because of its splendor. Now no one wanted to live there due to the lack of care that was given it. This was the sad apartment complex that one Genin lived in. He was the only ninja that lived there and the only reason he even had this apartment was because of the Hokage. Otherwise he would have been left to fend for himself in the streets. Thus was the generosity of the villages leader.

The soft sound of purring filled the small, cluttered apartment. Clothes were strewn out over the floor and in some places there were objects that could cut a unsuspecting foot open. The wall was littered with shuriken that had been thrown there out of boredom and some kunai stuck into bulls eye spots. In one corner of the room sat a hand made hut like structure, made of pieces of bamboo. Inside lay a white tiger as long as a man who was snoring in his slumber. His side rose and fell slowly in the methodical motion of sleep. Every minute or so he would whimper from a nightmare that was plaguing his dreams. The rest of the room was quite except for another being who was slumbering on the messy bed in the center of the room. This person tossed and turned, suffering from the night terrors that plagued him when he did manage to get to sleep. Raven black hair stood in every direction on the boys head and the edge of a scar could just be seen from under the covers.

Breaking the almost impenetrable silence that blanketed the room, an alarm clock bleated loudly, waking the occupants of the room in a start. The first to wake from their slumber was the tiger, who lept from his small hut and raced around the room, searching for the sound that had awoken him. The young boy was the second awake, having the combined sound of the alarm clock and the yowling of the tiger filling his head. His hand shot out quick as lightning and silenced the alarm clock with a simple touch. Glaring across the room at the tiger, he picked up a book that lay in the floor beside him and threw it at him. “”Shut the hell up, Ozunu! Go back to sleep or something…” His head fell back into the pillow with a thump and he closed his eyes, rubbing his forehead. The boy had barely had any sleep the night before, due to nightmares and then he was woken up by the worst noises possible. Sighing, he pulled the covers off of himself and stood up. Toned abs rippled as he walked towards the bathroom where he had last left his clothes. Scars could be seen on his back as he walked, marks from a thing that had happened in his past.

Five minutes later the boy appeared out of the bathroom fully dressed and equipped with two kunai in the sheaths on his vest. Gray pants covered his lower half and a simple pair of ninja sandals adorned his feet. Staring at Ozunu with piercing gray eyes, the boy beckoned him to follow him out the door. ”Let’s go Ozunu. Time to see what we can do today.” Following the boy out the door obediently, Ozunu hounded his heels all the way down the stairs and out into the street. People still gave the pair weird looks. Most of them still couldn’t get used to the fact that a Genin was always accompanied by a beast such as a tiger. It was logical to them. Not even high ranked Jounin had tigers, at least none that they knew of. They still appreciated the fact that the boy and his tiger did help out around the neighborhood when things needed to be done. It was just something they didn’t like to admit, since they were a bitter lot.

Not caring where he was going, the boy let his feet carry him around the village. By the time he started paying attention he was near the ramen shop. Taking this as a sign that he needed to eat something, the boy walked in and took a seat at the counter. Ozunu sat by his feet and looked around at the people in the shop. Most of them stared back at the tiger in bemusement, marveling at how such a creature was so well trained. The cook walked over from where he had been wiping a plate off and gave Raizo a warm smile. ”What will it be, son?” The boy look down at Ozunu and pondered a moment before answering. ”I’ll take some miso ramen.” Nodding, the man went about making the ramen in an orderly fashion. The boy waited patiently for the ramen to be finished while rubbing his finger along the scar on his face. It was an old habit that he couldn’t seem to get rid of. Continuing, he looked over at the man sitting beside him and nodded. The big man burped and grinned crookedly before getting up and walking out. Following the man with his eyes, the boy watched him stumble out into the street and make his way to the left, towards the rougher part of the village. Turning around, the boy looked down in surprise to see a steaming bowl of ramen sitting in front of him. Grinning from ear to ear, he began to eat the meal with gusto.

Three bowls later the boy sat back in his chair and sighed. The cook laughed and looked at the boy with twinkling eyes. ”Hungry, eh? There’s more where that came from and it’s all for free, just because I like you!” Laughing more, the man turned around and began to make him another bowl. Staring at him in disbelief, the boy kept quite and just waited for the next bowl. There was buzzing around his ears that wouldn’t go away so he turned his head quickly and a bug hit him square on the nose. Turning both his eyes towards his nose, he looked at the bug in confusion. It wasn’t like most other bugs who were wary of humans and tried to stay away. This one seemed to be trying send him a message, along with the other six that joined it in front of him. Figuring this had to be a message he stood up and allowed them to lead him to the entrance. The cook turned and saw this, yelling, ”Kid, where ya going!? This bowl is almost done!.” Looking helplessly at the man, the boy shrugged his shoulders. ”I’ll be back soon enough. See ya later!” With that the boy walked out the door and into the street, followed closely by Ozunu.

Following the bugs was hell. They led the boy through crowds of people, down alleyways, around parks and over the top of some buildings. The boy was nearing the breaking point when they finally stopped outside of a house. Staring at the place quizzically, the boy wondered who it belonged to. There was already three people outside of it, but he couldn’t tell who they were from this distance. Deciding it was probably best to go check it out, the boy made his way towards them. Ozunu stayed behind the boy and kept slightly out of view, not wanting to attract too much attention. The bugs moved quickly back over to the group where they hovered near the oldest member. The Genin figured this was the guy that wanted him to come here so he moved quicker to see who the other two were.

The first one to come into view was a boy with black hair. The Genin recognized him immediately. It was Shihouin, the boy he had sparred a few days ago. Looking at the other person, a female with blonde hair, he recognized her too. It was Ayame, a fellow member of his Genin squad. He hadn’t met his Sensei yet but planned to meet the mysterious man soon. Since Ayame was here he had a feeling that this was a meeting but he wasn’t quite sure. Shrugging it off, the boy stopped in front of them all and bowed his waved his hand. Fog still lay over the land behind him and all around them, causing distant things to seem hazy. Ozunu didn’t like the fog, which was the main reason the white tiger was staying so close to the Genin.

Taking it upon himself to introduce himself, the boy put on a look of meekness and started, ”Sorry I’m late. There was an old lady who needed help with her baggage and I just couldn’t let her do it alone.” Ozunu made a confirmation noise in his throat that sounded something like a growl. The boy and the tiger both knew he was lying but it was better than getting in trouble for being late to whatever this meeting was. ”By the way, my name is Raizo Shihai. It’s nice to meet you all.” Staring around at them all with his twinkling gray eyes, Raizo gave a small smiled and then rested his hand on top of Ozunu’s head.

Kaosu stood up as Shihouin had arrived. It was a little odd to hear Shihouin call him that, he didn't know if he was merely joking or really changing. He patted him on the head and then needed to have a serious talk with him before anyone else arrived. He was glad that Shihouin had arrived sometime before the others had. He looked at him and got down to his level. "Shihouin." Kaosu said with a disappointing tone. Kaosu had heard what his genin had done, right before the bijuu attack, and the punishment, so Kaosu wasn't going to do anything, because the Hokage went over the top with this and Kaosu was very angry at the Hokage for this. However, He had to make sure Shihouin knew that Kaosu knew what went done. He made time before any of the others arrived. "I know what you did, before the bijuu attack." He paused and got down to Shihouin's level. "You probably already know this, but I want to say this to you, to make sure. That other genin was your comrade, and you cannot do things like that." He patted him on the head again, to make sure Shihouin knew Kaosu wasn't all that mad at him. "Although what they did to you was a little harsh and uncalled for. I wish I was infromed about it before my mission, so I could have handled it. I am not happy with the Hokage."

He finished is talk with Shihouin right before Ayame had arrived, so she could not hear anything. He smiled as Ayame arrived and also waved to her. "Yes, I just recently got back from my mission. I feel that I shouldn't have had to leave, but." He paused and then sighed. He did not know how to finish that last part, because he kinda felt that The mission could have easily been done by someone else. He looked to Ayame and nodded his head. "I hope you both have learned a thing or two since I've been gone and hopeful work well together. Once Raizo arrives, I will let you inside my home." He had no idea what Raizo was going to be like. He had only heard a few things about him. He did not know if these things were good or bad. Kaosu thought all three would know each other because he was away long enough for them to meet. He looked at out in the distance and though he saw someone coming this way, but it was slightly foggy, so it was hard to tell.

A few moments later, Kaosu had been right about someone coming this way. He was not sure who he was at first glance, but he seemed to know the others, so he assumed that he was his last genin. Kaosu waved and smiled at him. He soon introduced himself as Raizo, so now Kaosu had not doubt in his mind of who he was. "It is nice to meet you as well." He was glad to finally meet his genin, inside of just hearing about them. He had seen each of their homes and the two boys were either in no home, or was in a very bad home. He sighed, because he wasn't sure about asking the two to live with him, but he knew it was his duty. He would asked them when the time was right. "Alright you three, you may come in." He opened his door and walked into his home. He soon sat down on his chair and watched the three stand. "Well, take a seat, because I have a surprise for the three of you."

He had talk to the Hokage, before his mission, getting a mission for his whole team. He wanted to make it up to them, because he had left so sudden. "We are going on a misson, very soon." He said to each of them, with his hands folded. He wanted to see the reaction, because this would be their first mission with their sensei. He assumed they would think the worst and first think that the mission would be very easy. This was not the case, he had a high ranking mission for them, at least it was high ranking for genin. He did not want to let them down once again. "You may think that this mission is some little D or C rank mission." He shook his head slowly for a moment to tell them that this was not the case. "The Hokage and I talked before hand, and we are going on a B rank mission." He stood up and walked to a door at the end of his house. "Ayame, please go get your things, we will be gone for about three days. Back your things, I need to talk to these two. Meet back in an hour."

He waited for Ayame the leave before he spoke to the two boys. "I've seen were you two leave, and I can say, neither place is for children like you two. I am willing to allow you to stay with me." He knew that his house did not look big so, he knew the two would doubt that he would have room for them. He opened up the door at the end of the hall. He walked down the steps and opened up a new door. Soon, an empty room was seen, that was almost four times the size of Kaosu's home. This was his training area, but he could spare room for the two, if he had to. He gave them a minute to decided. "It is all up to the both of you. If you need anything, this mission will pay for it." He began to walk up the stairs. "Also, go get the things you want to keep, if you are staying. If not, I still wish for you to go home and pack your things for the trip ahead. Meet back here, when I told Ayame to come back." He let them get their things, while he took a a rest on his chair.

He turned his faceto Kaosu who'd gotten up and was standing in front of him. Shihouin's eyes traveled up the man's body almost to his face. He blinked hard several times as Kaosu patted his head. It was an embarrassing feeling for him, but he endured it as he listened to his words. He stooped down to eye level with Shihouin and out of respect he returned the gaze and stared into his sunglasses. He showed that he was fully alert and paying attention. He was glad to hear that he wasn't alone on this, the Hokage in his opinion had taken it too far. After he patted his head once more, Shihouin shook in agreement as he continued on to the other members.

Shihouin turned his head quickly to Ayame who'd arrived not too soon after his arrival. She greeted him and he did the same. "I'm fine today." An odd set of words coming from what was once an Uchiha jerk. His voice didn't contain the sting it once had and he spoke in a calm manner and slower than normal, as if his voice and thoughts were heavy. After the new teammates arrival, Shihouin and the rest of the team quickly made their way inside of his house. Different from Ayame's Shihouin sensed a calm feel within. The complementary colors and the chair he sat in all gave it a smooth feel as if the house had been crafted as a sign of peace. Shihouin sat on the large couch across from the chair, leaning back in the soft cushioned seats. He kept his head towards Shihouin and his hands relaxed in his pockets. A mission? Ugh. Shihouin's feelings were mixed. It was obvious he wasn't too particularly thrilled about another mission. The assumptions were some C or D Rank mission which would probably be more annoying than useful.

It seemed it hadn't been as Shihouin's preconceptions were. A B Rank mission? Was the Hokage finally able to see the potential the team held? They weren't average to say the least, and even though Shihouin was the highest ranked out of the entire team, he knew that his team mates would soon catch up. Ayame especially. After her performance on their private mission, he knew it wouldn't be too long before competition grew between them. After he'd summoned Ayame off to prepare her things, Raizo and Shihouin stayed behind.

It seemed that the door was hiding more than just another room. Down the hallway was an enormus training room which dwarfed the size of Shihouin's apartment- even Kaosu's own house by at least three or four times. It was probably even bigger than Ayame's house. His question was simple, but Shihouin was complexed by it. He was ready to go on the mission, but he was not ready to stay with Kaosu. He was homeless and in need of a home, but he'd already been working on that. Shihouin took the liberty to kindly respond, waiting for Kaosu to finish talking. "There's a weapons-specialitst in the village streets. I've been going there everyday ever since my punishment. I stay there with him, learning how to make ninja tools and forge weapons and what have you. It's not as big as this, and if I hadn't already made the previous engagment I'd say yes, but I have to decline Kaosu-sensei. He's paying me and giving me a small room to stay in as long as I help him." Shihouin reached his hand out of his pocket and put his hands behind his head. He faked a smile and a happy look. "Don't worry about me Kaosu-sensei, I'm fine. I can handle it on my own. I can't become a great shinobi like you unless I struggle some right?" Even though he was faking his feelings about being homeless, Shihouin did want to stay with the weapons-specialist. By no means was he going into that field of jutsu, but he didn't mind learning how to make weapons and other ninja gear. He'd wait for his response and turn around and head towards his home at the weapons-shop. There he would prepare what little he had and return to Kaosu's house and swiftly as possible. A backpack, maybe some extra tools for the road and some ninja provisions like solider pills and what not. He'd could also get some of those ready-to-go meals that only required water and head to cook. Just in case. Shihouin didn't know about Raizo and his animal companion, but was sure he'd be fine where he was.

Ayame smiled as Shihouin gave her a rather welcoming greeting, as opposed to the usual barely audible sometimes non greetings. She had hoped that their two missions that they’ve had together while everyone else was gone had brought them a little bit closer, if not just a little. She preferred to remain to at least a close level of companionship with the people that she’d work instead of having it simply remaining business like without any form of emotional connection. She knew that was usually the way of the shinobi but it just wasn’t her way, despite who she lived with at home.

Once Kaosu had given his explanation from his absence, Ayame simply responded with that same greeting smile. “Oh that’s ok, sensei. Shi & I had gotten a couple missions done while you were gone and I’ve even met our other teammate recently so no love lost.” Even though Kaosu’s absence had left the Gennin without some possibly important training, but it had given her team a chance to bond a little bit more without the need for supervision. At least on her part because Ayame wasn’t sure of Raizo and Shihouin had even met before so that part of companionship might need to be turned up in the future.

Once Ayame heard a familiar voice in Raizo, she instantly turned around to wave at him, laughing a little at the lame excuse he made. “You’re such a saint, Raizo” She said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice, giving him that same smile she gave most people in a greeting. Ayame then turned back to Kaosu as he invited them into his house to go on further with his apparent meeting, which Ayame has been very curious about since the beginning of the bugs back in her backyard.

Ayame simply took a seat next to Shihouin on the couch, sitting in more of a guy-like way than a feminine style with her legs not together and her arms draped on her knees. Once Kaosu had told them that he had a surprise, Ayame started to get excited, wondering exactly what the surprise was. Was it new jutsu? Presents? A guaranteed rank up? She started bouncing a little bit as a result of this overwhelming excitement. She was hoping that it’d be something that would get them really stronger and ready for anything that crossed their paths, crushing them with unbelievable force on their way to greatness.

She was thinking about these things and more until Kaosu finally said what the surprise was. ‘A mission?’ Ayame stopped bouncing as she heard this and simply shrugged. ’ I guess another mission would beok for the team to do something as a whole, but…’ Ayame wasn’t exactly sure how to feel about it because the missions they’ve had so far had been pretty boring and pointless for the past few days now and she was just pretty much hoping for some real fun this time instead of basic community service.

A lot of things were going through her mind when she heard it was a mission but when Kaosu had said that they were going on a B ranked mission, Ayame’s head jerked up. Seems like it was finally time to do something of actual meaning this time. As Kaosu told her to get some clothes, Ayame didn’t even bother to let him finish his sentence before running out of the house, almost forgetting to open and close the door on the way out, which would have caused a pretty embarrassing situations right in front of her teammates and team leader.

Ayame just kept running all the way to her house, barely stopping for a one minute breather before continuing again, gaining a few looks from some of the villagers who were passing by. Once she had finally made it to her neighborhood, Ayame had taken the shortcut to her house, jumping up the balcony after she hopped on her fense from her neighbors’ lawn. Once she had made in on her patio, Ayame looked throughout her closet for a bunch of clothes to wear, careful not to overstock on them. Once she had everything she needed, Ayame ran over to the upstairs hallways and jumped the railing heading downstairs.

Once she was downstairs, Ayame went to the kitchen to grab on some snacks to eat on the way there, placing them all in the backpack she had gotten from her room to put all her stuff in and secured her lifelong Akira sword and ran out the door, again almost forgetting to open and close it though it wasn’t as dire this time due to no witnesses. Ayame ran all the way over to Kaosu’s house using the same route she took to get to hers and knocked on his door, ready to head out on an actually dangerous mission.

Raizo looked all the way up to his sensei’s shrouded eyes and nodded when the man told him it was nice to meet him. The two of them should have met before now but due to Raizo missing the first meeting they hadn’t had the chance until now. Ozunu walked over to the tall man and walk around him, sniffing him. Seemingly pleased, the tiger rubbed his head against the mans leg before walking back to stand beside Raizo. The Genin patted the tiger’s head and smiled down at him. He was becoming a bit more tolerant with Ozunu’s friendliness. It was better then they animal attacking people on a daily basis . Raizo decided this was better than having a blood thirsty creature of the wild. If it was like that then he wouldn’t have been able to keep Ozunu due to safety issues with the public. Bringing himself out from his thoughts, Raizo looked around at all the people there and waited for something to happen.

The words, ”You’re such a saint, Raizo.”, reached the boy’s ears. Turning to look at Ayame, he grinned at her and scratched the back of his head in an embarrassed kind of way. She seemed to have that effect on him, though he couldn’t explain why. It was probably because he wasn’t accustomed to girls quite yet and still needed to adjust to being around them. Ozunu already loved Ayame though, walking over and looking up at her with expectant eyes. Raizo knew the tiger wanted to be petted, just not by him for the time being. In a hour or so Ozunu would be right beside Raizo again, begging him to pet him. It happened so often Raizo knew how it would all work out. First Ozunu would go to someone else for love and then when they had petted him long enough he would come back to Raizo expecting to be petted more. The boy knew this was the tiger’s plan and so planned to spoil it by not petting him when he returned.

Following the other two Genin’s lead, Raizo walked into Kaosu’s house. It was a cozy place, easy on the eyes and looked like somewhere you would go and talk to let your feelings out. Raizo took a seat on a chair on the other side of Shihouin and stared at his Sensei. He had only just met the man and already he had grown to like him. Some people just had that effect on him. Others thought the boy was too trusting but he disagreed. Why not trust people in your own village? One day you would probably end up on a mission together and then that trust would really be needed.

Ozunu lightly nipped Raizo’s finger to bring his attention back to the room. The boy glared down at the tiger for a second before turning to look at Kaosu. Listening closely to what the man said, he learned that they were going on a mission. Raizo hoped it wasn’t a small time mission. He knew he was strong enough to take on a mission of higher rank than most Genin. He was also sure that Ayame and Shihouin could handle a high ranked mission too. Raizo leaned over and whispered to Ozunu, Let’s hope it’s a hard mission. We need to test our abilities.” The tiger nodded it’s head in the way it always did when it was agreeing with Raizo. Turning back to Kaosu, Raizo leaned back in his chair and waited with held breath for the rank of the mission they were going on.

The results of his waiting were fruitful. Kaosu-sensei announced that they were going on a B ranked mission. Raizo almost jumped out of his seat and danced around, he was so happy. Ozunu purred and lay his head down on his paws. Grinning from ear to ear, Raizo watched as Ayame left the house quickly to go pack. He looked a bit surprised when Kaosu told them that he needed to talk to him and Shihouin privately. Turning a questioning look to his sensei, Raizo listened as the man told them both that he knew where they lived and that it wasn’t suited for children of their age. Nodding, the Genin knew this was true but that place had also been his home for seven years. It would be harder than expected to just move right out and into the house of a man he barely knew.

Jumping up as Kaosu and Shihouin made their way down the stairs, Raizo followed them quickly through the door at the end of the room into the hallway. His feet carried him slowly down towards the end of this hallway which let out into a huge room. Raizo felt his jaw drop at the size of the place. It was larger than his apartment. Larger even than Kaosu’s own house. It surprised him that something of this size was below the mans house. Looking around at Ozunu, he knew he had to get the tiger’s approval before moving in. ”What do you think, Ozunu? Could we leave here?” The ran from one side of the room to the other, actually gathering some speed while he did it. Returning to Raizo’s side again, the tiger nodded it’s head in approval. Raizo turned and stared at Kaosu. ”We will stay here with you, sensei. I will be back with my things in an hours time.” Before exiting, Raizo looked at Ozunu and said, ”Stay here while I’m gone. It won’t take me long.” With those words he sprinted up through the hallway, up the stairs and out through the house into the street.

Moving quickly, the boy followed the same route that he bugs had led him on. Passing by the ramen shop, Raizo swung inside and grinned at the cook. ”Where ya been, kid? I’ve been waiting for you!” Still grinning, Raizo walked over to the counter and sat down for a breather. ”I’m going on a mission. B ranked at that. I don’t know how long we will be gone but I will be sure to visit you the day we get back.” Staring at the boy with what looked like pride, the cook nodded and waved his hands, ”What are you waiting for then!? Go get packed!” Raizo nodded and jumped up, sprinting out of the shop and into the street, bumping into a few people and earning angry remarks.

Ten minutes later the boy lept from the street onto an adjacent building and then climbed in through his bed room window. Once inside he began to pack everything he saw in three different bags. The first bag was for the mission, in which he packed clothes he would, extra kunai and shuriken, some rations and a book he had found out behind his building called Make-out Paradise. The second and third bags were filled up with his clothes, any spare meat he had for when Ozunu got hungry and his very few valuables, which included a small stone that looked like a crystal and a twisted root that he found cool. Slinging the first pack over his shoulder and carrying the other two in his hands, the boy jumped out the window and ran back to Kaosu’s house.

Upon arrival, he noticed that Ayame was there waiting outside the door. Walking up behind her, he tapped her on the shoulder and gave her a grin. ”Go on in. Kaosu-sensei shouldn’t mind.” Walking around her, he made his way back in and down the stairs. Once back in the big room at the bottom he dropped his bags and made his way back upstairs with just his pack for the mission and Ozunu in tow. Taking a seat, he looked around expectantly and waited for the okay for them to leave.

Kaosu was glad to see them in all in such a hurry to leave. As he sat down in his chair, he thought of how great it was teaching these three was going to be. He did not know what was in store for the rest of the time with them, but he had hoped things would be great. He wanted to see nothing more than them to each grow stronger than himself, because that is how things worked. He needed to great ready himself, before the three arrived. After about ten minutes he got out of his chairs, and begun to pack his needed items. He only took a smile bag, of mostly food and drinks. He only put in one pair of clothing inside, because he did not feel the need to bring much. Lastly, he attached two small sized tents and a sleeping bag to his backpack. Each tent could easily fit two people inside of them. After everything was ready for him to go, he found the time to sit down on his chair once again. As soon as the whole team got here, he would brief them on the mission. He knew they would arrive soon.

Kaosu did except a knock on his door, but he was wrong and Razio and Ayame had let themselves in. It shocked Kaosu, but he was not angry seeing as Raizo would be living with him from now on. It was funny, only an hour ago, he had been living alone and now one of his genin would be in the same home as him. It seemed odd, but it was for the best, because the boy lived in a bad part of the village and his home was run down. He stood up and greeted both of them. "It's good to see both of you back so early." He walked into another room, and took his bag and sat it by the door. "Raizo, get settled in and both of you drop the things you are taking with you, by the door." Now, all the had to do was what for Shihouin to arrive. Kaosu had told them an hour, so Shihouin had plenty of time to get here. "Lets take a step outside, shall we? Grab your things."

Only a small amount of time had passed, before Shihouin arrived. "Alright, before we go on this mission, I want you guys to know the risks. This is a B-rank mission, and we are leaving the village. If one of you are hurt during the mission, it will be likely we have to return home. Although, if you do, do not blame yourselfs, this is just how things go." He paused and begun to walk towards the gates, to leave. He wanted to get them out into the real world as soon as possible. Although they would not be leaving the village for at least another half hour. Even though he had warned them on what they needed to know, he was still worried. This mission was only B, but he did not know if they were ready for a mission like this. He knew they could handle the rank, but he didn't know if they could actually kill someone. He felt kinda bad, for having to send them on a mission like this.

As they made their way to the gates, to leave the village, Kaosu stopped and looked at the three of them. He got down to their level and sighed. "You three, better be prepared for the worst. There is no turning back once we step foot out of the village." He paused and stood back up, moving closer to the gates. "Before we leave, I must tell you what we are doing on this mission." He sighed once again, showing that he was a little worried about this one. "We will be headed to the Rice country for this mission. It will take about a days walk to get there, if we do not stop. So, I hope you are all well rested." He paused yet again, hoping it would ease the surprise. "We are going to be after a Bandit thief, and this mission requires us to." He could not get the last few words out, Kaosu did not if he wanted them to hear this.

After about a minute of Kaosu pausing he finally looked at the three and knew he had to finish what he started. "We have to kill the man." He let out a sigh of relief after getting that part out. He knew they thought they could handle it, but for a kid to kill a man, was a whole other story. Once the time came, he did not know how each of them would react, but he did not think it would be good. It had been a great thing Kaosu was going along, because he did not want to see them alone in this kind of problem. It was better for them to see something like this know, instead of it coming along when they were alone, not knowing what to do. He was now ready for them to leave and get this mission started. He was helping them along the way, of seeing something that was going to happen in any shinobi's lifetime. "Alright, now that you know what is going to happen, lets get moving."

He soon took a step outside of the village. They were now on their way to starting their very first mission as a team together. Kaosu was very hopeful with their skills, and knew this mission would be a great success. He knew that he could not let a single one of them get harmed during this mission, or he would feel guilty for it. This would test the limits of his genin and also himself. "Raizo, Ayame, and Shihouin, lets get this done and over with, so we can come back from some more training." He said as he jumped into a nearby tree, hurrying towards the Rice county.

His journey to his small home at the weapons-specialist shop didn't last long. He collected a backpack and filled it with all sorts of things. The owner of the shop wasn't there, but Shihouin had a key and was allowed to take whatever he wanted if he so needed. He packed a bag of about ten solider pills, another set of shuriken, kunai, special tags, explosive tags, wire, and about four folded windmill shuriken along with some other miscellaneous things. He stuffed a mesh cover into one side and two of the ready-to-go meals on the other. On the underside of the backpack was a standard issue tanto, one which he could easily reach with no problem. After filling the sack up, he strapped it to his back properly, pulling down on fabric to tighten the grip around his arms for easy mobility.

Shihouin took a look in the mirror before he left, stopping to think about what exactly he was getting into. In the mirror he saw a genin, an Uchiha wearing a black shirt and matching shorts, with open toed nin-boots and a Konoha headband around his head. Was that all he was? Was he more than just what he was looking at? He looked himself in the eye, as if he was trying to figure out what he himself was thinking. Hmpf. Shihouin opened the door to the shop and turned around and locked it, placing his key in his pocket and making his way towards Kaosu's house.

Was he really ready to do this? Was he going to put his life on the line for his village to complete this mission? Questions roamed across his mind, fighting no answer amongst his thoughts. He didn't know what to think, but it was certain that he would not die. Today would be a trade-mark day for him and maybe the entire time. Probably a day they would all remember. Throwing the thoughts off his mind, he arrived in a timely fashion.

Shihouin listened to Kaosu as he gave them a mission debrief. Killing. It was something that Shihouin wanted to do, as evil and treacherous as it sound. He wouldn't go berserk or anything, but if he had the strength to actually kill someone, maybe he would have the strength to grow stronger. He couldn't be an innocent child all of his life. After the debriefing mission, Shihouin followed the team towards the Rice Country, ready for whatever.

Once Ayame had gotten the instructions to leave her things by the door, she immediately dropped her bag by it, before walking in the house. In Ayame’s mind, she was going through how awesome she was going to look while completing the mission. She was going to defeat anyone in her path and prove her worth as a kunoichi in the male shinobi world. Not that she was sexist or anything like that, it was just that she was eager to make equality within this world in the form of respect by gaining as much as she could, becoming a role model for other kunoichi and all that.

Not too long after Ayame and Raizo had arrived, Shihouin appeared to be not too far behind as he made his way over with little time in between their arrivals. Ayame listened closely as Kaosu gave the details of the mission should anyone get hurt. Ayame was determined that she wasn’t going to get hurt in this mission because that would be like implying that she was weak, which she definitely wasn’t going to let everyone else see in her. That would not put her any closer into achieving her goals, it would actually take it a step back if that happened so she was going to try her best to get out with no harm done.

Once it was time to head out, Ayame had walked towards the door, behind her team, getting her back of things on the way out and throwing it over her right shoulder so that she had a loose grip on it, setting out over to the village gates. It seemed a bit odd that this was the first time in Ayame’s life that she would step outside the boundaries of the village and that this was so sudden on top of that, but she was sure that she could handle it. As a shinobi, she had to be ready for anything.

As they had finally made it to the village gates, Ayame looked at the watch in her right wrist, growing a little impatient for some action. Kaosu had started speaking again about the mission details, which he hadn’t said before. Ayame started to notice that he was sighing a lot and getting a worried tone strapped to his voice. She understood that this was a high ranking mission for them but Ayame didn’t get the slight doubt he was leaving behind, she was sure they’d have it all in the bag.

It was then that she heard him say that they were going to have to kill someone. ‘…. Eh….’ Ayame wasn’t exactly sure about that subject right there. She had never really attempted at someone’s life before, much less actually kill someone so that part had her in a bit of doubt. Then again, though, Shihouin didn’t seem to think twice about killing people, evident from their spar a while back so even if she happened to punk out, which she hoped she wouldn’t do, he’d probably be head of the assassination part and she could just… well, do the fighting to the unable to fight parts.

But once that part was out of the way, it seemed time to finally head out and get started, evident from Kaosu getting started on his way past the village gates. After about a couple seconds of picture perfect moments, Ayame was right behind him as they headed out to the Rice Country.

The order to step outside reached Raizo’s ears and he hopped up, making his was outside quickly. Ozunu followed him and stood by his side while Looking up expectantly, Raizo waited for Kaosu to say something. A short time passed and Shihouin had arrived when the man finally spoke. He went on about how this was going to be a dangerous mission and that if they got hurt then they would probably have to come back to the village. Raizo stared determinedly towards the villages walls in the distance and made a vow inside his head that he wouldn’t get hurt. He couldn’t drag the team down like that and if he did get hurt he would make the others think he was weak. That wasn’t something he wouldn’t allow to happen.

After the short speech was finished, Raizo followed the man and the rest of his team to the village gates. His thoughts went to the man at the ramen shop, who had shown him kindness even though they had just met. It was people like that that Raizo wanted to meet out in the rest of the world. He knew that he would be able to on this mission but decided that one day he would meet people like that man. Smiling slightly at nothing, the boy continued walking and staring around at the village. This would be the last time he would see the village for a few days. His home. It felt odd leaving after all these years even though he had been born outside of the village. Raizo thought to himself and wondered if they would pass the place where he had woken up and started his new life. The Genin figured it was a possibility and looked forward to maybe seeing the place.

Raizo stopped looking around when he suddenly ran into Shihouin’s back. Mumbling sorry he looked around in embarrassment at the speaking Kaosu. The man was telling them what they were going to do on the mission. It seemed easy enough. They would travel to Rice Country and defeat a Bandit. Raizo didn’t see how such a simple mission could be B ranked but he figured there had to be more than one bandit. It wasn’t like those type of people didn’t travel in huge groups. Raizo could tell that it would be slightly challenging for the team but knew they could handle it. ”We go this one in the bag, Kaosu-sensei.” Grinning at his sensei, the boy nodded to the man.

Without thinking the boy started to walk again until he realized that he team mates were still standing a few feet behind him. Rushing back to where they were, he looked up at Kaosu and waited for the last part of his speech. When Kaosu finally said it Raizo felt his jaw drop for the second time in one day. They had to kill the man. He guessed he would be able to do it if it came down to him or one of his team mates dying. That was something he couldn’t allow and so he knew he would kill the man if he tried to harm one of the others. Once the older man told them to keep moving, Raizo walked quietly beside the man and wondered what it would be like to kill a person. He figured it would be hard at first but after you killed one person, it would become easier. That was just a theory though and the boy wondered if it would ever be easy to kill a man.

Silence shrouded the group as they approached the gates. Raizo reach back and touched the hilt of the katana that rested on his back. He had bought it a few days ago to start learning Kenjutsu and hadn’t had very much practice with it. He had planned on coming to Ayame for some help before anything happened but he hadn’t had a chance yet. Hopefully he would get some practice in on this mission and be able to use it in battle against the bandits.

The village gates loomed overhead as they walked through them. Raizo smiled at the guards they passed and then stopped right outside the gates. Raising his hands above his head, the boy stretched and yawned loudly before looking around. It had been quite awhile since he had been here, seven years in fact. Everything felt so alien after being in the village for so long. Looking around at Kaosu when the man spoke, the Genin nodded and followed close behind the man. They were heading to Rice Country to kill a bandit. This would be quite the adventure.

Moved to: First Mission