The First Meeting (Squad Nine Only/No killing)

Taka woke up in the firm comfort of a bed, it was the first time she had slept on something soft and not ground like in a while. It was very refreshing for her and she could feel the vigor of the night already thanks to the lovely sleep she had received. She slowly lifted the covers from her body and dropped them off the side. She moved her body jolting upwards to sit up right. She looked around in the room, it was nicely cleaned. Everything seemed to placed in the right areas, not that there was much only a simple desk with a small book that had a few meals that could be order. Very quaint place it was. Takas gear and equipment laid in a orderly fashion in the corner of the place. Atop it was her new headband given to her. With a large grunt Taka slapped her own face and stood up walking over she grabbed onto the headband and placed it around her head. Her nimble hands quickly move around and tied the knot tight. A small tug was caused by the tieing which made the headband tighten around Takas head. She walked over towards the drapes and pushed them aside....what she saw was a disaster! The sun had gone down just enough for her to be late.

She hoped she still had a bit of time. She speedily ran down the steps and out the door not saying a word to the owner of the small hotel. The surroundings quickly blurred as she rushed towards the shop. She rushed past a few shops and keep looking around. Taka herself wasn't sure where it was as things seemed to have changed a bit. After another bit of traveling she arrived near the meeting spot that was sent by messenger to the genin. The message in question stated 'Young genin, congratulations! You've been selected and placed into Squad Nine, here you will continue your training and service to the village! You must come to the Ichikrauku Ramen Shop at 8 pm and no later! Here you will meet your other squadmates and your sensei. One suggestion...get plenty of rest.' . After having written the no later part and Taka showing up late was not going to look good. Looking down she noticed that she was wearing not her jounin outfit........

'DAMN IT, this is a total f*ck up' she thought. Taka speedily made the trip back to the hotel and rushed up stairs. There she put on her Jounin uniform and made sure to also place her leather bound equipment that was meant to hide her breast. She jolted back out the door and head back towards the Ramen shop. After another many mins of running she arrived at the shop......sadly at 8:31 pm...late 31 mins. She was in plain view of any one who was sitting around the shop so there was no hiding her tardiness. Despite her being fairly late Taka decided to not apologize off the bat but to greet them and now her words were chosen. "Now we are my new students at." Taka said aloud in a large male voice.

"... Yasu-san!"

A voice broke through the young Genin's subconscious and startled her from her current task, making her drop the book she had been reading. The strange voice was accompanied by harsh knocking in rapid succession, trying to get her attention, no doubt. She slowly lifted her head from the ground, trying to gather her senses and eventually getting up to her feet. Who would be calling on her at this time of day? And why on earth were they so formal about it? No-one she knew would ever call her 'Miss Yasu'; using a respectful form of her surname for address. It must be someone that she didn't know. Thinking about it, the voice didn't sound familiar in any form.

She moved slowly and cautiously towards the door, standing up on her tip-toes to look through the eyehole at who had come calling. Stood at her door was an unremarkable-looking Chuunin, identifiable by his Chuunin vest. He had a pair of wide amber eyes and dark brown hair, and was wearing a very bored/ borderline irritated expression on his face. Chikami decided not to keep him waiting too long, and opened the door promptly afterwards, blinking rapidly at the sudden flooding of light from the hallway outside her apartment. "A-Ah... sorry about that..." She apologised, bowing her head respectfully, knowing that he was of a higher rank than her. The stranger looked down at her and shook his head, pulling out a small green scroll and handing it to her. "It is of no concern. I was not kept waiting too long. Have a pleasant day."

And with that, he vanished in a small cloud of smoke. 'Shunshin no Jutsu...' She recognised the technique, before it registered in her mind that she was stood awkwardly in her doorway. Sighing softly at her stupidity, she retreated inside her apartment and shut the door behind her before unrolling the scroll delivered to her. It didn't take her long to skim-read the message, but it took her longer to go back over its contents and puzzle over them.

A team? She had been put into a shinobi team; a squad? This was so strange... and scary. This would mean that she would have to start fighting soon. Early missions led up to higher ones, in which she would be required to take down targets with her squad mates. She found herself hoping that her sensei and squad mates would be nice and kind, not only that, but patient with her. Heck, they would need that patience. 'Seems like I should set aside time for this meeting tonight...' She thought to herself, rolling the scroll back up and leaving it on a coffee table beside the couch she had been sat at beforehand.

The rest of her day passed by uneventfully, aside from her chronic worrying about this whole squad situation. It was scary for her to meet new people; human beings made her feel uneasy, period. She would much rather surround herself her with books, dolls and puppets, after all. At 6:30pm, she started to get ready for this important meeting. She showered to clean herself, and spent extra time trying to tame her unruly hair. It was slowly starting to grow out of its strange shape, and her bangs were beginning to level out. After fussing with her hair, she focused on finding an outfit to wear. She decided against wearing her typical pink dress with long white sleeves, and instead opted for an outfit that might be deemed a little bit more normal for one of her age. She slipped on a green t-shirt with an open back, a black skirt which reache her mid-thighs, and a pale yellow hoodie which was patterned with an orange stripe printed horizontally across it. To complete the outfit, she wore a pair of new green high-top sneakers that she had treated herself to not very long ago.

Feeling a little uncomfortable in the unfamiliar clothing, she took a deep breath and left her home with a small red purse which contained her wallet and other such things, conscious of the fact that they would be meeting at an eatery. She should at least pay for herself to eat. She left her house at 7:30pm, and made a speedy arrival at Ichiraku Ramen for 7:50pm; ten minutes earlier than the designated time. She awkwardly moved inside the small stall, brushing past the cloth and taking a seat on one of the stools. Her indigo eyes scanned the area nervously, not spotting anyone else aside from the stall owner. It felt like an awful long time, but eventually she became alerted to the sound of a voice that demanded to know the whereabouts of his students.

"U-Um, I think that includes me, s-sensei..." She voiced meekly, getting to her feet and feeling a little shaky about doing so. Realising she hadn't introduced herself, she cleared her throat and laughed nervously, taking a step towards the male and holding her hand out to shake his; a common sign of greeting. "My name is Chikami Yasu, s-sir... it's a pleasure to m-meet you." She managed to say with only a little stuttering. It was an accomplishment for her.

Words: 873

It had been quite some time since Takeshi had last paid a visit to Ichiraku Ramen. While the boy was undoubtedly a fan of the cuisine, the fact remained that the food was a bit on the pricey side. For a fresh young genin like him with no financial backing other than the small allowance he received from the village, eating out at any place, even somewhere as seemingly casual as Ichiraku's was a rare treat. It was because of this major detail that the child found himself in a rather foul mood. Due to the rarity of being able to afford eating out and the level of affection he had for the food, he despised the idea of having to share the experience with three complete strangers.

"What kind of team meets at a restaurant?"

The child muttered begrudgingly to himself as he marched down the thoroughfare, his body shifting this way and that without much thought as he avoided colliding with one of the many forms that made up the sea of people that were currently on the streets. Even this late, the Hidden Leaf was bustling with activity. Late dinners, night time drinking, and almost any type of activity one could imagine were available to those who sought such things and had the money to indulge themselves. It was an interesting place to live, to say the least. For someone like Takeshi though, such luxuries held little sway in how he felt toward the village. While Takeshi had always held some degree of anger toward his home town, he had found himself feeling a bit more strongly ever since his graduation from the academy. The reason as to why was lost upon the child. Indeed the boy had done his best to try and pinpoint the source for this recent trend of unrest but ultimately found himself growing ever more upset and frustrated. Memories of his late mother continued to plague him and such memories and the intense emotions they evoked only seemed to grow in frequency and intensity once the boy had moved away from the orphanage. Perhaps it was the isolation that came with living by one's self, giving him unneeded extra time to stew and dwell in his own negativity. Whatever the cause, the frustration was as plain as day on the child's ever scowling face.

The scowl never left the boy's features, remaining firmly imprinted upon his affect as his pace began to grow quicker by the second. He was getting tired of the crowd, of the people who never seemed to pay him any mind as he continued to swerve and sway in a strange dance of avoidance, dodging the incoming bodies in an effort to save himself from a sudden and awkward collision that would result in an even more uncomfortable situation should he and whatever individual had been unlucky enough to hit him began to speak. Luckily for Takeshi, this activity wouldn't last long as the boy soon found himself standing across the street from the designated meeting spot. Though the child wore no watch and was thus unable to accurately guess the current time of day, the very fact that only one individual was sitting at the stall was enough to tell him that he was early by some degree.

Without a word the boy began to make his way toward the stall in an attempt to take a seat, though found himself hesitating as his greenish blue hues focused on the lone female figure seated at the counter. It was Chikami, his oldest and only friend. If one could call the two friends. Their relationship was complicated, at least to him. The two were close, there was no doubt about that but the two had never seemed to interact like friends normally did. Their time together was seldom if ever spent playing, laughing, or enjoying one anothers' company. She was odd, to say the least and he wasn't exactly a people person to begin with. They had simply been two bad eggs tossed into a basket, desperately trying not to crack. This situation seemed no different, though Takeshi couldn't exactly say that having Chikami's presence around was a bad thing. A small part of him was truly thankful for the fact that she was most likely one of his team members. Perhaps tonight's meal wouldn't be entirely unpleasant. With a small sigh the male stepped forward but neglected to greet the female as he took his seat on the far end of the stall. There he would remain, sitting quietly as his eyes scanned over the menu slowly, seeming to struggle somewhat to read everything in front of him. It wasn't until the sudden appearance of the newcomer that Takeshi's eyes would drift away from menu, only managing to fall upon the Jounin after he had rather noisily called out for his students. Despite feeling fairly certain that this shinobi was indeed their team leader, Takeshi remained silent until Chikami finally spoke out in an attempt to introduce herself.

"Takeshi Kurosawa."

The young male would offer with a small wave of his right hand after allowing a few seconds to pass between Chikami's introduction. He sincerely hoped that his sudden announcement of his presence wouldn't catch his childhood friend off guard.

A soft knock echoed through the large empty house. Makoto's family was off doing lord knows what.   Makoto, being on the second floor in a room the farthest away from the door was unable to hear it. Another soft knock, this one slightly louder than the first reverberated off the large furniture, this however still did not reach the sleeping Makoto. A large crash echoed through the house. Makoto's eyes shot open, he rolled of his bed into a defensive stance. His emerald eyes pieced through the darkness of his room searching for the source of his noice. His heart began to race. A voice that sounded slightly familiar echoed from downstairs. "LETTER FOR MAKOTO!" Makoto raced downstairs. The front door lay smashed in pieces on the ground, splinters of wood were everywhere. He looked up to find a cousin  of his standing in the doorway with a letter in his hand. It was Jun. He had the same emerald eyes that Makoto had inherited from his father. Jun was smiling. "Taking a nap again eh Mako?" Makoto blushed and nodded. Makoto took naps all the time, because when he wasnt studying, he was training or eating. Slightly annoyed at the tease, Makoto snatched the letter from his hand. Jun was 5 or so years older than him and was around his house a lot. "Stop breaking down our door Jun, even though we can just make a new one its not very nice. Makoto said, with a yawn. Jun just chuckled and took off.Sighing, Makoto made the snake handsign, channeled his chakra and created a new door, at the same time integrating the splintered wood on the ground into the floorboards. Makoto opened the letter, it read: "Young genin, congratulations! You've been selected and placed into Squad Nine, here you will continue your training and service to the village! You must come to the Ichikrauku Ramen Shop at 8 pm and no later! Here you will meet your other squadmates and your sensei. One suggestion...get plenty of rest." Wonderful, I know this will help me on my path to becoming the strongest. Baby steps, one step at a time. I hope my squad mates are nice people! He thought to himself as he walked back up stairs sleepily.

Once in his room he looked at the clock on the wall, it was only 10:00am; he still had to wait 10 hours until the designated meeting time. Makoto set his alarm for 7:30 and laid back in bed. He fell asleep in minutes. At 7:30pm his alarm woke him up. Makoto yawned and got ready. He put on a grey t-shirt with a tree on it, black shorts and ninja sandals. He raced downstairs, and waved bye to his parents. Makoto walked through the forest towards the village. He always loved being in the forest at night, the nocturnal animals always made it come to life. After a few minutes of walking, Makoto reached the village. Like the forest, Konoha was surprisingly busy at this hour. There were lots of people walking to and fro, most of them with smiles on their faces. Makoto smiled at the thought that he would be soon acquainted with his new team. He desperately hope that he would get along with all of them, but knowing his sometimes anti-social tendencies he knew that it may be difficult for them to get along at first. Despite that, he retained his optimism.

Upon arriving at the designated meeting spot Makoto noticed that there were two other people there already. He was the last one of the kids to show up. What a great way to make a first impression Makoto, be the last one. Makoto said to himself sarcastically in his head. he lifted up the cloth to the ramen shop to see that there was one male and one female. The male was sitting on the far end and the female was closer to the right end. Did the male purposefully avoid the female? or was it the other way around? Only time would tell. The atmosphere in the shop was sort of uneasy, which made it hard for Makoto to determine whether he should introduce himself now or wait until their sensei came. The two other genin seemed familiar, though he couldnt figure out why. He shrugged internally and made his way to the opposite side of the counter and took a seat. Almost a long, grooling, uncomfortable, tense half hour later a loud male voice said ""Now we are my new students at." Makoto's ears perked up. He turned around to see a tall young man standing outside. His face was very soft looking despite a few scars which definitely added an air of badass. The girl spoke first, her voice was soft and very meek, she was undoubtedly very shy. Chikami Yasu The boy spoke next, his voice very sure and almost sharp.Takeshi Kurosawa For some reason this boy slightly irked Makoto and he was unsure why. Makoto introduced himself next. "I am Makoto Senju, very pleased to meet you Sensei" He said with a smile. Makoto was bubbling with excitement, his teamates seemed very strong although they were very different than he had imagined, and his sensei seemed really strong, he didnt even care that he was late. Makoto wished he could grow up to be a man who is as strong as his sensei.

Word Count: 907

Taka listend to the girl and tried to put her best go on kid face! But young Chikami-kun struggled to get the words out. Taka wondered why she was such a stutter 'A word fumbler....jez. Poor kid. Wonder what made her this way. Terrible parents who thought she was a milk carton. No, maybe? I mean thats weird...but anythings possible.' During Takas rambling thoughts a long pause became draw between the two as Taka just examined the young girl and thought about her word fumbling. From the young girls perspective it would look as if she was being tested or judged in some way. Taka was about to speak but before she could another young man came into view saving Chikami-kun with a elegant beauty pagent wave. "Takeshi Kurosawa." the boy said. Takas head snapped away from judging poor Chikami-kun and looked him over. 'He waved.......like.....a female model....his hand was cupped and wafting the air....' Taka thought. "Kurosawa-kun....is there any reason you waved liked that? It was quite od-" Taka voice was quickly interupted by a rude boy. "I am Makoto Senju, very pleased to meet you Sensei" . Takas head turned from Kursawa-kun and eyed the new boy......."Senjiu....you are a Senju...No wonder you interupted me so rudely. Well Senju-kun and the rest of you. I am Takaha, Daisuke. I will be your sensei. Now I hope you all sleep like I asked. Because we will be out until the sun rises." Taka said with a grin.

Taka looked over towards 4 empty chairs and she strided forward passing the young noise pickers. She lifted her hand and displayed for fingers towards the man behind a long wooden block. Takas hand went into one of her pouches and pulled out a hefty bag of coin. She quickly dished out the cost of the ramen. "Also a bottle of sake, please" Taka said. Taka slowly placed the pouch back into her same pocket and snapped it close. She then lifted herself onto the stool and sat down. She looked behind her to see if the genin would follow suit. The three looked somewhat stunned and utterly socially awkward. "Come sit down, we will talk. But first....you must tell each other your most embrassing secret." Taka said with a laugh...however despite the laugh her face turned deadly serious and waited to see if they would whipser there more embrassing secret to each other. To further her ploy Taka spoke again "I am deadly serious"

The young girl waited with a feeling of anticipation weighing heavily on her, her body a little tense and the like while she wished for the awkward silence to be broken. While it wasn't by her sensei, it was broken by a voice that sounded very familiar to her. Her eyes widened in surprise and she turned to look at the blonde-haired boy, taken aback by his seemingly sudden appearance. 'Of course it isn't sudden... he's probably been here for a while but you didn't notice between your daydreaming and stuff...' She thought with a sudden realisation. A small smile touched her lips and she nodded towards her childhood friend. "Takeshi-kun, I didn't know that you would be on my squad." She stated in an obvious surprised manner, and relief laced her tone too. It was nice having someone that she was familiar with. She felt herself ease up, even if it was only a little bit. After she greeted and expressed her relief that Takeshi would be on the same squad as her, their sensei spoke and said that the way in which the boy waved was odd. Before he could finish his sentence, however, another familiar-looking boy spoke up. His green eyes reminded her of someone she used to see in the Academy, and it was only then that it dawned on her that this was one of her old classmates. Not one that used to pick on her, thank goodness.

It appeared that the interuption by Makoto wasn't taken too well by their sensei, and he even went as far to say that it didn't surprise him that a Senju was rude. 'Well, that's a rather biased opinion on one of the greatest clans in our village.' She thought, but kept her emotions on the matter masked. It didn't matter to much to her either way, after all. Their sensei introduced himself as Takaha Daisuke, a name that didn't sound familiar to Chikami. It didn't surprise her, however; she wasn't familiar with many people in the village aside from her graduated Academy class. Something that alarmed her was the statement that they would be out all night. Well yes, the scroll had stated that they should sleep, but the girl had assumed that it had meant the previous night, and that they had slept well at that point. What on earth would they be doing out in the open for all of that time?!

She was still stunned slightly, and as such it took her a short while to regain her sense of what was happening around her. She moved after their sensei to take a seat next to him after he encouraged them to take a seat. He seemed to have handed over a lot of money, and gestured for four bowls of ramen... so he was paying for this, on him? It was awful kind. She was about to thank him for his kind gesture until she was drawn up short in surprise when he asked them to share their most embarrassing secret. "E-E-Eh?!" She was obviously confused and already embarrassed by that statement. The back-up that Daisuke was serious only made it worse for her. She looked to each side of her, first at her sensei, and then at her two team mates in turn (wherever they ended up sitting). 'If we have to...' She grimaced at the thought of doing this, and sharing her embarrassing secrets. She had an awful lot, after all. But her sensei had ordered it. Maybe it was a kind of bonding exercise to get to know her team mates better. Yes... that made sense. That didn't make it any less strange, however.

A deep gulp of air filled her lungs and she slowly exhaled, trying to build up the courage to say one of her many embarrassing secrets. She looked long and hard at both of her team mates; both familiar faces, with one that she trusted more than the other. But that didn't make this any easier for her. "W-Well..." She lowered her voice to a whisper and used her hand to hide her mouth while leaning a little closer to the two males. "I-I... still have scraps of cloth from two dolls that I h-had as a child... before they were ripped to p-pieces..." Her whispered tone was lost (having stressed so much about it that she forgot about the 'whispered' part) as she blushed at having revealed a secret, but decided that it was a better one to tell than some of the other ones she harboured deep inside of her. She turned and looked at her sensei, breathing deeply and hoping that she had acted as he wished her to.

Words: 787
Total: 1659

"That's right. It looks like the two of us are stuck with one another for good this time, Chikami-chan."

The words were offered with a rather cheeky grin as Takeshi remained comfortably seated as his eyes seemed to flit between the two figures. First on the Jounin then Chikami then toward the Jounin once more. It hadn't escaped the young male's notice that during this entire time, from the very moment Takeshi had announced his presence that the Jounin's eyes had been firmly fixated on Takeshi's very form, as if examining the young male for any kind of fault. The rather curious stare would be met with a scowling and almost defiant glare on Takeshi's part, their eyes meeting for several seconds before the Jounin finally began to speak, inquiring about Takeshi's manner of waving of all things. The question truly baffled the young Genin, which was made very apparent by the sudden shift in his faicial features. Quickly the rather hard glare he had met the Jounin with now shifted to a rather confused stare as his left brow slowly drifted upward in a silent gesture of inquiry. Of course though, the question posed would never reach its completion as the third presence which had arrived only moments after Takeshi suddenly spoke up, his words cutting the Jounin's sentence short; much to Takeshi's relief. He's an odd one... The young male found himself musing as his eyes remained on the Jounin whom had just finished chastising the young Senju whom so happened to be this year's number one rookie. Makoto Senju...I remember you. The thought brought a small smirk to the blonde youth's face. This was far better than he could have ever hoped for. Teamed with Chikami, his oldest and only friend and Makoto, the one student whom Takeshi had always felt as though he had been competition with, despite the sobering fact that while Makoto had graduated at the top of the class, Takeshi had been at the very bottom, ranking as the worst student in the class. Such details didn't matter though! That was then and this was now. They were Genin now and as such the slate was clean. Takeshi wouldn't lose out to Makoto. The most humorous part of this, a fact that seemed to escape the young blonde, was the fact that Makoto seemed to have little to no idea of just who Takeshi was!

Takeshi's attention was suddenly pulled away from his current thoughts though as the Jounin whom had just introduced himself as Takaha, Daisuke began to speak again. That's right, they were going to be here all night and something told Takeshi that the three of them wouldn't simply be eating ramen till dawn. That would be too easy...and probably a little stupid. That wasn't to say though that what their newly appointed sensei had suggested wasn't equally as stupid to the young blonde haired youth. Our most embarassing secret? Once more Takeshi felt his left brow rising ever so slowly as his attention shifted toward the other two Genin, watching as Chikami moved to take a seat next to Takaha. Though Takeshi had never gotten up from his seat, and thus didn't truly need to take a seat, he couldn't help but feel somewhat compelled to relocate himself. With a small sigh the boy slowly rose from his current perch and shifted so that he was seated closer to the group, sitting right next to Chikami so that she was sandwiched between the Jounin sensei and the blonde haired male.

"Our most embarrassing secret, huh?"

The boy spoke lightly as his eyes moved from Chikami toward Makoto then up toward Daisuke-sensei. There was one secret he could think of, one that was not only embarrassing but pride crushing. There was only one person in the entire world that truly knew his secret and she was sitting right next to him! It wasn't a secret he was willing to reveal to strangers though. Chikami was as close to family as anyone would probably ever get and even her knowing caused Takeshi quite a bit of unrest. Clenching his jaw, the boy remained silent for the longest time, expecting the one known as Makoto to speak up first. If what Daisuke-sensei had said was true, then perhaps the boy's Senju heritage would push the child to speak before the other two. Surprisingly though it was Chikami who spoke up first! Why? It didn't make any sense. Was she that desperate to gain the approval of their new sensei? Remaining quiet, the young male listened as the female leaned in to reveal her embarrassing secret. Compared to his own though, Takeshi hardly saw how such a revelation could cause anyone any true embarrassment. Still, the blush on the girl's cheeks was more than enough to make the blonde realize just how sensitive such intelligence was. Without so much as a thought, the male's hand came up and found a place atop the girl's head, his hand moving ever so slightly to ruffle the girls indigo locks in the same reassuring gesture he always used whenever she became flustered.

It was only after a second or two that he realized that it was perhaps his turn to reveal his secret. Once again he found himself only managing to focus on a single thought. His secret. His terribly embarrassing and pride-crushing secret. It wasn't something he was ready to share. Not with strangers. The very thought of sharing such a secret caused a small grunt to escape Takeshi's throat, his eyes now shifting away from Daisuke's form before moving to lock eyes with Chikami. Once his greenish blue orbs met the girl's purple hues his eyes would narrow.

"Pass."

He'd say rather sternly as his eyes remained on his friend's all the while. She knew his secret, and hopefully she'd take the silent gesture as a means of realizing just what it was he wasn't willing to divulge. He wasn't even close to ready to revealing such a thing. Maybe he would some day, but today was not that day.

rude!? Makoto had inadvertently cut off his sensei. It was completely by accident! His new sensei's voice was rather soft, and didnt realize that he was talking over him until it was too late. Not only had he ruined his first impression with the sensei, he also ruined it for his peers. They now probably thought him to be an arrogant jerk. He had dishonored his family. He brought shame to the name "Senju". Makoto's once vibrant emerald eyes became dark and hollow, as he stared off into the distance in shock. He could faintly hear the voices of his teamates and his new sensei but couldnt divert enough attention from his state of shock to comprehend what was happening. He had to do something! But what!? Makoto's spine chilled at the thought of what would happen to him if his parents or family members found out about this, or worse: if it negatively impacted his clan as a whole.

By the time Makoto snapped out of it and turned around, Chikami and Takaha sensei were sitting side by side at the counter. Takeshi said "Our most embarrassing secret, huh?". What is going on? He turned to look at the boys face. It looked strangely familiar, although he could not place where. Takeshi took a moment, as if deliberating over something, then he spoke again: "Pass." his voice was calm yet stern. Makoto turned to sensei, his eyes still glazed over and hollow and said:"I am sorry sensei, I meant no disrepect. I was just unable to hear your voice and before I knew it I was talking over you. I am not worthy of your teachings, and I have wasted your time. Forgive my indiscretion, please do not take it out on my clan for my actions, they do not deserve it. I do, I am the worst. Forgive me." Makoto the stood up and started walking out of the shop, he was going to go home and punish himself. I knew I shouldnt have come out here, im no good at making friends. I should just have been left alone. Why do I always have to screw everything up he thought to himself on the verge of tears.

Word Count: 1277

Taka was glad that it seemed everyone had listened and came to sit down next to her. 'One big happy family' Taka thought. They had made some comments to each other and it was of little note, Taka did understand that it seemed they all knew each other to some degree. "E-E-Eh?!" Chikami~kun said aloud. Taka laughed a bit at her suprise, during the short laugh the owner placed a large bottle of sake that would be meant for a group next to Takas left hand. Taka reached forward and gripped onto the lid and poped it off, she then lifted it towards her lips. The rice wine dropped onto her tongue filling her body with joy. She downed half the bottle as the young Chikami told her squadmates the secret.

"Pass" said Takeshi, he seemed to be calm cool and collected....it sounded like he was simply brushing off a request. This wasn't one, Taka reaction to his words was a loud slam of the body onto counter. Taka was about to speak but the young Senju spoke up I am sorry sensei, I meant no disrepect. I was just unable to hear your voice and before I knew it I was talking over you. I am not worthy of your teachings, and I have wasted your time. Forgive my indiscretion, please do not take it out on my clan for my actions, they do not deserve it. I do, I am the worst. Forgive me.. 'Jez, bunch of kids. Well at least one listened to me. Guess I gotta instill fear or love before they listen.' Taka thought. Taka turned herself around in the chair and looked at the young Senju and then decided to interupt him during his attempt to leave."Wait Senju-kun, do you even know the point in having a sensei? I'm here to teach you things. I'm here to help you out when you make mistakes and most importantly I'm here to make sure you find and come in touch with who you are and what makes you, you. I'm not going to judge you because you made a simple mistake and you don't dishonor a entire clan by simply talking over someone. That is abosuletly ridiculous if thats what it takes to dishonor a clan as powerful as the Senju. Now come back and sit down before you dishonor your family by ignoring your superior." Taka said this with great passion, however her face during this little speak was calm and collected, reflecting little emotion....this was done to usher in a feeling of seriousness about her words.

Taka now directed her attention towards Takeshi-kun, "You may pass....that is fine. Just know this poor Yasu-kun has embrassed herself for you and you've responded by saying shove it, I don't have to. That isn't a good way for teamates to interact...but to each his own. Also great Senju-san are you going to reval a juicy secret to poor little Yasu-kun?" Taka said, this time she was much more light hearted with her comment. Takas hand gripped a bit harder on the sake and she then quickly downed the rest of it and placed it back on the table. In the middle of the young Senjus response the food would arrive. The owner would place the 4 ramen with chopsticks placed atop the bowls in front of the squad.

Her childhood friend made it sound like a bad thing; being stuck together 'for good'. But in all honesty, Chikami was relieved to have a familiar face around that she trusted. They had made a pact, the two of them, all those years ago when they were still living in the orphanage together. It was a promise that they would be there for one another, and Takeshi would stand up for her until she could stand on her own two feet. She would keep his secret, and he would keep her darkest ones. It put her at ease knowing that the two of them would be on the same squad, and even having Makoto with them made her feel better too. She had known him from the Academy, and if her memories served her correct, he didn't partake in the harsh teasing that the rest of the students insisted on subjecting her to. He had been quiet, but amazing at all of his studies. Of course, it was no surprise that he had graduated at the top of their class. She had been behind him, but not by much. Somehow her written studies and the basic skills she had with Ninjutsu had managed to keep her there. It didn't appear as if he recognised her, and she wasn't surprised by that much. He hadn't been interested in anyone aside from himself and his studies. Plus, she had been a quiet, painfully shy child in the Academy.

Upon stating her 'most embarrassing secret', the purple-haired girl was almost holding her breath wondering who would speak next. Would it be her sensei, praising or scolding her? Would it be Makoto, speaking about their current task? Or would it be Takeshi, revealing a secret of his? She highly doubted the latter. She knew how secretive her friend was, so secretive in fact that he hadn't yet told her about his life before he arrived in the orphanage. He wasn't like her; he had entered the orphanage when he was around the age of six or seven. The orphanage was all she knew, due to being left there as a baby. She didn't hold her breath expecting the blonde boy to share a secret. Regardless of that fact, she turned slightly to face him due to the fact that he started to ruffle her hair gently; a reassuring gesture he had reserved for her whenever she became flustered. Slowly, she felt her embarrassment fade away and her blazing blush from before started to dissipate. She kept watching him as she could almost see the cogs turning within his mind, and she started to wonder what he was thinking about.

Their respective gazes met, and he stated firmly that he passed on the question. But she knew what he was trying to tell her, without the words. His eyes told her the secret he was unwilling to share, and she found a small twitch of a smile reaching her lips involuntarily. Of course she knew his potentially pride-crushing secret, and she felt privileged to know about it. She nodded slightly at him and afterwards, her small smile vanished from her face. It was only after this that she realised a presence was missing; namely that of her fellow team mate that she knew, but only at sight. Makoto started to apologise to their sensei for being rude earlier, and expressing that he did not mean to come off as rude in the slightest. Chikami could believe that much; the boy seemed truly crushed that he had spoken over Daisuke. Suddenly, he said that he had wasted their sensei's time and would leave, asking forgiveness before turning and moving as if to leave the stall.

That was rather sudden. Or perhaps it had not been so sudden as she had thought. It was entirely possible that the boy could have been stewing over the matter since their sensei had posed the question of revealing their most embarrassing secret. Before all of this, Daisuke had been given his sake that he requested, and had drunk quite a fair amount of it. The purple-haired girl looked in surprise at the half empty bottle of rice wine, wondering how on earth the man was still somewhat coherent. And wasn't it bad to drink while on duty, anyway? Alcohol dulled the senses and made reactions slower. It was forbidden while ninja were on duty. She held her tongue, however, and watched the brown-haired youth while their sensei tried to assure him and bring him back. After Daisuke's small spiel towards her fellow team mate (who seemed intent on removing himself from the team), he turned and directed his next words at Takeshi, bringing up how Chikami had embarrassed herself for the good of the request asked of her, while the blonde boy had brushed it aside. Indigo eyes raised from the countertop and looked first at her sensei, and then at her childhood friend, not saying a word and merely remaining silent.

She didn't like how her sensei referred to her as 'poor little Yasu-kun', it only highlighted and pointed out her weaknesses. She lowered her head once more, trying to hide her dejected look from the others around her. Rather quickly afterwards, the ramen that Daisuke had ordered was placed in front of her and her fellow team mates. She raised her head from the steaming bowl that smelt oh-so delicious, and looked up at her sensei, holding her chopsticks in one hand while she politely bowed her head. "Arigatou, Daisuke-sensei, for the wonderful food." She thanked him, before directing her attention back to the food. It was only then that it dawned on her that she had barely eaten anything except for a haphazard lunch she had made back in her apartment. It was now easily approaching 9pm, and thus she felt particularly ravenous. After waiting for everyone else to start eating, she too cracked her chopsticks apart and started to devour the delicious ramen.

She reached a break in eating, nearly finished with the bowl in spite of the large portion, and delicately wiped her mouth with a napkin before turning to the man at her side. "So sensei, if you don't mind me asking... what will we be doing until sunrise?" She asked softly and curiously, her head tilting to the side to express her curiousness outwardly too.

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The tension in the air suddenly thickened, becoming easily noticeable to the likes of Takeshi only moments after the single word that signaled his refusal to comply with his sensei's request had left his lips. There was no way he was going to do something so foolhardy. Request or order, it didn't matter and such an attitude was displayed quite prominently in his expression. A defiant glare that was shot in the older shinobi's direction the very moment his gaze had drifted away from Chikami's eyes. Once again it seemed as though Takeshi were attempting to stare down his superior much in the same manner as before and just like last time, the silent exchange was interrupted by Makoto's voice as he blurted out a rather wordy apology before suddenly excusing himself from the meeting. Was this guy always so high maintenance? While it was true that Takeshi had kept an eye on Makoto through their years in the academy, it had only been in an academic capacity. The only reason for Takeshi's seeming obsession with the Senju boy was simply for the sake of competition. Makoto was and always had been an obstacle to overcome, a goal to shoot for. Nothing had changed in that regard. Now though, the two were slotted to be on the same team and as such Takeshi felt he was seeing the number one rookie in a whole new light. He seemed to be a very high strung individual who was easily shaken by the smallest thing going wrong. Perhaps there was more to the story here but the blonde haired boy had little time to contemplate the issue. He had problems of his own. He doubted Daisuke-sensei would let Takeshi off without a lecture or punishment of some sort for refusing to follow directions.

"Sit down, baka. It's not like you killed sensei's cat or anything."

The words only came after Daisuke had finished lecturing the young Senju. Predictably though the older shinobi shifted his attention back toward Takeshi and once again the Jounin would find his gaze met with that same hard stare that showed little sign of backing down from his earlier statement. Though it was obvious during the Jounin's impromptu lecture that Takeshi had something to say, the blonde youth surprisingly held his tongue until he was sure that his superior was finished.

"That's bullshit and you know it. Chikami-chan embarrassed herself for you because you ordered her to do so and I'm willing to bet that Makoto would do the same all in order to make a good first impression with you. You're our teacher and within the first hour that we've met you you've showed up a half hour late of the time you gave us to meet us here. You've abused your power by trying to pry into our business and you've downed nearly half a bottle of sake after telling us that we'd be out all night doing who knows what. Is that how an elite Jounin of the Leaf is supposed to act? Especially when you're meeting your students for the first time?! If you think I'm going to feel bad about not listening to such a stupid request from someone who I don't even know then you're sorely mistaken, lady!"

By now Takeshi's voice had risen, attracting the attention of several people outside the small stand and the stall owner himself along with all the staff. In that moment it seemed as though the scene had come to a stand still as the blonde youth continued to glare at his sensei. To add to the awkwardness of the situation was the fact that somehow Takeshi had managed to mistake his sensei for a woman, despite the common opinion held by most in the area that the Jounin before him was a male. How or why Takeshi had managed to come to that conclusion was a mystery but for whatever reason the ambiguous nature of Daisuke's gender seemed to hold little sway on the youth as those turquoise orbs continued to defiantly stare at the Jounin, still showing little signs of backing down, clearly displaying an unbridled rage that burned fiercely within him.

Takeshi had more to say, plenty more but it was at this point that he soon realized that several eyes were upon him and the group. Suddenly Takeshi's head snapped, turning to glare at a small group of civilians staring at the scene taking place in front of the stall.

"What the hell are you all looking at?! Get out of here before I make you!"

The sound of Takeshi's closed fist impacting the wooden counter echoed gently in the still night air. And like that the street was back in motion, people hurrying away. While Takeshi was indeed only a child, the leaf headband hanging over his left thigh was in clear display for all to see. He could hurt civilians if he put his mind to it. Not only that but many had not forgotten who he was. The child of a traitor, a cowardly traitor, but a traitor none the less. If anyone was capable of breaking the laws of Konoha or the military code of the Leaf's ninja force it would surely be the offspring of Hiro Kurosawa.

With a small grunt the young male's eyes slowly drifted toward the bowl of ramen in front of him. He wasn't in the mood to eat, in all honesty but the meal was a free one. He couldn't afford to turn down free food as a fresh graduate. Money was tight, after all and until he started officially completing missions, his pay would remain as nothing more than a meager allowance that was barely enough to live on. Without so much as another word, Takeshi snatched up his chopsticks, snapping them in half in an brutal and uneven fashion that left one stick thicker and even longer than the other before starting to dig in to the bowl.

Makoto had resolved himself fully to make an effort and make friends and not be by himself all the time. But sure enough, thanks to his lack of social tact and inexperience with people he managed to find himself in a very unfavorable position once again. Makoto clenched his fists, trying to fight back tears. Dishonorable! he thought to himself as his nails dug into his hands causing a small droplets of blood to fall onto the cool ground below. Makoto took one step forward, trying to right the wrong he made. Takaha sensei's smooth soft voice caught him off gaurd. "Wait Senju-kun, do you even know the point in having a sensei? I'm here to teach you things. I'm here to help you out when you make mistakes and most importantly I'm here to make sure you find and come in touch with who you are and what makes you, you. I'm not going to judge you because you made a simple mistake and you don't dishonor a entire clan by simply talking over someone. That is abosuletly ridiculous if thats what it takes to dishonor a clan as powerful as the Senju. Now come back and sit down before you dishonor your family by ignoring your superior." He was right, the only thing that would bring more dishonor to his family would be running away from his problems, he would have to fix them, but this time, he wouldnt be alone; he would have his teammates and his sensei there to help him. A spark was lit inside of Makoto, thawing the ice that chilled his very core. He blinked back tears, wiped them and turned around. "Sit down, baka. It's not like you killed sensei's cat or anything." Takeshi said. Makoto smiled, his emerald eyes lit up his face and he nodded. "Nn" he said in agreement.

Makoto noticed Takeshi's gaze go right back to Takaha sensei. he could sense the tension between the two, it was almost thick enough to cut with a butter knife. Sensei called Takeshi out. Makoto noticed the half empty bottle of sake on the table, well... it was half empty until he downed the rest of it. When did he have to the time to down half a bottle of sake!? he thought to himself shocked. Makoto braced himself for what he thought was about to happen. Takeshi exploded. Just as he thought, Takeshi had more trouble handling his emotions than Makoto. Makoto stood there stunned. did....did that... really just happen? He thought to himself in utter shock. Makoto's gaze flickered over to Chikami, who had sat down next to sensei, and had broken her chopsticks and started to dig in after saying her thanks. His gaze flickered over to the growing crowd outside, which was dispersed by Takeshi. Irritated at the fact that Takeshi thought he knew Makoto, his blood started to boil. In order to avoid doing something rash, he closed himself off,  sat down at the seat to the left of Chikami and started eating his ramen.

After a few moments of eating, Makoto's blood cooled and he was able to make a level headed decision. "You don't even know me, dont make assumptions about me." Makoto said into his ramen, not even wanting to look at the boy who made rash and inaccurate, degrading assumptions about him. His voice was cold and steely, yet calm and steady. Makoto then resumed eating.

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Taka was fairly surprised that the young boy made a remark towards Senju-kun in such a rude manner. Taka spent a bit thinking about if she should say something about him calling his fellow teammate a idiot. The young Chikami made Taka skip over it with her refreshing the air with sweet ring and thank you. 'Chikami-kun.....she really is going to be easy to get along with. Hopefully she will be low matience' Taka thought.  She then followed up to ask Taka about what they were going to do. 'Many many things' Taka thought.

Before Taka could give her a appropriate reply the young Takeshi spoke to Taka as if he was the superior....it was a bit interesting for Taka. She wasn't use to the rigid structure the military, it had become distance is more correct all the years in the open and her philosophy caused her to not get the point in structures like that...so for her it wasn't offensive at all. Which only made what she was going to say...even weirder. She mulled over the young boys words and thought about his words. 'Huh, I guess I kinda gave her a order? Did I....dunno been a while since I ordered anyone to do anything. The most ordering I've done recently is asking for the ramen...' Taka thought. Taka cracked her neck sided to side. It would appear as if the genin was about to get what any sensei would do...show him who was boss. Physical punishment or some sort of assertion of authority and a speech about how you can't disrespect a elder or a superior and how he'd be punished for his actions. However Taka wasn't a normal solider she was more a philohser then a trooper at this point. She simply engaged the boy. Standing up from her seat she stepped towards the boy. The air that he was about to get hit still lingered, however Takas body language was much too calm for that. Right before Taka began speaking Makato-kun had made a comment about Takeshis words

"Oh it was a order was it? Then I shall take you and Makato-kun to jail shant I? Disobeying a superior is a severe offence. But......luckily that wasn't a order." she let the words hit him....but she wasn't done yet. "I was late you are correct. However that is irrelevant to the issue....but it seems you want to start worrying about my conduct so lets address it and my 'order' anyways. You seemed to have missed the entire point of it.....jez. Kid use some foresight, why would I make you do that? Because, its fun? No its a point to get you guys to make a connection with each other and to be open. Its fine if at first you aren't. I'm okay with that, however those who take the steps now to become close to one another will only strength that bond further and help you 3 to work together better." Taka said to him and she keep rushing in more "Your business? You are a fool.....I know little or nothing about you kids. Most sensei cheat and try and get certain genin and then they go further by investigating who you are and what you do before meeting you. I simply chose you kids by name. I looked at a sheet and said him, him and her. Don't be so idiotic to presume you know about my prying and me wanting to know your business...that is even further foolish considering what I said early about the purpose and intent behind it. You aren't telling me anything but only each other!" Taka said....however her tongue lashing wasn't finished yet! "I'm drinking this rice wine...for a simple reason. To give you a chance....a chance to pass for what I've planned tonight. You seem to presume a lot about me, eh? Well since I don't want you to presume anything more let me tell you about myself. I was bullied beaten by classmates during my academy years, this was because of myself being on the top and younger then everyone else. I graduated from the academy at age 8 and then after 3 years I reached the rank of Chuunin and was quickly assigned to Squad 8. After a couple more years I became a Jounin.....at around age 12. Since then I've been all over the world and fought countless battles. So now you know me a bit better so will you listen to me? Lastly....if you call me a women again....I promise there will be ramifications." Taka finished sternly. The boy had let his rage pop and yelled at the crowd before Takas speech...however this was of least concern but before she forgot she wanted to address it. "You talk about abusing power...yet you display such anger towards them. Call your squad mates idiots and now yell at your sensei and then even go so far to say I am not acting how I should? Do you have a blind eye towards yourself! If so I will make sure to fix it!" this final comment came in a shout at the boy and was the only time she raised her voice at him. She hated people who would think they can abuse and use there strength however they want, the simple arrogance angered her.

The purple-haired girl sat and did one of the things she was best at; she listened and observed. As she slowly started to polish off her bowl of ramen, she tilted her head this way and that to stay in tune with her surroundings and what was happening. Things felt very tense all of a sudden, and it wasn't something that she liked. 'I should have known that Takeshi would be like this...' She thought, shifting her gaze to the blonde boy sat beside her. She said nothing at her friend's rather sarcastic, comedic statement directed towards Makoto. The brown-haired boy seemed to take light in it, smiling and saying that his male team mate was right before approaching and sitting down on Chikami's other side. Her two team mates sat on each side of her, and their sensei was sat beside Takeshi. Conflict was one of her worst fears, and she hated being part of it; even if it was indirect. She flinched when her friend mentioned her name and brought her into his argument, by mentioning how she had only followed orders by revealing a secret about herself. Well it was true, she was led to believe that her sensei had given an order due to his serious tone when he asserted that he meant what he said.

It appeared that Makoto didn't like Takeshi's assumption very much, and snapped in a firm tone that the blonde boy knew nothing about him and shouldn't make assumptions about someone. While Chikami widely agreed with what her friend had said, mentioning how their sensei had arrived for this meeting over half an hour late, had drunk a whole bottle of sake and was promising that they would be out all night doing whatever it was that he had planned, she remained silent. Her insides were churning, and all of a sudden she didn't feel her earlier appetite gnawing at her stomach. She let out a gentle sigh and pushed the bowl away in its near-finished state, keeping her head lowered and watching the rippling waters inside her bowl.

The next thing she knew, their sensei had taken to giving a speech of his own. He addressed everything that had been said by Takeshi, starting by saying that if his earlier request had been an order, both male team members would have to answer to their offense. He went on to say that him being late wasn't part of the matter, and the order he had given was a way to have them bond by being open with one another. He wanted to gauge how open the Genin were, and if they chose not to divulge information, that was acceptable. The rest of the argument that Daisuke-sensei was putting across merely washed over Chikami as she stared at her ramen bowl, using her inate ability to drown out sounds around her so that she didn't have to become directly involved in the conflict. Just when she thought it was all over, their sensei brought up the subject of bullying. All of a sudden, her head shot up from its former hanging position, and her eyes widened in the same motion. Slowly, she turned and faced their sensei, indigo eyes slowly filling with a clear understanding of what their sensei must have felt. While she would never say it at this point, she had been pushed around and bullied for her whole life; since she could remember. Being unique in this world meant that those who followed a crowd felt threatened or they merely wished to single out and suppress the isolated individual. She knew that Takeshi would understand too, because of his intense hatred for bullies. He had never told her as much, but she knew that bullies must have affected him in his earlier life before arriving at the orphanage. Why else would he hate them with so much passion?

She tried to find the bluish green gaze of her childhood friend, aiming to give him a pleading look to stop all of this madness. It was their first meeting as Genin team, and what had it become? A huge clash of egos, a large conflict and largely, a massive mess. She flinched visibly when she heard their sensei raise his voice, and her eyes shut while shying away from the sound. It was instinctive for her to try and avoid conflict, because it was usually aimed at her. She had lost count at the number of times that the orphanage matrons had yelled at her and beaten her for things she did wrong. Usually the yelling came before the beating, so she would try to avoid whoever she was around when they yelled, for fear of being hurt. For what seemed like forever (and in reality was probably half a minute at that), the ramen stand was silent. The owned of the stall looked on in awe and slight fear, while any prospective customers were staying well away from Ichiraku's place.

"... Surely that's enough." The usually shy girl spoke up first, her voice quiet and only audible because the area was practically silent. She turned and looked at Takeshi, saying with her eyes what she didn't want to tell him out loud with their team mate and sensei there. 'Please, stop this, before it goes too far.' Her gaze said to him, or at least she hoped it did. Chikami then looked at her other side where Makoto was sat next to her, and lastly over to their sensei. She could feel her body shaking, and could only hope that no-one could see or tell that she was currently terrified. She took a deep breath, and gulped before slowly opening her mouth to speak again. "Daisuke-sensei, I'm sorry, but I did think that you were ordering us to reveal a secret, which was the only reason why I said anything. But now that you've said what it was about... I understand, and would do so again for the good of us bonding as a team. But right now... we don't feel like anything." She stated the last part firmer and confidently compared to the rest of what she had said. "Shinobi squads are supposed to be close, and function seamlessly to protect one another in combat. I only know the theory, but I'm sure that you know for real, Daisuke-sensei." She shifted her gaze away, fixing it on nothing in particular as she clenched her jaw and considered briefly what she was supposed to say next. When no logical answers came, she chose to follow the pink fleshy thing that pumped blood around her body. "I'll take the blame for Takeshi's actions, because he was only speaking out to protect me. It's how he's always been, when it comes to me. Because I was bullied too, but it didn't just suddenly start because I was good at anything. It happened because I was strange, I stuttered when I spoke, I loved reading books and I was everything that a normal child wasn't. He stands up for me, because I can't... not yet. He believes that I will some day. Until that day, he reacts on a self-defense mechanism."

She realised that Takeshi wouldn't take kindly to what she had said, because it derived from the real issue at hand, but that was what she was aiming to do. She hoped that he understood and didn't fight against her words. "Let's just... start over. Have water go under the bridge... and most importantly become a team." Her body continued to quiver, and she swallowed while blinking rapidly, fists clenched as she finished by glancing at her childhood friend, Makoto and Daisuke in turn.

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Takeshi noticed right away how their sensei seemed to limber her body, her neck cracking this way and that before moving to stand. Not missing a beat the child moved too, no longer seated next to his friend, Takeshi stepped forward much like Daisuke-sensei had done, their two bodies meeting roughly halfway. He wasn't about to be pushed around by this Jounin. For all intents and purposes this person, this superior who was supposedly in charge of both his and Chikami's training was little better than a bully. Authority didn't excuse someone from inappropriate action. Not in the least. Not in Takeshi's opinion. There was no possible reason to force children to divulge thier most embarrassing secrets to people who were at this point complete strangers. Takeshi knew Chikami better than anyone here. He knew that if it had been left up to her, she'd not have shared her secret. She'd much rather have simply introduced herself. It was the same for him. The only difference was that while Chikami was timid and afraid of conflict, Takeshi wasn't. Takeshi didn't care if his sensei liked him. He didn't care about making good first impressions. He didn't care about making a scene. He wasn't scared of conflict like Chikami was and though he could sense his friend's anxiety, the boy continued to display his anger and stubbornness.

There was much more to be said, a great deal, actually but despite that Takeshi held his tongue as he continued to stare upon Daisuke-sensei. For a moment the young blonde didn't know whether to expect another lecture or a fist to the face. Either way, there was no semblance of fear in the child's greenish blue hues as they narrowed ever so slightly at his superior. If you're going to hit me then get it over with... The thought caused his body to instinctively tense, his hands balling into tight fists that caused his knuckles to blanch. He was ready. He had been hit before. He had been beaten into the ground more times than he could count. Despite being both physically and mentally prepared for the anticipated strike, nothing came. No fist and no words. Only a tense silence seemed to hang between the two for what seemed like an eternity. Again the two seemed locked in a staring match and again, for the third time in one night the tense stare down was interrupted by Makoto's sudden interjection.

"Shut up, baka. You just threw a hissy over being called rude. Don't for a second try to act like you wouldn't have followed sensei's instructions had I not spoken up.. You may not remember me but I definitely remember you."

The words came faster than Takeshi could think. His mind was in overdrive, addicted to his own anger. That was the type of person he was. Takeshi's life had revolved around conflict, around fighting, around anger and at the end of the day it was the best way he knew how to express himself. Though Takeshi directed his response at Makoto, his eyes never left Daisuke-sensei's own orbs, awaiting whatever it was that the Jounin planned to do.

Though not entirely unexpected, it was no less surprising to the young blonde as the Jounin suddenly began to speak; such surprise showing clearly on the Genin's face for a few seconds before it was replaced by the seemingly standard glare he had been giving to the Jounin all night. Again, despite what many would have thought, the youth did seem to have some form of wisdom or etiquette as he allowed the older shinobi to speak completely, allowing her to finish her rather lengthy lecture; the contents of which seemed to enrage the blonde youth more. What insolence! What negligence! Take him and Makoto to jail, indeed! As if she could! Takeshi wasn't exactly a genius but he wasn't a complete dumb-ass despite what others might say. He knew well enough that one couldn't be incarcerated for something so simple as refusing to divulge one's secrets for the sake of a social exercise. The very thought was ludicrous and obviously a ploy to try and intimidate the young blonde. A ploy that failed from the start. Takeshi's body remained rigid in the face of the verbal onslaught, taking each and every sentence spoken without so much as flinching or backing away. His body was akin to that of a terracotta warrior, poised and seemingly ready to defend or attack yet unmoving even in the harshest of winds. When it was all done the boy finally spoke, once again his words coming faster than his mind could filter them.

"So you were bullied, big deal. You think that's going to make me look more favorable on you? I presumed nothing more than what you showed me tonight. Your lateness, your orders which weren't really orders yet were delivered like orders, your drinking which you've now explained is done to provide us a handicap? As if you yourself couldn't manage to adjust your skill level for us? Or is it that you think us so pathetic that you need to be drunk off your ass for us to be of any challenge. Our teachers at the academy could test us just fine without being drunk, so why can't you? It's nothing more than an excuse! I don't care how many battles you fought or how many places you've been or how old you were when you graduated. Those are all just words to me."

Despite the tone of voice and the harshness of the words spoken, the angry glare slowly began to soften, his voice growing more and more gentle, as though something the Jounin had said had indeed managed to hit home, though it was obvious that the young blonde wasn't going to easily admit it.

"I have a right to be angry at those people. Those people, these people of this very village! They! They were....They did....I..."

Just like that Takeshi felt his rage shifting to pain. He had the right to be angry. He had the right to be standoffish with each and every person in this village! The way they looked at him and his mother back then still haunted him. He could still hear those distant whispers of the past. He could still see her eyes staring lifelessly at his curled up form. The thought brought a burning sensation to his eyes as he felt his jaw involuntarily clenching. Suddenly his ears picked up the distinct sound of Chikami's soft voice speaking out. The noise caused his gaze to suddenly flit in the girl's direction as she spoke. The look his old friend gaze him instantly caused the boy's body to relax. The tension his muscles had once held suddenly melted away. She wanted him to stop. He had to calm down. He had to stop for her sake. As the girl continued to speak Takeshi began to take a few deep breaths, making sure to do so quietly and as discretely as possible as not to draw attention to what he was doing, despite knowing that Chikami would be able to easily identify the blonde's body language and realize that he was forcing himself to come down from the emotional high. Most of Chikami's words seemed to pass Takeshi by as his focus was pulled inward in an effort to push down his anger, to put it away for another day. Only when Chikami spoke of taking responsibility for Takeshi's actions did he suddenly snap out of his small, almost trance-like state.

"Chikami-chan! No! I'm not going to let you get punished for my actions."

The girl was shaking now, her gaze focused on almost anything that wasn't him or Daisuke-sensei. Without thinking, Takeshi's hand came out and found a place on the top of her head for the second time in one night.

"Daisuke-sensei...I'm sorry."

The boy exhaled slowly, the words coming out in a low, almost whispering tone, though they were no less sincere.

"My secret...I...I can't read...or write. Not very well anyway. Chikami's been trying to teach me for years but I still struggle. Please. Don't punish her for what I did."

By now Takeshi's eyes had fallen, his gaze now directed toward the ground as he bowed his head forward in an apologetic gesture, a film of tears threatening to spill from those greenish blue orbs of his. He was only glad that no one would be able to see at the moment due to how low his head was bent forward.

"I'll accept whatever punishment there is. But Chikami-chan's innocent."

Makoto stood there, his emerald eyes watching the emotional exchange between student and sensei. Takeshi was again being lectured by Takaha Sensei. Sensei was revealing so much personal information to the three young genin whom he had just met. This took a tremendous amount of courage but at the same time Makoto felt like it was all part of some ploy to feel like they were on the same level. This however was in direct contradiction to the way Takaha sensei had handled things before. he had tried to establish who was dominant by ordering everyone to share their most embarrassing secret. Something that Makoto had no intention of doing.

Takeshi had undoubtedly had a hard childhood. hard...Childhood..... !!!! Images of the blonde haired boy flashed through his mind briefly. Memories of passing him in the halls and in class at the academy. He knows where he knew the boy from but nothing about him at all. But this kid was seriously getting on Makoto's nerves. Makoto's blood started to boil again at the comment. Although Makoto was usually very calm and collective, he was on the verge of causing a scene, just as this foolish boy was now. Just as he had done earlier. However, Makoto however would ignore the comment as best as he could and continue eating his noodles, while watching the two posturing males.

Makoto could see the fire behind the boy's eyes. Takeshi had the courage to speak out against a Jounin to protect his friend. This boy had the courage of a lion and was undoubtedly most loyal person he had ever met. Makoto's lonely heart was very moved by this. Nothing more surprising could have happened to Makoto today, he met some new people, dishonored his family and then watched a genin yell at a jounin. Then, the most unexpected thing happened. Takeshi told his apologized. Makoto spit out the broth that he had in his mouth. Then even more surprising, he told his most embarrassing secret.  He could see the boy's rage falter and flicker to embarrassment. The boy bowed his head, in an apologetic gesture.

Makoto set his bowl down on the counter. All of Makoto's anger towards the loud Takeshi melted away at seeing him in such a position. Makoto was humbled by the boy's gesture. As much as he would hate to admit it, it would be near impossible for Makoto to swallow his pride so quickly and apologize like that. Takeshi was looking more and more like someone Makoto desperately wanted to be like. Makoto stood up from his seat and put his right hand on Takeshi's left shoulder. It was as if to say, "Im right here with you, were in this together teammate". Makoto bowed his head as well. He was not about to sit here and watch his squad mate humiliate himself alone. Makoto was finally stargint to understand what this whole "Team" thing was about.

"I-I will share his punishment. As for my secret... M-my only friend is a tree." Makoto would say to the ground, his voice slightly shaky at first but finding its ground in Makoto's stone resolve. For better or for worse, Makoto was part of something now, and as such, he would be damned if his squad mate was to suffer alone. Makoto finally tried to let someone in, and he felt that Takeshi was more than worthy. He hoped that Takeshi wouldn't betray his trust, although he was probably unaware that Makoto had just trusted the loud boy with his life. Maybe, it was a long shot, but maybe... just maybe Makoto wouldn't be so lonely anymore.

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Total Word Count: 2458

Taka sat stood quietly as the young genin tried to refute whatever Taka had made up a few moments ago. Then Chikami-kun seemingly defused the situation and the boy quickly shut his trap and even went so far to apologize for his actions. Then they began to share there secrets with each other...Taka made sure that her hearing was not the best and ignored whatever secrets the team told each other. Taka stretched her arms out in the air and let out a large yawn. She then promptly took her seat and sitting back down. "Well...shit...that actually worked. Good job everyone and especially you Yasu-kun, my plan was dependent upon you." Taka said calmy. Using one hand she dug into the ramen and then held up her hand in approval of the genins accomplishment. Taka had assumed the genin would be in shock or silence for a moment, 'Well I did plan this out, however I didn't expect it to be so rough. However it seems to have worked, the three seem somewhat closer together...even if I made myself out as a enemy a bit. Worth it.....because what matters out there when you are on your own.....is your teammates. I didn't expect for Yasu-kun to come through like that...I thought I would have had to break up Takeshi-kun some more.' Taka thought about her plan and its success and unexpected events.  

Taka quickly finished the rest of the bowl ignoring whatever the genin would say, she hoped her simply eating would signify shove off, I'm eating. "Alright, students. Oh, I almost forgot. What we are doing, one of you asked. Good call, we are doing some more team bonding. First I'm going to test your physical ability and then test your mental and lastly I have something secretive planned. So for the physical test...we are going to be doing something quite simple. All you have to do is tag me with one of your hands. Do whatever you can to do so and if you do tag me I will tell you my most embarrassing secret. Something that would shake the foundation of the village of Konoha." Taka said aloud with a wink at the end of her sentence. Takas hand reached out towards the bowl and picked it up and downed whatever soup was left. Taka let the genin think or even speak up however...Taka wasn't interested in that. "So, the rules that you might be wondering are...there aren't any. Any manner you can use to tag me is possible. You have 1 hour to do so. It starts when I say go again. Barkeep another, please." Taka said with a slightly drunkered smile. A large bottle was slide to Taka and she quickly poured the liquid into her mouth, slight dribbles of the liquid dribbled down her cheek after a couple of seconds the bottle was empty. She didn't swallow the liquid but simply let it be poured out into her mouth and down her throat. Taka sat waiting for the booze to kick in. Taka would remain silent for a while waiting for the booze to really kick in. During this time Takas head simply stared at the wooden counter as if she was in some trance. She was unresponsive to the genin for the next 20 mins. Which gave them time to talk among themselves.

Taka lifted her hand up and pressed it against the counter and pushed off. She jolted back a 10 feet away in a clear path and away from any genin or civilians. She took care making sure they were nowhere in her path line and that she was out of arms length of the genin. "G-gO! Seeeems itz no" Taka yelled with grin. Taka never drank and despite her 6 foot 4 stature and heavy weight...even a couple of shots would take her out of it...but she had just downed 2 bottles....it would seem the genin might catch her simply by waiting for Taka to pass out. Taka staggered backwards away from the genin who were now 12 feet away from her...she waited to see what they would do. The crowd had already backed up and began to look to see what the genin would do.

At first, it seemed as if things had remained the same. But after a short while, upon her speaking up, Takeshi started to calm down. She could watch his body slowly stop tensing, and the anger he had previously instilled slowly dissipate. His voice grew meek as he tried to say that he had his reason for hating the villagers, and how they deserved his anger. A slight pause seperated that and when she had said that it was her fault, and not his. He flared up slightly in response and said that he wouldn't allow her to take the blame for her, and he must have noticed how she was shaking from having alleviated all of that sensitive information about herself. That, and pure fear of conflict. Chikami felt his hand gently fall onto her head again, lightly ruffling her purple locks in that reassuring way of his. She inhaled a deep breath and started to calm down, rising to her feet and standing beside her childhood friend, taking comfort in his presence.

Then came a very unexpected phrase; 'I'm sorry', uttered from Takeshi's mouth and directed towards their sensei.

And then he started to talk about his most embarrassing secret. Chikami looked at him with a soft gaze, her hand instinctively moving to place itself on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. It said without words that she was here, by his side, and she wouldn't leave. She had not expected him to reveal his secret in amongst all of this, especially not due to the way in which he had been fighting with Daisuke. Her hand remained firm on his shoulder even when he bowed his head, and somehow she could tell that he was struggling with something. All she knew was that he had a habit of bowing his head like that when he was close to crying. She said nothing, however, but stayed next to him steadfastly. They had made a vow to one another all those years ago, and she didn't plan on breaking it. Not only that, but they were on the same team now also. It only doubled her reasons for sticking by his side.

Suddenly, the sound of soft footsteps moving towards where they were stood met her ears. Makoto had risen to his feet and moved to Takeshi's other side, placing his hand on his team mate's shoulder in a reassuring manner. It must have all looked rather touching; the image of three children holding the boy in the centre in some way, strong against whatever punishment might befall them for what any of them had done. Most importantly, they were prepared to shoulder each other's sorrows, insecurities and secrets, to protect one another. Silence reigned for a short while, but Makoto's soft voice stuttered slightly and told his team mates about his embarrassing secret also. His only friend was a tree? Chikami tilted her head and looked past the blonde boy in the centre, her gaze finding that of her other team mate. She felt as if she could connect with the statement; after all, she only had grown up with the only nice company coming from a pair of dolls, and a small marionette until Takeshi had turned up at the orphanage. "Makoto-kun..." She murmured gently, managing a small smile in the green-eyed youth's direction. "We're here for you now too. You know... you don't have to be alone anymore... none of us do..." She grasped a little tighter onto Takeshi's shoulder, and hoped that her words had brought some comfort to her other team mate.

The ramen stall remained to its earlier silent state, with three Genin holding onto one another and their sensei stood opposite them. It made for quite the touching image. Daisuke was the next to break the silence, by admitting his surprise at something working, thanks to... her? The purple-haired girl's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing as much. Why had this thing worked because of her? "M-Me?" She asked in a slightly surprised squeak of a tone. What plan had been dependent on her? Maybe... team bonding. Perhaps if she hadn't spoken up, Takeshi and Daisuke would have continued their yelling match and none of this camaraderie would have occurred. Their sensei moved back to his seat and finished eating his ramen, before addressing what they would be doing tonight.

Why, more team bonding, of course. Daisuke explained that he had three tests planned in order to measure their ability to bond and work together as a team, while assessing their individual strengths too. The first test was a physically based one, the second was a mental based one, and lastly, there was a secret test that he wouldn't tell them about. 'A physical test...' Chikami almost groaned, but held herself back from doing so. Physical things, such as Taijutsu and the like, was not what she excelled in. She seemed more excited and confdent about the second test, the one which measured mental prowess. Their sensei stated that all the students had to do was tag him with one hand, and he managed to make it seem rather simple indeed. 'This is going to be far from simple.' She grimaced a little bit at the thought of what was to come. Anything was allowed; they could tag him by any means necessary. There was a time limit of one hour, which didn't seem too long in order to catch a shinobi of Jounin rank. The trigger would be the word 'go', and after that, Daisuke received another bottle of sake and started to drink from it heartily.

A somewhat awkward silence followed, as Daisuke was sat waiting for something or other. Possibly for the alcohol to start taking its effect. Chikami looked in turn at each of her team mates, and slowly started to think of a plan in order to best approach this task. Mental exercises were what she was good at, and her brain had the capacity to function with clarity and find the best solution to most problems. "So our handicap is the fact that Daisuke-sensei will be suitably intoxicated... that means his reaction time will be reduced, and his comprehension of what is going on around him will suffer also. It doesn't mean that this will be easy, however... he is still of Jounin rank, an elite ninja, so he is trained to function even in the direst of circumstances." She started to speak aloud, yet softly, her words meant only for her comrades. After relaying that information, she nodded firmly with her eyes slowly narrowing.

"Physical ability is not where I excel, but it's where my mind is concerned that I can do my best." She tapped her head with two fingers gently, before taking a short pause to glance back at their sensei. "Our best option is to give sensei little time to react. Whether that be approaching him all at once, or in very quick succession from different sides, that will be the best course of action. Using feints and the like will provide us with a higher chance of success. He wants us to work together in order to tag him, and we will have to do that. Trying to do it alone will prove impossible." All of a sudden, their sensei sprung into life and jolted back from his seat around ten feet away from them. The way he yelled and conducted himself, it was clear to her that he was rather... drunk. "If we keep him trying to follow our movements, he might also get dizzy and fall over. That'd be a good chance too." She shrugged her shoulders and moved so that she was no longer close to her team mates, standing on the balls of her feet and ready to dash off after their sensei.

'I have to do my best... for Takeshi-kun, Makoto-kun, and Daisuke-sensei... I have to prove myself!' She thought determindly, her eyes narrowing and appearing to darken as she started to concentrate. Without warning, she sprung from her feet and shot towards their sensei, feinting to try and tag him from the front, and instead sliding around to his right side. 'Come on! Follow after me!' She thought desperately, her gaze shooting back to her comrades.

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Takeshi felt his heart racing, threatening to tear out of his own chest with the intensity of each pulsation. His eyes slowly closed as a lone tear managed to slip away, trailing down his concealed face and down onto the section of earth between his feet. It hurt to reveal such sensitive information, to admit this one fault that seemed to crush every bit of pride his little body contained. The weight of doing so was almost overwhelming. Usually defeat wasn't so heavy but this one sore subject always seemed to steal the strength from his legs, making him feel as though he were about to collapse at any moment. At that very moment he wanted to vanish by any means. May the earth be torn asunder and pull him below ground. May the air around him grow so hot that he'd somehow evaporate into thin air. May the streets be over run with beasts and monsters that tore him away from the spot he stood. Something. Anything. He just wanted to be gone. Such thinking was interrupted though as he felt the gentle touch of his old friend, her hand resting on his shoulder before offering a reassuring squeeze. Instantly his eyes shot open, the film of tears still there, causing those greenish blue orbs to shimmer as his gaze slowly turned in her direction. That's right...You said you were never going to be a quitter. You told her that and you told her that you'd never let her be one either. You need to be strong for her sake!

"Chikami-chan..."

Swallowing hard, the blonde youth's arm moved up toward his own face and acrossed his eyes, wiping away that thin film of tears before jumping ever so slightly at the feeling of Makoto's arm grasping at his other shoulder in much the same way that Chikami did. Why him? It didn't make sense. Takeshi had been nothing but rude to the young Senju boy since the start of the meeting, so why did he have to be all kind hearted and try to reassure the boy like this?! It infuriated him but at the same time Takeshi couldn't find it in his heart to stay mad, especially after hearing the other male's confession about his only friend being a tree; an admission that seemed to resonate well with Chikami whom up until Takeshi had appeared in her life, had only known the companionship of books and dolls.

"B-baka...Why do you gotta be all nice..."

Takeshi's voice wavered as he spoke in Makoto's direction. It was clear he was still trying to be the tough guy; still showing that trade mark stubbornness of his. It was failing though as more tears threatened to spill from his turquoise orbs. Once more, Takeshi's harsh words attempted to mask what would have otherwise been an admission of gratitude for Makoto's seeming kindness inspite of Takeshi's earlier treatment of the Senju boy.

The touching moment was interrupted though as Daisuke-sensei suddenly spoke, her words cutting through the air like a sword through flesh. Instinctively Takeshi's head moved toward the Jounin, his tears slowly drying as he tried to concentrate on what the older shinobi was saying, seemingly bragging about how his plan had worked thanks to Chikami's involvement. Though Takeshi didn't want to think of himself as a pawn to fall so easily into someone else's plans, he couldn't deny that Chikami was indeed an individual who could often see through the haze of emotion and anxiety when she wanted to. Of all the people that Takeshi had ever known in his life she was one of two people who could ever manage to pull him out of his fits of rage; the only other person now long dead for nearly six years. Though it did cause a bit of embarrassment, he didn't truly mind the fact that his rage had been momentarily soothed as long as it was Chikami whom had done it.

Slowly but surely that sorrowful expression began to vanish, replaced by his usual scowling face. As he watched the Jounin quickly finish her bowl before breaking into an explanation of what the team would be doing for the night. In all honesty it all sounded rather exhausting and annoying to be honest but anything was better than just sitting and talking all night. Given that alternative, Takeshi easily found enough motivation to allow himself to get fired up. Just like that the boy's eyes seemed to light back up, showing that same intensity as before as his posture straightened. Once more the boy brought his arm up to wipe away any stray tears from his eyes before turning his attention toward his comrades. It seemed as though Chikami had a plan or at least what sounded like the makings of one. After hearing what the girl had to say Takeshi's eyes would shift toward their sensei whom had by now shoved herself away from the stall, allowing her body to drift through the air until she had nearly cleared the road, putting a great deal of distance between herself and the young trio.

"Tch. Handicap? Like we needed one. Don't worry Chikami-chan. I'm not about to let her get away. Let's get her!"

As the boy spoke his arms came up, right fist finding a spot in his left hand as he began to crack his knuckles, a confident smirk spreading across his features as his greenish blue hues slowly narrowed, once more staring down their sensei much in the same manner as he had done so many times this very night. In the next moment his friend was off, rushing toward the Jounin in what seemed like a direct approach. She was not alone however, being rather in synch with his female companion, Takeshi was right on her heels and as Chikami veered to the right after a quick feigning movement, Takeshi's form slipped to the left, circling around the Jounin's form at a rather close distance, his right arm reaching toward the older woman's body in an attempt to tag her while Chikami remained on the Jounin's other side, hopefully cutting off the Jounin's escape route.

"I got you now, lady!"

Takeshi's voice would echo through the streets as he tried to pull the woman's attention in his direction, hopefully leaving her open for Chikami to score a successful "hit".

A wave of embarrassment washed over Makoto as he realized how silly what he just said probably sounded, but it was true. Throughout all of his harsh training the only thing that looked out for Makoto was a large oak tree. It provided him with shelter, shade and safety from the hungry creatures below that love to eat genin. Although Makoto had two loving parents he didn't really feel any love from them. They were always so close yet so far away. He spends his days training and hardly sees them, it was pretty much him by himself 24/7; except when his cousin Jun came by to see how he was doing.  Chikami's soft voice reassured Makoto, washing away his shame. "We're here for you now too. You know... you don't have to be alone anymore... none of us do..." She was right, he didnt have to everything on his own any more. He had people to care for and in turn they would care for him. Makoto raised his head slightly to give the small indigo eyed girl a smile from the very bottom of his heart. She had saved him from his lonely spiral, and strangely so had Takeshi. Takeshi made Makoto want to care for him, they were so similar but at the same time so different.

"B-baka...Why do you gotta be all nice..." Tekeshi's voice said in Makoto's direction, his voice wavering slightly.

Makoto smiled at the blonde haired boy and said "Because... were brothers now." there was nothing but kindness in Makoto's voice. He gave the boy another reassuring squeeze on the shoulder before letting go.

The emotional exchange between the two young genin was cut short by Takaha sensei's words. Makoto listened intently for key items that he would need to remember. He, however was not doing this on purpose it was just an old habit that he formed during his time at the academy. All we have to do is tag him... seems simple enough...especially with the amount of alcohol he has already consumed. It may not take long for him to pass out, I dont think it will take an hour. Our chances look good. He thought to himself briefly after Takaha sensei was finished speaking and made his way over to get another bottle of sake. Makoto quickly looked at both of his teamates, he could see that there were gears turning inside of Chikami's head. She was thinking hard about how to approach this. She then spoke, her voice low, barely audible to Makoto. She said the same things that Makoto was thinking, she was really smart. Makoto smiled, he was very impressed with his teammate. Chikami was very smart indeed, she was aware of her own strengths and limitations, she was indeed going to be a very powerful kunoichi some day. Takeshi, with his reckless abandon and fearlessness, they could very well become the strongest team in Konoha.

"Our best option is to give sensei little time to react. Whether that be approaching him all at once, or in very quick succession from different sides, that will be the best course of action. Using feints and the like will provide us with a higher chance of success. He wants us to work together in order to tag him, and we will have to do that. Trying to do it alone will prove impossible." Chikami continued. Makoto made sure he waited until she was finished speaking before speaking up. He needed to do something unexpected and catch his sensei off guard, at the same time making use of his teammates strengths, ensuring optimal synergy as a team.

Suddenly, Takaha pushed off the counter and floated gracefully outside, landing 10 feet away. He was visibly intoxicated, a lumbering mass of booze and uncoordination. The tall blonde man seemed to sway while standing in place. He gave the signal and started to stagger backwards away from the genin. However, It seemed that Chikami and Takeshi knew this was coming and had already started after him, their unspoken connection seemed like they were communicating telepathically. Makoto took off behind the two. Chikami, who was lead looked back at the two.

The two genin in front of him were about to do something that would show how well they could work together, and because Makoto had never done anything with them before now it would be a struggle to find out what they were thinking. However he would have some idea and try and base his attack patter off of what they do, he would have to be reacting to them AND sensei which would be no easy feat but, this was Makoto. Makoto is used to things not being easy. Waiting for the moment when the other two genin's bodies almost touching, Makoto would slip his body in between the two bodies of the other two genin, making sure he was out of their sensei's line of site. This would make it hard to see him, due to the body blockage.

"Trust me." Makoto said softly, barely audible to the other two genin with a smile before dissappearing beneath the earth.

Makoto timed his maneuver perfectly, he was 4 feet under ground before the other two genin split up as he predicted. Makoto could sense what was going on above him. The smaller genin, presumably Chikami veered to the right after a quick feint and Takeshi veered left. I see.. theyre trying to cut off sensei's movements. These two keep surprising me more and more every minute. he thought to himself as he raced underground, making a b-line straight for their sensei, he would react to his teammates movements, and capitalize on the hopefully impaired movements of their drunk sensei.

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Chakra used: 12.5
Chakra Remaining 107.5

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Total Thread Count: 3412

Takas body swayed back and forth as she looked at the genin who now had began a charge forward at Taka. They had just began a movement and in almost slow motion they took their first step towards Taka. Taka slammed her feet downwards onto the ground and shot herself into the air. Above her was nothing but the open sky and the edge of ramen shops roof, it was still clear in her jump upwards but could be used to grab. Taka flew at least 15 feet into the air, a small crack had even shot into the ground where she had jumped from during her jump. The Senju-kun had justed burrowed into the ground and the two others had made a few steps more forward however their arms were not within reach of touching Taka due to her jumping upwards and even if they attempted to jump with her she was moving much too fast and jumping to high for them to still be able to tag her and even if one did jump Taka was prepared if need be to use a certain jutsu. As Taka reached the top of her jump her hand gripped onto the top of the ramen shop and hopped her body over as she was mostly over the roof already and all she need to do was grab and toss herself onto the roof, she landed easily and then standing looked down below to see young Takeshi-kun hand trying to tag for something that was no longer there and now on the roof.

"Up-ppp here." Taka said with a large smile across her face. Taka knew she couldn't beat the kids with nimbleness...she could do one but all 3 was impossible in her current state. Taka was running on a hour or so of sleep and was fairly drunk...she didn't wanna have to reveal a secret so she would stay on the roof for a moment. Takas hand looked down and using her fingers counted two genin on the ground..'Wheres the other one. Huh...did I only have two students?' Taka thought. Unknown to her the other was underground and in the area that Taka had jumped from earlier. Taka looked down and wondered what the group would do.

Due to the high level of concentration that Chikami was keeping for the entire time, things seemed to be going much slower than they should be. Her mind was comprehending the events quickly, and as such, was allowing her more time to react to everything happening around her. Upon looking back while she was dashing forward, she saw that both of her team mates were right behind her. Takeshi moved up close, nearly touching her side at one point before they seperated in a pincer-like movement. She was aware of Makoto moving in behind them, and murmuring something about trusting him. When she was circling slightly to aim and tag Daisuke-sensei, she could no longer see him. 'Senji... Doton and Suiton... it's possible that he's... below.' She thought, her gaze briefly flickering towards the ground before she moved in closer to her sensei.

It almost seemed too good to be true. Somehow, the three of them had managed to co-ordinate on two sides, and even underneath their teacher which gave them a high chance of success. They might... just might succeed at this rate. Just when Chikami started reaching out to tag the tall male, he appeared to vanish. The sound of cracking earth beneath them, however, betrayed the fact that he had jumped with rather a lot of force. 'If Makoto-kun is underground, I hope that he's okay.' She thought, before being alerted to the sound of a drunken affirmation of where their sensei had disappeared to. He had situated himself atop the ramen stand itself from his jump, which astonished her. It was a long jump, and he had cleared it while intoxicated with little to no difficulty. Her indigo orbs narrowed at the tall man atop the building, trying to see what he was doing. He seemed to be holding out a hand and lifted two fingers, as if counting something. 'Ah... he's confused as to where Makoto-kun is... let him stay that way, and think that it's only Takeshi-kun and I. Then, we have the element of surprise on our side.' She thought and glanced towards her childhood friend, nodding firmly in his direction. It was clear what that nod said;

Let's follow.

It was true about what she had said about her physical abilities lacking, but somehow, she was managing to bring something out of herself that she never knew was there. Not only that, but she currently had enough confidence to take the lead in the capture plan to tag their sensei. Where on earth had this come from? She was unsure, but wasn't about to stop using this newfound confidence that she had managed to pull out from her inner self. Unbeknownst to her, she was expending a lot of energy, especially since this wasn't what she would normally do under any circumstance. While as of yet she showed no signs of fatigue, if she kept up this pace of hers, it wouldn't take long until she started to tire.

But for now, she wasn't about to relent and give Daisuke time to recover his senses. "I'll take the front, aim for behind!" She started to run, and turned back to address Takeshi about the plan she was currently formulating in her mind. With that, she bolted straight at the ramen stand, and right at the last second, leapt up into the air as far as she could. She couldn't get to the top of the building, but she managed to set her feet firmly on the side of the ramen stall. Using her chakra to hold her in place, she started to run up the building at a vertical angle, focused intently on the goal ahead of her and not currently worried about the fact that she was slowly wearing herself out. She crested the top of the building and shot up into the air about a foot before landing and pushing straight out towards their sensei.

'Right now would be perfect for the pincer strategy...' She thought as she was rushing at Daisuke-sensei from the front, hoping that Takeshi and Makoto were on their way to hep complete their plan for victory in this task.

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Total Word Count: 6084

Jutsu Used:

Takeshi moved in perfect synchronization with his female companion, his steps falling evenly with hers as he raced across the thoroughfare toward their sensei, his body veering gracefully to the left as Chikami went right, both of them circling around in a perfectly coordinated two pronged strike. That was when it happened, the ground beneath their sensei seemed to give way ever so slightly as though the earth itself were collapsing in on itself while the older Jounin suddenly threw herself high in the air and back toward the ramen stand, easily managing to clear the distance and place himself at a much higher vantage, granting the older woman a much clearer advantage in terms of positioning. Frustrated but far from defeated, the young blonde forced his body to turn, his right food sliding around his left as the youth spun about to face Daisuke, once more casting the Jounin that deadly glare of his before shifting his gaze momentarily toward Chikami whom already seemed to be leading the follow up charge.

Not missing a beat, the male rushed forward, once again falling into line behind his friend as his hands moved in front of his now slightly bent form. Using Chikami's small frame and his hunched over shoulders, Takeshi did his best to shield his hands from Daisuke's view while they worked. Bunshin no Jutsu! Three quick seals were all that was needed and as the boy completed his combination Chikami seemed to launch herself at the stall. As she did three identical figures seemed to follow under her, rushing to three different sides of the ramen stall and all suddenly latching on to the side of the small building at the exact same time. In unison the three copies of Takeshi began to rush up the building, managing to crest its top only a split second after Chikami herself reached the top in an attempt to surround the Jounin from four different angles, in a standard box formation, when taken in combination with Chikami's approach and all three now brandishing a kunai knife held at the ready in their left hands. The three Takeshi's would suddenly move in, all in an attempt to tag the Jounin with their right hands much like before, their movements identical to one another. Though two of the three figures were merely intangible illusions of the caster, Takeshi hoped to confuse their sensei with the tactic. There was little way she could tell which Takeshi was the true form. In reality, Takeshi had positioned his real body one space counter clockwise to Chikami's position, placing himself on his sensei's left side while his two illusionary clones rushed from the Jounin's right and rear, leaving Chikami to charge the front just as she had indicated to him mid-charge.

Takeshi himself didn't know from where Chikami had found this sudden burst of confidence but he did not wish to ruin the moment. While he was not the type to follow orders so obediently, he had little problem listening to the girl's instruction for the time being. Perhaps this was one of many steps that she would take toward finding that strength he believed dwelled within her. She had always doubted it yet in the midst of this very exercise Takeshi could already see the personal growth in his old friend, though he did well not to point it out lest he ruin her momentum. As for Makoto, the boy was unable to spare much thought for the hidden Senju. Not being as well versed in jutsu as his female companion, the boy was only left wondering where the young Senju had vanished to. Hopefully he was lying in wait, preparing to strike when the moment was right while he and Chikami kept Daisuke-sensei distracted.

Jutsu Used:

A rippling force shuddered its way through the ground, splitting it nearly in half only feet away from Makoto's head was. The largest of the three presences vanished.That drunk must have jumped. If thats what happens when he jumps, there is no way I ever want to be hit by that guy. That amount of power is insane! He thought to himself as he scurried around in the underbelly of konoha. He felt a shock radiate, however faint from one of the buildings nearby. Thats got to be where he landed. Makoto was not only a very gifted Senju, but he also had a very good head on his shoulders and was good at thinking on his feet. As he would grow he would probably become the head of his clan.

Makoto burrowed his way under the  building only to notice the smaller of the two presences sprinting towards it, presumably Chikami. Yup, this has to be the place where sensei landed. He thought happily as he felt the shock of Chikami landing on the wooden ramen shop's west side. Makoto could tell that Takeshi was on the opposite east side. Makoto picked up instantly that they were trying to corner their sensei. However this plan left two open escape routes for their sensei. Makoto had to make a gamble on which side he thought sensei would go to. It would probably all come down to which direction sensei was facing when he realized what was going on, due to his intoxication. Hopefully all of this running around would speed up the affects of the alcohol due to Takaha sensei's blood pumping at an increased rate.  

However the chances of success for that plan were only about 50%. Thanks to his jutsu, Makoto was more or less able to pinpoint where his sensei was. Whether or not his abilities were able to keep up with his sensei's movement was something that was unknown. Despite this, he gathered all of his strength and executed his plan.  Makoto sprung from the depths of the earth with great speed, shooting upward, through the shop, through the roof. Upon touching the roof from below he was able to sense where his sensei was, he had miscalculated by about a foot. Still carrying his momentum, he busted through the roof. Hopefully catching him by surprise, once sighted, Makoto would extend his arm towards his sensei which would easily reach the one foot gap and tag his sensei gently on the butt.

Word count: 410
Total Thread Count: 3822

Taka looked over towards the genin on the ground and saw that they had now noticed that Taka had moved. Chikami jolted forward and began to move upward the building. She did this much easier then Takeshi, who had to create clones and then move to the other three corners of ramen building which was 10 by 20 foot and then wait for them all to be there and then climb as they were moving in unison. He would indeed be much slower then Chikami. Taka knew what she was going to do, she quickly sprinted almost full speed forward towards Chikami and when Chikami reached the roofs top Taka would be directly in front of her, Chikami would most likely be taken by surprise. At around the same time a crack was heard below and that was from the Senju bursting from the earth, the young boy would fly forward towards Taka who had a thinly laid roof for protection. Taka somewhat knew what was going on and keep going with her plan.

With Chikami still most likely surprised Taka would reach forward and attempt to grip onto her wrist and if successful make it impossible for the girl to try and twist and tag Taka, Taka would easily be able to grab onto her because Taka was using her full speed and strength to do so. Taka would then attempt to violently switch places with Chikami using the wrist to shift their positions. Under the roof the young Senju had just busted through the roof and hand was sent flying where the Senju had thought Taka would be at but was now changed by the shift recent shift in position. However the spot was occupied by Chikami and even if the Senju had adjusted, Chikamis body would be in the way of any tagging as he would have to reach across her and hopefully the Senju might even mistake Chikamis butt for Takas as they were both female and with all the debris would make it hard to see for him and the quick movement of Taka would force it to be placed on his prior guessing which was now wrong thanks to Chikamis movement. Taka now took her last action and would try to slam Chikamis hands together and then let go of her wrist after the slam. Takas then pressed her feet against the roof and jolted away from the roof and flew towards a building behind her. Taka had preplanned this and knew the height and distance she would need to jump and jumped so that she would make a safe landing on the roof. As all this switching and ripping transpired the Takeshi boy had reached the corners and may have already taken a one or two steps.