Because Kinezumi's my daddy

[| teru |]

SPOILER: Click to show

HikariChan 16: (6:36:49 PM) Give a thread name please
illituracy: (6:37:50 PM) Because Kinezumi is my daddy.

---

She waited.

The crack of dawn had been her only companion as she rose with the sun and strapped her gear up, just as she'd done for any other day. To be honest she hadn't bothered to pay attention as to who her assigned sensei was or even remember the names of her teammates. All names and faces tended to blend together after a while, eventually losing their significance with the passing of time. Within a few years she would be a Chuunin and they would all part company.

The crisp mountain air nipped at her as she sat in the open training area under an endless expanse of brightening sky. She was the first to arrive and amused herself by humming a song under her breath. Iza would be listed on the roster only as "Onibi" followed by a shinobi I.D. number. Ironic that the most [deliberately] forgettable person on the squad would be the one to exercise the most discipline. Yet they needed to hurry.

Discipline didn't always mean patience.

[Akira]

The sky was beautiful today, as a head-band wrapped around a Genin's shoulder reflected off the sun-light, somewhat of a bright beacon that would announce his presence to anyone up the mountain path. His feet traversed the mildly rough terrain, the shoes were going to wear out eventually if he kept on going through the less pleasant trails to head up a mountain.

Akira arched his head back, the Genin's right hand covered his mouth while he did a deep long yawn. The Guan Do spear on his back seemed weightless, having a brown leather rope tying his spear tightly to his back, but loose enough he could take it out with relative ease. Looking onward with his mostly awake eyes, the same female silhouette he saw the other day was there, so he simply assumed they were actually gonna be a team.

Sure enough, she was there. His voice was probably gonna be peppy for a while. Now picking up the pace to a moderate jog, Akira waved his hand before he caught up to her. A smile would be revealing his happiness while he greeted her.

"Oi, Nice to see you again! Sorry for being a bit late..." he apologized.

[third]

...I am greater than he is.

The day was like any other for Iroji. He woke up, got dressed, headed down to and lounged around at Ichiroku's riceball shop for a few hours before he went on with his day. From there he had a sudden feeling, a hint of intuition that seemed to be calling to him, begging him to pay attention to it. Obliging his curiosity he looked off into the distance as he scratch at his hairless chin. "What time was I suppose to be at the training grounds again...?" He asked himself as as long sigh slipped from his maw.

Racing down the streets of Kumogakure at nothing short of a snail's pace, Iroji scratched at that spot above his eye brow as he walked into the training grounds to see the two others had already arrived. From the looks of it there were two girls on his team, neither of which he knew. Trekking up with no form of salutation he took to his position at the back of the others, leaning back against a tree idly.

"Has our sensei showed up yet?" He asked not directing his question to anyone really, just asking it for the sake of not being anti-social. From that point on he was just watching the other two, studying them, observing them. They were going to be his teammates so he figured it'd be better to learn them now rather than later since he was so bad with names and stuff.

[gokū]

These three simply wouldn't do. He sat in the tree, laying across the branch, observing the thee Genin that had gathered. Two were late, one was almost passable, but none of them had noticed him in the tree. They failed to take notice of the man in the bright yellow robes with the gigantic topknot scratching at his leg. The thick material of his robe hit the wind, the leathery fluttering could be heard as he descended from above, landing next to Iroji.

Swinging his arm outward, he stabbed the kunai at Iroji, nearly missing his throat. The kunai was lodged into tree, Kotarō leaned in close, staring the boy in the face with a sly smirk. He wanted to read his expression, gauge his reaction to being ambushed. Kotarō placed his hand to Iroji's chest to pin him there, then turned his head, looking at the two others.

"I'm going to kill him. Then after I kill him I'm going to kill you two. So don't move, 'kay?"

[| teru |]

'...'

As the other team member arrived late, keeping her rooted to her spot for hours and searching the horizon for a silhouette which never came, her patience had long since evaporated. Iza literally twitched with rage in place as her mind rapidly searched through its archives to find out how exactly she was going to make him suffer for this. Simultaneously with the opening of her mouth a figure dropped down from the heavens in front of them and, as if reading her thoughts, threatened Iroji with murder.

'...Oh. He might be serious. How inconvenient.'

To his proclamation Iza would merely shrug her shoulders and stare back at him as if he'd just asked her what time it was rather than broadcast killing intent.

"Do what you have to do. If we're unable to defend ourselves than death is precisely what we deserve. But you're a poor assassin. You should've just attacked us from your hiding place instead of revealing yourself. You could've killed us all by now. But by grandstanding you deliberately reveal your location and put us on our guard. Why? Either you're bluffing, absurdly confident, or trying to turn this into a hostage situation."

Yori-sama would be pleased if he were lurking about within earshot. The teachings of the Onibi clan flourished within his little minion beautifully. Why should an assassin bat an eyelash at the prospect of death? Placing value in things that were insignificant, such as individual people, was a kind of idiocy Iza wouldn't succumb to. Though that didn't mean she was about to roll over and die. There was something she had to do first before the girl would allow her life to end.

"...but I can't let you kill me right now."

She ignored his command and bolted straight backward a few feet, adopting a fighting stance. Her eyes shifted to a livid crimson hue which was blanketed by an intricate layer of pattern around the pupil. If he attacked her she'd fight for her own life and her own life alone. Should she die here prematurely it would only mean she was unfit for the task assigned to her.

Things were so much simpler when someone approached them logically.

[Akira]

As time went by after Akira had gotten to the meeting location for the team nothing really new happened until his eyes peered over the horizon, noting Iroji's silhouette as he began walking towards the tree where Akira was chilling under. It was good that they were all there, late or not. Having his ears perk up at hearing Iroji's question, Akira simply just shook his head. Knowing from their first encounter, it was best not to be on the bad foot with Iroji.

He wasn't prepared for their sensei dropping down from the tree with a kunai at the ready, now having Iroji pinned down. It wasn't a very good turn of events, but at the same time he couldn't let Iroji be killed! Teamwork is gonna save them now, but the time wasn't right until a opening was set.

Listening to Iza's explanation of how things run in your little world that is her mind, it was that of an assassin's mentality at best, which wouldn't really surprise Akira. She really was the silent type.

"You couldn't kill us if we gave you the directions to our houses!" Defiantly said Akira as he took out his Guan Do spear, having right hand hold it from the back end and his left hand holding it near where the blade was. He also had it tilted downward, as to have easier maneuverability. Akira wasn't exactly pissed but now was the time to show that this team would be one of the greatest!

[third]

Of course Iroji'd walk up to the very tree his sensei was hiding in and lean against it without checking it out or scoping for any new presences. In the moment that their great sensei made his entrance he didn't budge a bit but instead his brows arched as a kunai whizzed by him in a snap, barely missing his throat as it was plunged into the tree. A sigh like any other escaped his lips as Kotarō read his expression, no notable reaction was made. He's been through these very situations time and time again while training with Utake-sensei.

Pinned back against a tree with a colossal hand bearing over his chest, holding him in his place it seemed, he looked out to the others as the news of his death was announced. The reactions, to say the least, were expected.

"Do you really think it's smart to announce you're gonna' kill me and then look off?" Iroji queried, clenching his fist around the straps on the kunai, pointing towards the part of Kotarō's abdomen that was accessible. "Surely you give us more credit than that. With your attention directed on me they can ambush you from the backside, or while you're turned like you are now, facin' them... I can impale you with my kunai." Nodding down his eyes were fixed upon his kunai that he slipped from his pouch on his left thigh, opposite of the direction he was looking.

Iroji didn't expect his teammates to come to his aide since they had just barely met, and they weren't even on a first name basis yet, and he doubted they wanted to throw their life away for his. So as he looked up to Kotarō with that braveheart in his eyes, he waited for what was left to come.

"I highly doubt you'll be able to handle your backside and your front at the same time, then again I may be wrong and you could very well kill me now, who knows? It's all just so annoyin'..." Groaned the Genin still looking bak and forth between the other two Genin and their sensei.

[gokū]

"See that? The first reaction..." He smirked, "It's always the truest." He took a look at Iroji, then at the kunai pointed at his abdomen, then at the boy's face.

"Have at it, but I think you'll want to wait to hear whether you've made the cut or not, yeah?" Releasing the boy from his grip, he pulled the kunai he stabbed into the tree from it. He pointed it at the girl who was ready to fight, but had jumped back. "Lets start with the mouthy girl here. See what she did there? She didn't come at me, she analyzed the situation and moved backward. She wasn't worried about Stabby McGee here, she was preserving her own life. I don't need analyzers and selfish women who are mouthy on my team. You're cut."

"Now this guy--" He pointed to Akira with the weapon, "You just stood there. You're waiting for something to happen. You're...hesitant in a situation that should call for some alertness. Much like tweedle-dee," He pointed to the girl, "You failed to come at me when threatening your teammate. Of course, there's the argument that if you had come in at me I would have panicked and killed him anyway, but if this were a real ambush...there would be less of a chance to act and he'd be dead anyway."

Kanye shrug.

"I don't need that on my team, either. You're cut."

He turned to Iroji, cocked an eyebrow.

"You threatened to stab me. I don't like you. You're cut." Kotarō scratched his abdomen and started walking from the training field, "Got any problems, take it up with your local Kage. Deuces."

And now he was out of teaching another team of delinquents which left more time for procrastination in the office and watching daytime TV while feasting on pork fried rice. No, maybe salmon. He'd had a hankering for salmon...salmon was great.

[| teru |]

[Sorry for the delay...I was having school issues e_e, but its all good now]

---

H

[/color]er eyes regained their normal color though her body was frozen in place. Her ears were on the verge of short-circuiting. They refused to accept the words uttered by their sensei as he strutted away. When it finally registered just what had happened Iza shot from her spot after him and was flanking him on the right within seconds.

"SENSEI!"

The pathetic desperation in her own voice was enough to make her stomach twist itself into knots. She'd jump in front of him and prostrate herself before his feet on the cold ground.

"Please forgive my incompetence and reconsider! Allow me the chance to prove my worth and I promise I'll never fail you again! If I do, then strike me down yourself!!"[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Akira]

Now still holding his weapon with a tight grip, a frown of disappointment revealed that this situation was agitating to the blonde-haired Genin. Being cut off from the team because he knew that he was pretty much gonna' get sliced into little bite size pieces? The girl looked about ready to bow down and be his worshiper, but Akira would have to take a more calm approach to it.

Of course, sensei's must get tired after doing such teachings or after they go on missions. So an idea perked up in Akira's head as he revised it over and over again in a few seconds.

"Well thats a lame excuse. Let us fight you! If we lost, we'll have to make sandwiches for you up to a month!

[/badpost]

[third]

That desolate expression he wore remained even as the surprises that ensued drew to an anticipated end. He stood idly, watching as Iza had her breakdown and pleaded for an apparent naught which honestly Iroji was surprised to witness. If anything he expected the blonde, obnoxious kid to be the one who pleaded and begged, instead of making a failed attempt at a bargain, which he also anticipated.

"Is this what'cha wanted?" Iroji asked after a sigh, stepping up closer to the two other Genin. "To test our wits before attempting to shatter them? What kinda' formalities are those? You probably aren't much of a shinobi anyways... leaving yourself open earlier, I could've stabbed you at any moment if you were our enemy. And now you've broke another rule; turnin' your back on a ranked shinobi. Go ahead though, if you want to run away from three Genin," rubbing his temple with his middle digit, he shrugged.

"This drags... I rushed eating my onigiri to be apart of a nonfunctional team." As Kotarō said only a few moments earlier, the first reactions was the truest, and this was the epitome of how Iroji felt in a blunt, honest nutshell. It was in that moment that he took sometime to contemplate things, and in that spilt second he wondered what if they were being tested.

He'd done it only moments earlier, why would it be beyond him to do so again? He could be simply testing their wits, gauging their reactions to situations and seeing how they react to them. Being a shinobi of his stature it could be possible that he was just psyching the Genin out, or trying to and succeeding with the other two, it seemed; Iroji was an entirely different situation, a lost cause if sad reactions were desired, he was incapable of doing so. Being a Genin his age who was engaged, he refused to remain anything other than stone, if he wasn't his fiancé'd kick his ass, too.

Vibrant red orbs with a hint of lax, calm gaze complimented with a half-hearted grin, Iroji stood back. He had his assessment of the situation that he believed was going on and now he was slightly curious about if he was correct. If by some chance he was, it'd make more sense, and he'd lose faith in his other teammates for not realizing it also. Although, if by some chance he was wrong, he'd become utterly confused.

[gokū]

One begged for forgiveness, the other acted as if he was tough shit, and the third dismissive and uppity.

Children. The lot of them, children. Thinking they knew better than their elders. It brought a smirk to his face as he plucked the girl clinging to his leg from it, holding her in the air. They weren't being tested, the test was over, none of the Genin remotely attempted to save their squad mate--

His eyes moved from the girl he held in the air to Iroji.

"If you could have stabbed me, you should have...it's the fact that you hesitated that I don't need someone like you on my squad." The smirk on his face slowly diminished, his eyes darting over to Akira. "As for being able to defeat you...I could kill you all in a matter of instances."

Grasping one of the many swords that he had strapped to his back, Kotarō threw the nameless lass in his grip up against the wall. Cocking his blade back, there was no forewarning, nothing but cold, hard resolve and intent to kill--

Within moments, the young girl would be skewered on his tantō if no one intervened--

[Akira]

Akira wasn't actually shaking or anything from listening to Kotaro's words, or the fact that he probably kill them all as if they were rag dolls, but he wasn't so sure if he was about ready to risk his life. Sure, it was an innocent chick and an asshole who had a different view on life, but they all deserved the same chance. Akira didn't have time to think over what were his reasons for saving people he just met, but he knew how the fuck he was going to do it.

Running forward at the yellow robed man, with a tight grip on his spear, Akira closed the 10 feet gap between them with a shunshin. Now being infront of Kotaro with his spear ready for anything, Akira did a quick thrust, trying to make him focus on Akira instead and let Iza have a chance to get farther away.

[third]

"Hesitated? The moment you jacked me up against the tree I prepared myself, my kunai was draw, and I was prepared to slay you if you place any of us in further danger. As a shinobi it is smart to wait and react logically than to react with no sort of logic at all... Right? That was my tact." It turned out that he was incorrect but his assumption was still justifiable. While the beginning of the meeting was pretty much real, the middle a drawn mark, what followed was more real than anything anything Iroji ever imagined. He'd fought and beaten people before, he'd fought and badly injured someone before. But never had he killed or even seen death, not in a first-hand situation anyways, and quite frankly, he didn't intend to anytime soon.

His initial response was an immediate one. It was as if he didn't think about it at all. The logic that he was priorly speaking about was thrown completely out of the window, or rather up against the wall. Then again, protecting a team member was a logical reaction... wasn't it?

Although the nameless kunoichi they may never know as Iza didn't aide him in his time of need, when he was possibly inches away from death, he would help her. Not because it was the right thing to do; because, honestly under normal circumstances he could care less about if she lived or died. But he would help her out of petty; she graveled before a heavily armed shinobi, the man who was going to be their sensei, and in turn it backfired and she was being placed in dead-ended situation. Maybe, just maybe Iroji wasn't as heartless as he believed himself to be; maybe there was a bit more remorse within his dismissive mind than he knew.

In the time it took Kotarō to grasp his tantō, the dismissive, uppity Genin pounced forward with a push of the heels. The cold metal from the kunai he held, clenched tightly within his palm would clanked as it clashed with the much warmer metal of the tantō from the all-might sensei of his.

At no point during these few moments that would pass would it ever remotely dawn on him the urgency of what was going on. So far he'd only drew back, and up to his point Iroji had only been there for the defense of 'Iza,' leaving Akira to handle any offensive tactics that were required. He saw the lust within Kotarō's eyes. There was no fear visible in the internals of his red pupils either, though the prospect of fear was there, he just chose not to adhere to it. He fought through the few doubts that were there, holding his ground and saving a life in the process... If anything ensued, that is.

"Again. You're wrong..." Iroji laughed with his kunai still held in his grip. "You do need people like me, like us on your squad and you know it. Why else would you cock your tantō back so far when you could've simply slit or impaled her through her neck, heart, or chest." With the most powerful gaze he ever held, he looked up. It was there: the selflessness that was still filled with so much arrogance, that was a Genin of Kumogakure.

[gokū]

Their metal clashed--

He looked to Iroji, who was going into another tangent he didn't care about--

Akira stabbed at him with his spear--

Releasing the girl, he swayed from the spear's path, gripping it simultaneously--

Tugging at the spear, he pulled the boy on the end of it into a kick, seeking to punt him into the distance while retaining possession over the spear in his clutches--

With that one dealt with, dealing with the other was as simple as overwhelming and overpowering him. He pushed his weight forward to toss Iroji off his guard, then spun around the opposite way, swinging the spear around, aiming to clip the child's feet from under him--

"Hold this." Kotarō commanded, dropping the spear into the young kunoichi's possession. He sheathed his tantō and began walking away once again without speaking an utterance to either of the children. His topknot bounced, his robes fluttered with the brisk mountain wind, and when he grew distant he turned around.

"First mission starts tomorrow. Be here or don't."