Izzy thought about all that for a minute and realized he wasn't paying attention half the time, but instead oogling at all the ladies. He looked at the Jonin and said "Yeah, I'm all for your team. Guess I just spaced out there for a minute. I guess have a lot on my mind." a drop of sweat ran down his forehead and he gave a nervous smile."

Hiroto was silent.

All of a sudden, he was grinding his left hand's bare knuckles against Izzy's head. "NOOGIE NO JUTSU!" roared the Jonin.

Everyone else sweatdropped.

"Got a fast heartbeat going there," remarked Hiroto. "Getting a little hot under the collar because of the three girls in your vicinity? Or would that be hot in the pants?"

Izumo blushed fiercely. Oh great...this guy just can't leave well enough alone! "Um...yeah, I guess..."

"Well then, I suggest you start paying attention, or next time I'll use 'Noogie no jutsu' with my right hand." The gauntlets gleamed in the light of the sun. "Understand?" And all the while, Hiroto was waiting for Ryu's response.

ooc: do we still need another jonin? I know someone who'll be willing to join if we ned her but otherwise she could use the time for other things

OOC: Nah; I don't think we'll be needing another Jonin now.

I'm just waiting for Wonderbat to post before moving on.

"Fair enough," Ryu said, nodding, "Although--"he began to say before he was interrupted by a large puff of smoke and a loud bang.
"Hoy, Hiroto!" Said an unseen person somewhere in the smoke.
When the smoke cleared, there was an incredibly huge man, clearly a westerner, standing in front of the group with three young ninjas standing in a line directly behind him. "Always a pleasure to see you! Who've you got this year?" The huge man said, looking over the students. "A fine bunch indeeed. And... Ryu! Good to see you, little brother! Made the special squad, did you?"
He said, slapping him on the back and knocking him face-first in the dirt. "Well, I'm just passing through, so I won't take up any more of your time. Good day, Hiroto-sensei! Cadets, formation! HUP!" He barked, leaping to the next mountaintop followed by the three trainees in single file.

"Who's the Gaijin?" one of the others whispered as Ryu stood up, brushing himself off. He quickly turned around, looking at the ground with a look of intense anger on his face.
"I'll have you know that's my brother you're talking about, and if you EVER speak of him that way again, I'll knock your teeth down your throat!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, scanning the group for who made the comment.

"You're out of line, Cadet!" Hiroto snapped at him. The others stood stunned, not used to such an outburst out of the unusally-reserved Ryu. "S-sorry, Sensei." He said meekly, returning to his place. "Just don't let it happen again." The Jonin scolded him roughly. "Y-yes sir."

ooc: O.o what's a geijin?
is it anything like a geisha? *bricked*

Also OOC:"Gaijin" is a Japanese derogatory term for a white person.
AND NOW YOU KNOW.

OOC: Actually, I'm pretty sure Gaijin is used as "foreigner".

OOC OKAY!?: Feh, whatever. It works either way.

ooc: in-deed. *points dramatically* "BACK TO THE ROLEPLAY!"

OOC: Yay! Now we can move on.

One more thing; the word for 'hand seals' is 'katas'. So if you don't feel like saying 'hand seals', use 'katas' (plural for 'kata').

xxxx

Hiroto frowned as the elder Kanshisha leapt away with three other graduates. Hmm...Ryu...calm and poised...except when his family is insulted. Then he bursts. That little tidbit needs to be ironed out...

Even so, the Jonin couldn't help but be pleased. Although Ryu hadn't said 'yes', he could tell that the young Beast Tamer was ready and willing to go on (the 'fair enough' had been a big tip-off). Especially after the words of encouragement from his older brother. Hmm...they need to have some kinks worked out, but I think I can make a decent team out of this bunch.

The eight graduates stiffened as Hiroto stood up. "Okay boys and girls...here's the deal. Tomorrow at 9 AM, all of you will report at the Shinobi Honorstone in the forest atop this mountain range." The Honorstone was universally known throughout Konohagakure as the tablet that bore the names of all Leaf shinobi that had been KIA.

Riko subconsciously shivered. The Honorstone...on that tablet are the names of some of this village's greatest heroes. If he was going to go out, then he would go out that way: in battle, fighting for Konoha.

Yagami Hiroto suddenly performed a few katas, much to the surprise of the eight graduates. "And one more thing; make sure not to eat breakfast. That is unless you want to get sick." A smirk crossed his face. Now to see how many of them will disobey this rule...I hope there'll be at least one. "Now...Doton; Doryuudan no jutsu!" He leapt high into the air. "Earth Element; Earth Dragon Blast!"

An earthen dragon made out of stone and dirt, suddenly emerged from the mountainside (not from one of the Hokage busts, of course; such an action would be deemed worthy of punishment) underneath his feet. The eight graduates blanched out of awe as Hiroto stood atop the head of the rocky dragon.

"Make sure to get plenty of rest. Tomorrow will decide whether or not you become Genin!" Hiroto grinned as the dragon flew through the air, manipulated by Hiroto's own chakra. "Now...HI-HO SILVER, AWAAAAAAY!"

The Jonin disappeared into the distance. Izzy sweatdropped. "Quite the jokester."

"Like you're one to talk," sarcastically retorted Kai.

All eight graduates milled out from there, heading down Monument Range; tomorrow was a big day.

Kai frowned suddenly as he realised he had once again missed a chance to learn a great earth jutsu, he resigned to the fact that sensei would most likely use it again at some point, he had most of the hand seals memorised in the correct order, he just needed to work on the timing.
Yes! he would master every Earth jutsu there ever was, and then he would create the greates one that ever would be, he grinned and sprinted past the others back to town.

Diao frowned at this and decided to take a leisurely stroll to consider this odd jounin that would be teaching them.

ooc: a note on Diaos advanced bloodline, even though kai is of the same bloodline he will not be able to master the ability to look into peoples fears. only the females get these jutsu, the males get jutsu and physical traits which make them much more fearsome in battle. The females joke that the males are too stupid, the truth is that there are probably a few generations ofogre on the male side of the family, thus evidenced by the fact that a lot of the males tend to grow very large...oh and the odd pair of horns from generation to generation might be a tip off

OOC: Demon-human relationships? Kinky. 😛 (shot)

xxxx

Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, calmly smoked his pipe as Hiroto walked into his personal office. As usual, the Hokage had a few piles of paperwork on his desk. Although the Hokage was the strongest shinobi, he was also the one responsible for most of the files and bureaucratic endeavors for the village. Such was the duty of a leader. "Ah...so Hiroto, what do you think?"

"They're going to be a handful," muttered the Jonin as he removed his hitai-ate. In the relative darkness of the room, his eyes couldn't be seen. He seemed to stare intently at the Hokage before saying, "The other Jonin didn't arrive."

Sarutobi frowned. "Ah...I should've told you before you left this morning that she called in sick. Influenza. She won't be fighting as a ninja for some time...so I'm afraid all of the burden of training these eight children has fallen to you."

The Konoha-nin smirked as he put a hand over his eyes; a dozen thoughts swirled through his head. Among them was what he was going to have for dinner. But in any case, he casually tied his hitai-ate back on over his eyes before saying, "Heh. No biggie...I'll be glad to mold these children into Genin. I just hope they can keep up."

The Third frowned at the sight of the little grin on Hiroto's face. "You're not going to do anything rough are you? There's a difference between testing and scarring someone."

"Relax," replied the Jonin as he smiled inwardly. "I'm going to go nice on them for a change...but I will say that if I can't form these little tykes into shinobi...then I'll have to tear em' apart with my bare hands."

Akura had gotten permission to stay with the Chakuyas that night, and so the table was set: Adults at the north end of the dining room table, with Tatsuya Chakuya, Genonosuke's father, at the end. Younger adults and children were at the southern end, with Genonosuke, the heir of the patriarchy, facing his father. The younger adults who stayed with them were cousins who had not earned a place of their own, and stayed in return for work. Genonosuke, as the oldest main line Chakuya under his father, was set to inherit the clan's famed sword, the Jintetsu, as well as leadership of the clan.

"He did that, did he?" Tatsuya asked with slight interest at Genonosuke's retelling of the events. He had left out Riko's fun-poking within the classroom, but described every juicy detail as Riko was juggled by the Jonin. "Haha, that Hiroto... The stories I hear about him never change. It seems he's always been a bit of an odd one." Tatsuya remarked. Genonosuke laughed, and then proclaimed, "And you know what, Father? He told us not to eat breakfast tomorrow, or we were going to puke! I think that's a load of bull!" Tatsuya smirked, and nodded. "You've never gotten sick a day in your life, son. You're a true Chakuya, built for the rigors of combat and exercise. It's wise to listen to your instructor, but he most likely said that for the lesser students... Not one of your calibur." Riko bit his tounge, as always, as the subtle remarks passed by. Tatsuya was a bigot, though he covered it well. This was probably because of a little known fact; the Chakuya clan had a Metal-element advanced bloodline that allowed them to turn parts of their body into metal as hard as steel within an instant. It was kept a secret due to the fact that most Chakuya who developed the skill wore covering over all of their body, save for their face, so as not to give away their strength to the enemy. Because of this, Chakuyas were renowned for toughness. Genonosuke hadn't developed this yet, and as for Riko... It was unlikely Riko would ever recieve this skill, for his late mother was a Bachiwaka; though only distantly related to Akura's line. Riko's bloodline was thinned, as thus, and he had even developed the trademark features of the Bachiwaka clan: Blue hair and emerald eyes.

Riko... was not that welcome within the Chakuya household, all truths be told. He wasn't abused, like some clans did to their branch houses, but Tatsuya never praised him, and hardly acknowledged him at all, even with his dislike of other clans and 'taint'. Riko wasn't bitter, though. Life was life, and one day he'd be away from the clan, and perhaps even marry...

"Something on your mind, Riko-kun?" Akura's voice was clearly audible beneath the jokes Tatsuya was telling. "Um, yeah, actually." Riko said, "Genonosuke got me thinking. Hiroto-sensei's comment was only a suggestion, not an order. I'm going to eat breakfast tomorrow... I think I can use my chakra control to relieve my stomach if we work too hard, unless we're doing extremely intensive combat, and I don't believe that's the case... In fact, he might even be pulling another prank on us..." "Hm?" "Oh, nothing. I'm probably wrong..." "Well, Riko-kun... I don't think I'll eat tomorrow morning. I don't eat much anyway, and I don't want to ...puke..."

The meal was finished, and it was coming time for bed. Riko and Akura were in Riko's room, and Riko was playing with the rope he had pocketed earlier. "Where may I sleep, Riko-kun?" Akura asked. Riko pointed at his bed, lazily, and Akura shook her head. "Riko-kun, no! We are not husband and wife, we cannot sleep together!" Even Riko had to strain to avoid chuckling at the unintentional innuendo, and shook his head. "Nah, you're having the bed to yourself." Before Akura could say anything, Riko transformed his clothing into pajamas, grabbed the rope, leaped to the ceiling, and was suddenly suspended from it similarly to how he was this morning. "Riko-kun?!" "We have a big day tomorrow... I'm going to be training in my sleep, by using my chakra to regulate my bloodflow. I've done it before when I couldn't sleep, and it's actually quite nice." "Um, if you say so, Riko-kun." Akura had worn her pajamas under her dress before she had come to the Chakuya's house, and simply removed her dress. "Also... I'm going to scout the area early tomorrow." "Hm?" "I've never been into that forest, even to glimpse at the Honorstone... If we're doing a mission there, it'd be wise for me to know the area ahead of time." "Oh... ok. I guess I'll go with you, then." "K. Good night." "Sweet dreams, Riko-kun." Riko tossed his forehead protector onto a hook on the wall, Akura crawled into the bed, and the two were asleep very shortly.

Genonosuke, however, was practicing with his katana. "I'll show that sensei!" he muttered under his breath. "I'll not only eat tomorrow morning, but I'll be in tip-top physical condition! I'll destroy any challenge he throws at me, and maybe get him back for the things he said..." Genonosuke grinned, and trained even harder, effortlessly combining slashes, kicks, and backfists into a fluid style of fighting.

Ryu walked home, still angry at himself for his little outburst on the mountain. He didn't know what it was, but wherever his brother was concerned, he felt a fierce loyalty to him. His brother was an outsider, and a great many of the families in the village still did not accept him, even after he has proven himself worthy of being a Jonin. He suspected his brother knew this himself, but did not show it in his unending sunny demeanor and happy-go-lucky attitude. Now that he thought about it, it was a world away from how his brother had been when he first came to the village, a broken man with nothing left in the world. He was chased from his home by a group of assassins in the west, and had nowhere left to go. His father had found the hulk of a man collapsed in the snow one winter, and it had taken six of the strongest men in the family to bring him back to the house. He had been sullen and unresponsive for nearly a year then. He was so different now, laughing and chuckling and driving the rest of his family mad with his constant joking.

Ryu arrived at the end of the path to his house, greeted by the sound of small animals rustling in the bushes on either side of him. His family's hounds bounded up the path to meet him, traveling several feet behind him in perfect step, making little whines of joy. He entered the house, ate, washed, got dressed, and walked back outside behind the house to where a small shrine was built into a waterfall coming out of the rocks. Ryu knelt and began to pray at the altar before being interrupted by a familiar strong hand on his shoulder. He turned around and came face to face with his brother's huge frame. "H-hello brother, I didn't hear you come up." His brother simply laughed in response. "Well, if you had, I wouldn't be a very good Jonin, would I, now?"
"No...Well, I guess not." "Exactly. But listen..." his brother's tone shifted in a rare moment of being serious. "I... heard what happened today." "You...did?" "Yeah. And, I wanted to thank you for sticking up for me like you did. I know it must have been hard. But you mustn't do things like that around Hiroto-sensei. He's the toughest bastard I've ever met, and he won't cut you any slack. Besides, you know how your father dislikes you to show signs of weakness to people." "I-... I know." Ryu looked at his feet ashamedly. "I'm sorry." His brother looked at him silently for a second, then grinned again. "You're such a goof, slittle bro. Now come on... It's time for bed." "Thanks...Will." "It was nothing. Really. Now come on, before your mother gets mad."

Kai lay on the rooftop and grinned, he couldn't sleep, he was too excited, the cool night air did little to sooth him, suddenly he jumped as high as he could straight up and let out a whoop loud enough to be heard all over konoha. He'd never thrown up[ in his life, maybe he'd jog all night, sleep for an hour or two and then eat breakfast and get ready, as he was considering the prospect he dozed off.

Diao after making sure Kai had fallen asleep sighed, said goodnight, rolled over and did the same

Suki decided she would get up early and practice her fuuma shuriken, and possibly even practice with her super secret new shuriken tech.

OOC: Now we just have to wait for supershadow70 to talk about Izzy before we move on to the test. 😛

xxxx

The night was deathly silent. The moon shined brightly over Konohagakure, illuminating the rooftops with her whitish glow.

The forest atop Monument Range fluttered from the push of a windy gust. In the clearing around the Honorstone, one could see Yagami Hiroto.

The Jonin's head was tilted downward, his unseen eyes staring at the tablet's direction. "I wonder...if these kids will end up on this tablet one day..."

Shrugging it off, the Jonin leapt into a tree to sleep the night away.

OOC EDIT: This waiting around is kinda getting redundant. o_o

Akura's expression did not change as the ninja in front of her fell to the ground in a bloody heap. The smell of fire in her nostrils told her the village was burning, and she smiled slightly. This raid had been successful, and her master would be proud. More ninja, probably Chuunin, surrounded her, and they too tasted her whip-blade and the sweet release of death. The blood of the fallen warriors trickled off of the weapon and onto the ground, splattering the fields where children once played. She walked towards the center of village, and looked absently up at the familiar mountainside that contained the busts of the Hokages. Konoha was no longer her concern, instead she must... But now, another ninja steps foward to meet her, his blue hair glowing black in the fiery night. 'So you came... I'm sorry it had to come to this... Akki-chan.' And within an instant, the world fell away, Akura lost her senses, and...

"AAAH!" Akura awoke with a start, gasping for breath as sweat slicked her body. That dream again... Why does such evil plague my sleep? Why am I....? No, I will not think about it. It is only a dream, and I will not let it rule me. She looked around the room, and noticed Riko was still hanging upside down. His hands were interlocked in the hand seal of the Hare; one of his more favorite katas to use, though now it was not of much use. Akura sighed as she looked at the sleeping form of Riko, and wonder how. How could he sleep like that? How could he maintain any form of chakra control in his sleep? I'm not up to that level.. I feel.. so... so useless..... she thought, letting her tears rock her back to sleep.

Riko opened his eyes, and glanced at Akura. Nightmares, huh? Poor Akki... I'll see if she wants to talk about it later... Riko closed his eyes and once more assumed his meditative sleep.

OOC: So I'll just go ahead and advance it to early morning, before the test.

EDIT: Fixed.

xxxx

Early morning. The sun had yet to rise, but the steadily brightening horizon was making the wooden rooftops of the Hidden Leaf Village more easily visible; it was as if the village itself was awakening along with its inhabitants.

However, someone else was awake.

And he had several Shadow Clones out and about.

xxxx

Chakuya Riko snoozed silently, his body still sticking to the ceiling. Bachiwaka Akura was still slumbering silently in Riko's bed. All was silent and serene.

That just wouldn't do.

SMASH!

"EEEEEK!"shrieked Akura as she bolted upright. Riko yelped as he awoke with a startle, accidentally snapping the rope that kept him up. You know what that means...

BAM!

Face to the floor. The graduate grimaced as he wearily groaned. "Ow..." He slowly got to his feet as Akura asked, "Riko-kun, are you okay?"

"Just fine Akki..." muttered Riko as he looked around. His window was smashed; something had been thrown through it. He looked away from the window...and gaped. "AH!"

A balloon had smashed against his wall...and it had been filled with a thick, red liquid...as if it were blood...

Akura paled as she shrunk behind Riko. "Riko-kun...what is it...?"

"I don't know," muttered the blue-haired graduate.

The liquid began to drip...and words were forming.

'REMEMBER: NO BREAKFAST'

Akura gulped as she realized what those words meant. "Riko-kun...this is from..."

"I know. Hiroto-sensei," grumbled Riko as he broke out into a cold sweat. It's like he wrote in a murder victim's blood...but how...and why? Why use BLOOD?!

The liquid began to drip further.

'P.S.'

Riko blinked. "P.S?"

'IF YOU THOUGHT THIS WAS A WRITTEN-IN-A-MURDER-VICTIM'S-BLOOD HORROR MOVIE CLICHE; YOU NEED A SENSE OF HUMOR. BIG TIME.'

"GAH! IT'S ALL A JOKE?!?!?!" roared the cranky Riko (after all, he had just landed on his face for a little prank) as he kicked the liquid-covered wall

Seconds later, he realized that kicking a wall was a bad idea. "Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow..."

Akura sweatdropped as - deep in the back of her head - she thought of how glad she was to decide not to eat breakfast in the first place. Now there was no chance that she would.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Chakuya clan grounds, Genonosuke was ripping at the wall with his katana. He had gotten the exact same message. And he had taken it considerably less well than Riko or Akura.

And on Monument Range, Hiroto was laughing.

OOC: Riko wasn't sticking to the ceiling with a jutsu. He hung himself upside-down with the rope he had earlier in the RP. I suppose he could have thrashed around when he woke up and the rope snapped.

Also, how would Hiroto know about horror movies? <_< Meh. I overanalyze.

Also, tell me if what I'm getting at here is wrong. <_<

IC:

"Argh..." Riko muttered as he looked at the wall. Gah. That stuff can't stay there... "I'll be right back, Akura." He left the room, and then returned with a small bucket of water and a rag. He started to scrub, but the liquid didn't come off. "Huh? Oh, great. Is this stuff permanent?" Riko dipped his finger in the liquid, and sniffed it. It certainly didn't smell like blood, more like... water? Or some sort of thin paint? The smell was certainly strange...? Did he use some sort of jutsu on this? I guess so... It's probably still infused with his chakra. Riko frowned, then looked at the bucket of water. He had practiced water jutsu before dinner yesterday... Now was a good time to try one. Clasping his hands together in the sign of the Serpent...

"Suiton! Mizu-izumi dokudoku no jutsu! Water element, water fountain stream!" The bucket shook suddenly, and water burst from it, flooding the wall. The liquid that had been covering the wall suddenly dissolved into the water, leaving a simple wet wall. Hm... Seems my chakra had an effect. Now I have to dry the wall, though... Hey, wait...

Riko thought a minute, then formed the sign of the Hare.

"Suiton! Mizu-torisoroeru no jutsu! Water gathering!" The liquid on the wall clumped together in a ball as Akura watched, stunned. The ball of water then simply dropped into the bucket without making a noise or splashing. "Wow, Riko-kun..." Akura poked the water in the bucket, and found nothing strange. "I didn't know you could do that!" "I was thinking about the earth jutsu Hiroto-sensei did on the mountain... I was sure that I could use it as a water jutsu, so I decided to try a much smaller version in the pond we have by our house. That's the jutsu I just used. ...I tried a full-out Water Dragon Blast, but the most I got was a water ball before I tired out. I think I did good for my experience, though." "Yeah? ..." "Oh, sorry, Akura..."

Riko looked at the bucket, then remarked, "I don't know what it is... I've tried all sorts of jutsu, but this type feels so... natural. I know I'm a Leaf Ninja and not a Wave Ninja, but..." "...Our clan has affinity with water, you know?" Riko's attention was suddenly on Akura. "I knew you had blood from my clan, but you seemed to inherit our power, too..." Akura formed the sign of the Hare, and the water slowly rose out of the bucket in the shape of a hand. "It's... the only thing I can really do. Make water move, that is." Riko mused a minute, and asked, "Is it an advanced bloodline trait?" "No, I don't think so... Our clan's legend states that a fish-king granted our clan the power of water, since we couldn't summon him or his subjects on land... This goes for anyone with the blood of Chiisu Bachiwaka, the one who signed the contract."

"Huh... That's interesting..." Riko said. I knew I always liked water, but not really why... I guess this explains it. Riko looked out the window, and noticed the sun barely peaking over the trees. "Well, as long as we're up... Ready to go look ahead, Akura?" "Um, okay, Riko-kun." They quickly got dressed, and began to leave. Riko regretted that he was going to miss breakfast, but he decided to bring a few rice-balls just in case. After all, if he ate it later, it wouldn't be breakfast, right?

Genonosuke looked out of his window, trying to see if the sensei was still around. "No? Dammit. I guess- huh?" Geno noticed Riko and Akura walked towards the summit. "It's still like four hours away from nine! What are they doing up? Ah, forget it. I'm following them." Sheathing his katana, he looked at the wall and spit at it, then left silently to follow the pair. "I was never one to miss any fun..."

OOC: Actually, even though Konohagakure is located in the Fire Country, it is noted for being one of the most well-rounded ninja villages in the world, considering they live in an area with the materials needed for Water, Earth, Wood, or Metal-Element jutsus (with Fire, they produce it with their own chakra...but especially talented ninjas (like the Hokage or really talented Jonin) can create elements with their chakra alone). So even though Riko uses Water-element jutsus, it wouldn't really be considered odd or strange; Konoha is really well-rounded.

As a matter of fact, Hiroto is going to touch on this subject during the test.

As for movies...there ARE movie theaters in the world of Naruto. The whole first movie about Naruto revolves around him protecting a famous movie actress who's actually a princess.

And FYI, Hiroto's message was sent to everyone: Ryu, Izzy, Daio, Kai, and Suki too.

Kai sat up with a start, having no available wall the message had spread across the rooftop...and him
"what the heck?" he murmured "is this..paint?"

Diao was busy trying to remove the substance from her wallwhen there was a knock at the door, moving downstairs she found Suki waiting for her
"Hi" she chirped "I've been up for a while and I figured you would be too, cause of..uh well you know"
"yes, I did happen to notice...did you see my brother outside?"
Suki began to answer but instead yelped and sprang beside Diao as the front door slammed open and Kai walked in covered in red lettering.
Suki stifled a giggle as Diao had to concentrate very hard not to laugh, or even smirk, herself
"Yeah, c'mon get it over with" scowled Kai
"Why Brother, I don't know what you mean"

Suki fell over laughing

OOC: Man. It's been almost a whole week since supershadow70 appeared (he last posted on the 12th, and his last post on the Mobius Forum was on the 13th).

If he hasn't posted here by tomorrow, I'm going to move the characters along to the forest on Monument Range...but due to Hiroto's message, they went early. Hopefully we can keep going long enough so supershadow can return. :/

OOC: Nah, Riko and Akura were going early anyway. Hiroto's message just got them up earlier.

Edit: Forget the placeholder. I'll just write after Rico's post.

OOC: If supershadow70 doesn't return soon, I'm afraid I'll have to RP Izumo in his stead and move on. Oh well.

And Rico Underwood shall be joining us soon...with a character who'll play a part with the group starting after Hiroto's test.

xxxx

A Shadow Clone remained silent as he glanced downward from a rooftop; he was gazing at Riko, Genonosuke, and Akura. What the clone saw, felt, heard, touched, and smelled, that information - in a reduced way, so as the user of Kage Bunshin no jutsu didn't break out into a mind-shattering spasm if a clone disappeared - went directly to the user.

Hiroto remained silent from atop Monument Range. Hmm...so they all decided to come early...and without breakfast to boot. A smile came to his face. Heh heh heh...

xxxx

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, across the sea in the Water Country, we turn our attention to a certain village.

Rocky mountains surroudned the village on all sides, with only one entrance leading into it: a mighty river that streamed southward from the mountaintops, through the village, and to the ocean. A blanket of mist covered this entire village, shrouding it from an outside view.

The village's buildings were constructed of stone, carved and hauled from the mounainsides; the tallest one was roughly ten stories high, and it bore the character for 'Water' on it.

The palace of the Mizukage: the Water Shadow...the leader of Kirigakure, the Hidden Mist Village.

Inside the Mizukage's office, a cloak of mist - that was emanating FROM the powerful shinobi - blocked the man from view. Within that blanket, he rumbled, "Momochi Zabuza. Rico. Enter."

Two Kiri-nin entered the office. Both of them were shrouded inside the mist of the room. However, one could see the polished metal of their Mist hitai-ate and the massive blade strapped to Zabuza's back.

The Mizukage muttered, "Zabuza. What is your report from yours and Rico's mission to the Earth Country?"

Zabuza's face was concealed by white cloth, leaving only everything from the eyes up uncovered. "The mission was a success. As our orders dictated, the leader of the Hidden Stone Village's Airon clan was assassinated. We left no trace." The Airon clan - which meant Electric Iron - was a clan of Iwagakure that specialized in Metal element jutsus, particularly one that electrically charged the metal they used to multiply the damage.

Of course, against someone like Rico...it didn't really matter.

Mizukage then turned his hidden gaze to Rico. "Now Rico...tell me how it went for you."

xxxx

OOC: That's right folks; Zabuza from the TV show is here! But seeing as how this RP takes place between the sealing of the Nine Tailed Fox and the actual start of the anime, Zabuza will be a bit younger...but I shall say that his backstory (which is elaborated on in the next episode of Naruto) will be a central part of what hapens after Hiroto's test.

Everyone, welcome Rico Underwood's character...erm, Rico, to the fray. He won't be meeting with the Genin just yet...but just wait and see.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Just to let everyone know, if supershadow70 does not show up soon, I will handle the responsibilities of RPing his character Izzy. Hopefully he'll understand, but we can't hold back forever, lest everyone lose interest.

ooc: agh! Zabuza, oh well at least I don't think he has a pet bishounen at this point, or I suppose Bishou-nin
gah! and we can't kill him, or it'd create a paradox!

Ic:
Ten minutes later the 'paint' had resisted all efforets to clean it off
"whatever!" an exasperated Kai groaned "let's just finished packing those field packs and go!
"but we aren't meant to be there for hours" Suki interjected
"Yeah" replied Kai "but if we go early maybe sensei will tell me how to get this stuff off

another ten minutes later they all left, Kai carrying a large brown pack, Suki carrying lots of belt pouches and a small grey backpack and Diao, seemingly carrying nothing

OOC: Zabuza... smarter than you look 007. I like that guy, and his "pet". Going to be harder to betray now... o.o

Name: Fokkusu Rico'ki
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Likes: Naivety, Truth
Hates: Nefarious people
Appearance: Somewhat shorter than average with bright green eyes, pale skin, and a red ponytail. Auburn overcoat, black shirt, tan pants, wakazashi worn in the fashion a swordsman would wear their weapon.
Personality description: Sarcastic, quirky, generally a smartass.
Favorite Jutse type: Kinjutsu
Special jutsu: Shuurai no Jutsu

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Rico'ki, Fokkusu Rico'ki, that is my name, refer to me as such." The mans voice was gruff and meanacing even toward his kage. The mist seemed to part around him, as if he was purposely keeping the watery mist away from him. His bright orange hair and piercing green eyes were a stark contrast to his surroundings, but the demeanor behind the bright exterior was a shadowy attitude that very well matched the other hidden within the mist.

"There is nothing to report. The mission was a success." His reply was vague and unsatisfying. The young man had been with them only a few years, and even in such a short time had made himself both invaluable and a risk. His skills with ninja arts were unquestionably powerful, to control massive arcs of pure chakra energy was a skill any clan would prize. But his attitude had become ever soured toward his people. His personality was becoming fiery and bitter, making many of the kiri-nin question his motives. Their interest in his abilities, and their limitations, overuled their hesistation.

Riko and Akura had finally reached the top of the monument, and gazed down on the village. The sun had risen a little more into the air, but the coolness of the night before had not yet faded. They moved closer to the forest. Dew had formed on the leaves of the nearby trees... It was beautiful.

Rustle

"What now?" Riko turned and looked at a group of trees. Could that be Hiroto-sensei? No... He wouldn't have actually made noise... Riko thought for a moment, smirked, then carefully aimed a shuriken. As expected, the shuriken made a metallic sound as it hit the tree, and suddenly was whirling back towards Riko. Riko manipulated its flight path with some chakra application, and slowed it enough to catch safely by the middle. "Are you CRAZY, Riko?!" Genonosuke leaped out of the tree, katana drawn. "A herd of stampeding bulls make better silent ninja than you, Geno." Riko remarked. "Well, whatever. I'm out in the open now, right? What are you two doing up here anyway?" Riko pointed towards the forest. "We were going to scout the area. It's best to know the terrain a mission takes place in, you know." "Yeah, I guess, but... YAWN... Damn, it's early." Akura, who had been quiet until now, suddenly gasped.

"Riko-kun! I... I felt something..." "Huh?" Riko looked where Akura's gaze was, but saw nothing. "I... apologize. I suppose it was nothing." "Felt, you said?" "Yes... You know when you can sense when you're being watched? Something like that, but... stronger." Genonosuke frowned, and then said, "Hey, Konohagakure to Riko and Akura! Who cares what it is? It's probably a stupid wolf or something. If we're scouting, let's do it now!" Genonosuke leaped into the treetops again and almost immediately was attacked by a family of nesting birds who had been sleeping. Riko and Akura sweatdropped, then moved on.

To Riko's delight, there was a large river flowing through the forest. Riko had seen traces of this river elsewhere, but had not known it actually flowed through this area. Riko leaped onto the moving water, and formed the sign of the Hare. One quick sign was all it took to activate the jutsu: Riko could now move over water at an astonishing speed, and could likely use jutsu while moving, too. Riko skimmed the surface of the water, speeding with and against the flow of the river and making a mental note of the areas the river went through. Within a few minutes, he had returned to Akura, who seemed to performing a jutsu.

"What are you doing, Akki?" Riko asked, interested. Akura had formed the sign of the Ram, and an extremely faint glow was emanating from her fingertips. Akura touched the ground, and the glowing stopped. "This forest is so big, Riko-kun... This jutsu is one I learned a long time ago since I always got lost... No matter what direction I go in, I'll be able to tell where this spot is." "Wow, really? That seems pretty useful..." Riko studied the ground, and then thought a moment. It doesn't look like the ground was marked with a seal or anything... She could have infused chakra to the spot, but.. Can she sense chakra? That seems farfetched...

Suddenly, a noise was heard...

OOC: Well, I shall now begin RPing as Izzy.

xxxx

The source of the noise was the footstep of Shiranui Izumo, looking faintly surprised at the Riko and Akura whirling around to meet him. "Hmm?"

Snap.

"WAAAAAH!"

Bam.

That was the sound of a tree branch breaking, Genonosuke screaming as he fell, and Genonosuke landing on the ground, butt first. The graduate rubbed his rump angrily as he grumbled, "Stupid tree branch."

Izzy blinked as he commented, "Just bad luck."

"Why are you here Izzy?" asked Riko as Akura shuffled a few inches behind him.

Izumo grumbled, "Meh. Hiroto-sensei said I have no sense of humor." Stupid prank...that's my schtick!

It was at that moment that three others suddenly appeared behind them: Shiake Daio, Shiake Kai, and Nyoda Suki. Kai muttered, "Yo. I assume everyone else went through the same thing we did?"

The four graduates nodded (although Izumo had a very hard time not having a nosebleed at the sight of Suki; her outfit drove him crazy!).

Daio frowned. "Hmph...I wish he could've chosen a different means of waking us up."

"Really? Made you scream really loud," remarked Kai with a smirk. Daio shot her brother a glare before Suki quickly said, "Come on guys, calm down...we don't want Hiroto-sensei to get mad at us with our arguing."

Akura nodded feebly. "Yes...let's just go to the Honorstone."

"This early?" moaned Izzy. "I vote we sleep in some more until 9 AM."

"NO WAY!" roared Genonosuke, hand clutched tightly around his katana. "We should sneak up on him and scare him...pay him back for waking us up so freakin' early!"

Shiff-shiff.

That was the sound of movement of the leaves. All seven graduates whirled towards the source of the sound: a tree standing slightly higher than the others around it. The graduates stared silently at the tree as the leaves rustled.

"ENOUGH WAITING! HYA!!!" Genonosuke leapt, slashing away at the branches. They fell...revealing nothing.

Izzy sighed. "Man...probably just the wind." He turned around. "Let's go-AAAAH! HIROTO-SENSEI!"

Everyone spun around again to see none other than Yagami Hiroto, standing above them with a grin on his face. "You're early." He then pointed a finger at each child, counting out loud. "1...2..."

It was at this moment Riko saw string leading from the metallic fingers on his gauntlet-covered right hand...and towards the branches responsible for the rustling. He tricked us again!

"6...7...hmm. Only Ryu hasn't showed up. Maybe he's making a point to come on time, instead of waking me up."

"YOU WOKE US UP WITH THOSE BALLOONS!" protested Kai.

Hiroto suddenly took on a feigned tone of innocence. "Why, whatever do you mean? All I wanted to do was remind you not to eat breakfast..." This tone of nonchalance...was driving Genonosuke crazy. Conceited jerk!

Hiroto turned his covered gaze towards Genonosuke. "Feeling angry Genonosuke?"

The graduate gritted his teeth as he tried to calm himself. ...grr...

"So, now that I'm awake, let me ask if ANY of you guys ate breakfast."

(Yeah, I'm making a post later in the timeline. I'll hang back 'til It reaches 9.)

Riko scratched his head, and said, "To tell you the truth, Hiroto-sensei, I was going to, but ended up not doing so."

Akura shook her head, saying, "I don't eat breakfast often anyway, Hiroto-sensei, so I didn't this morning. Um, your little note sorta helped too."

Genonosuke frowned, then scratched his full stomach. He had grabbed a rather large bag lunch he had fixed the previous night while he was leaving home this morning, and ate it while following Riko and Akura. In fact, he ate specifically to spite the note. "Uh-um... N-no, Hiroto-sensei. I didn't eat breakfast! In fact, I usually don't eat breakfast anyway; it's for wimps!"

Hiroto stared intently at Genonosuke, his unseen eyes seemingly peering through his very being. At least, that's what the graduate thought.

Finally, the Jonin said, "I know you've eaten...quite recently, as a matter of fact." The knowing smirk on his face sent a small chill down the katana-weilding graduate's spine. "And you kids over there? What about you?"

Izzy, Kai, Daio, and Suki all shook their heads; although a few of them had planned to do so, Hiroto's message had all but erased the thought of breakfast from their minds.

Hiroto smiled. "Well...with the possible exception of Ryu, it seems our little boy Genonosuke is the only one of you eight to defy my orders and eat breakfast."

Riko slightly gulped at the sight of his fellow clan member's hardened glare. Oh man...Genonosuke's getting defensive now...

Suddenly, Yagami Hiroto said the last thing anyone expected him to. "Well congratulations. You've just won the common sense award!"

Silence.

Dumbfounded silence, to be precise.

Finally, Genonosuke asked, "Um...what do you mean sensei?"

Hiroto chuckled as he looked up at the sky, the dim morning light reflecting off of his hitai-ate. "Well...think about this. You're about to go on a mission. A mission that takes you to a land you've never been before...say your team leader gets the idea to tell you not to eat before a mission. Think about it: you have no idea where you're going, and you don't know when the next time you'll eat is. So what's the logical thing to do?"

Suki raised her hand. "Um...eat?"

"CORRECT-O!" dramatically yelled Hiroto.

Shiake Daio sweatdropped. Our new sensei's a total goofball...

"But Hiroto-sensei...wouldn't that be, um...defying your leader's orders?" Akura cringed slightly, as though fearing Hiroto's response.

Yagami Hiroto was silent...and then he said, "Some decisions that are given to you by the team leader may be done on the fly...or sometimes, they may even be blatanly wrong and ill-advised. If such a case happens to occur, then try and talk the team leader through it...but sometimes, you'll have to trust the leader's judgment."

Everyone was silenced as they digested the lesson. Riko silently thought, Hmm...I guess he means Genonosuke kind of 'beat' us by thinking outside of the box, willing to defy Hiroto's orders because they didn't make any sense. Although, I'm pretty sure Genonosuke did it out of spite more than anything else.

Apparently, Genonosuke had realized this. "HA!" He flashed a confident smile to the other graduates. "See guys? There was nothing to worry about."

"HOWEVER..."

That 'however' quickly brought Genonosuke back down to earth. The Jonin continued. "...this isn't a mission. And seeing as how you defied a direct order from me, I'll have to put your stomach back on the same level as everyone else's." Without hesitation, he pulled a small tube from the underside of his right arm's gauntlet, grabbing the tip of the tube with his teeth. He looked at Genonosuke and performed a few katas, speaking through his teeth. "Naruboisu no jutsu; Voice of the Echoes!" He aimed his right hand's index finger as small ridges opened around it. He then blew into the tube.

A dull sound was heard as sound waves erupted from the ridges on the armored finger, directed at Genonosuke. The graduate blinked as the waves passed through him, seemingly doing nothing. ...wha?

Suddenly, his insides quivered. His balance was lost as he fell to the ground, vomit rising out of his esophagus and into the mouth. The graduate began retching his food onto the ground.

"GENONOSUKE!" yelled Riko.

Hiroto smirked as he pushed the tube back into his gauntlet. "It's a jutsu that can be used with any musical instrument...but it requires that you know how to direct the sound waves with your chakra. Once you do that, you can target a lot of areas...and in this instance, I targeted the stomach. And you know what happens to people with upset stomachs."

Genonosuke's teeth gritted together as he stared at food he had once eaten, now nothing more than a pasty liquid on the ground. Hiroto had humiliated Riko yesterday...now he had humiliated Genonosuke. This is insane...everyone was cool with me back at the Academy. There, I was someone who everyone looked up to as one of the most advanced students...and now this hot-shot Jonin is making me look like a third-rate dropout! He'd get Hiroto back...somehow!

Speaking of Hiroto, the Jonin smiled as Genonosuke wearily rose. "Good. Now that that's settled...we just have to wait for Ryu. Seeing as how it's only about 7:30 AM, let's head on to the Honorstone...and just to mix things up..." He suddenly flipped over, landing on his hands. "We'll walk there upside-down. Everybody on their hands."

A mixture of silence, groans, and muted moans came from the seven graduates.

"Did I stutter? DO IT!"

All seven of them were on their hands immediately (it was initially difficult for Genonosuke, who had just experienced a case of puking, but he quickly got up to speed). As the seven graduates followed Hiroto at their own pace, Izzy made it a point to occaisonally look at Akura, Daio, or Suki.

Just in case gravity did its job and made their clothes fall down. Thus revealing their underwear.

Cause you know. He's perverted like that.

Kai, Diao and Suki shook their heads, they hadn't eaten anything, bu they were carrying about 3 days of field rations each

Ryu walked calmly through the forest at shortly before 9 AM, satisfied with himself in the fact that, for once in his life, he was on time for something. He wasn't going to be late for this one, after all, especially not after what his Brother had told him about what the exam would be like the previous night.
But as he walked out into the clearing, he was shocked out of his smug confidence.
All seven other cadets were already in the clearing accompanied by the Jonin, and marching upside-down no less.

"Great, so now I'm on time and I'm still late," He spoke alopud to himself as he approached the group sheepishly, burning with hunger from having not eaten since last night.
He adjusted the backpack on his back and walked up to the group, falling in without missing a beat. "Greetings, Sensei..." he said akwardly while trying to keep his balance while wearing the heavy pack, hiding his disappointment at not coming early like he had originally planned.

OOC: Okay boys and girls, Hiroto's test begins. But first, a little interlude at Kirigakure.

xxxx

A small little boy with long black hair hid beneath a small sewer grating as two Mist Chuunin walked by, oblivious to his presence. Although, judging from his thin frame and feminine face, one could've called him a her.

The dark-eyed boy sighed as he crouched down onto the stone sidebar (thus keeping him out of the icky water), his nose twitching at the smell of raw sewage. It wasn't healthy for him to hide down here...but Zabuza-sama was still preparing another hiding spot for him. Zabuza-sama...please hurry...

"Haku."

The young boy turned to face none other than Momochi Zabuza, who was nothing more than a silhouette in the dark tunnels. "Follow me. Your hiding spot is secure."

The boy - now known as Haku - smiled widely out of excitement. "Yes Zabuza-sama." He skipped towards the Mist Jonin, hanging close behind him as he led him further through the sewers.

It had been only about a year since Zabuza had rescued him from death's door...but it had nothing to do with love or affection. It had to do with the Kekkei Genkai he possessed...or, in other words, his Bloodline Limit. A powerful jutsu based on water and ice. But was okay to Haku; in Kirigakure, those with Bloodline Limits - due to generations of war between the clans of Kirigakure and the nearby lands of the Water Country - were regarded as nothing more than bringers of death that deserved extermination. That Zabuza wanted Haku for the power everyone hated him for...that was all it took for him to devote his young life to the mighty Jonin.

Suddenly, they emerged out of a tunnel that led out to a deep chasm; it was located between the southeastern border of the village and the circular mountain range. The 100 yard-wide chasm was so deep, it was where all trash and sewage was dumped...because nothing bad would come of it.

Zabuza clutched his massive blade and swung it across the chasm, the blade lodging itself into the rocky surface. A rope had been wrapped around the hilt...and the end was wrapped around Zabuza's right wrist.

"Hold on boy," muttered the Jonin as he grabbed Haku with his left hand and swung across the mist-filled abyss (it was too great a distance for even him to jump). Upon stopping and propping himself up, Zabuza leapt off onto a tiny ledge. Putting Haku down, he used both hands to push aside a large, seemingly innocuous boulder.

A large cavern was inside, lit by torches (with plenty of kindling and oil should the torches go out). A small cot was inside, with supplies of food and water nearby. Beyond the main cavern was a tunnel that led to the surface of the mountains, providing a secret path down the mountains. Haku let out a small yelp as he rushed inside, grabbing a canteen of water and gulping it down. With a contented gasp, the young boy said, "Thank you...Zabuza-sama."

The Mist Jonin snorted. "You will wait here. Don't leave the cavern. Understood?" A nod from Haku was all that was needed. The Kiri-nin walked back out onto the ledge and pulled his sword down to him. Like before, he swung his blade, lodging it into the other side of the chasm.

A few minutes later, he clambered up onto the side where Kirigakure sat on, not bothering to look back at the ledge; it was hidden by the mist, and only he knew where it was.

Or was he?

Zabuza didn't even bother turning to face a small cluster of trees standing near the edge, several yards away. "So...Rico'ki...been following me, have you?"

The other Kiri-nin, hidden inside the trees, said nothing.

Zabuza sneered. "Going to rat me out to the Mizukage? Tell him that I am in the possession of someone who possesses a Kekkei Genkai?"

xxxx

Meanwhile, back in Konohagakure...

Hiroto smiled as he jumped to his feet, looking in Ryu's direction. "Actually, you arrived at 9 o'clock, spot-on. The others just arrived really early. Apparently, you were the only one who decided to sleep in after my message."

Kanshisha Ryu winced at the memory of Hiroto's 'message'. His older brother had volunteered to help clean it out; thankfully, the application of a water jutsu (and not just regular water; chakra was needed to clean off the bloody-looking liquid) had done it well. At least I could go back to sleep. His attitude was considerably more calm than that of the others...at least when it came to surprises. "Yes sir."

Hiroto smiled. "Well, #8 has finally arrived! Everyone, on your feet!"

Everyone dropped off their hands; Izzy groaned as he got to his feet. My arms are killing me...

As all eight cadets lined up, Hiroto paced back and forth, his hidden gaze set on all of them. "So...eight graduates...coming to see if they could have a shot at becoming Genin..."

"And we will!" said Riko on impulse; he had come too far to be stopped now. He WOULD become Genin, no matter what!

"Oh really?" The Leaf Jonin turned towards Riko...and he immediately performed several hand seals. "Suiton; Sakamaku no jutsu!" His cheeks suddenly bulged outward.

Riko blinked.

A torrent of water erupted from Hiroto's mouth, creating a massive wave that surged into the ground. Everyone screamed as the wave picked them up, sending them into the trees. As the flow of water stopped, Hiroto wiped his mouth with his sleeves. He had been untouched by the mighty waters. "Water Element; Surging Waves."

Daio grimaced as she slowly let herself drop from the tree branch. That...is of the highest class of elemental jutsus...creating elements from chakra alone. The female frowned at the sight of the powerful Jonin's grin. He has no fear...and why should he? He's been flawless through and through.

Due to the technique, the clearing was now covered by a large lake (fifteen feet at its deepest), ending near Hiroto's feet (he stood right in front of the Honorstone, which had been untouched). Hiroto smiled as he heard Riko fall out of a tree. "Alright Chakuya Riko...now that you have enough water, use your best jutsu."

Riko blinked as water dripped out of his hair. "Huh?"

"This is the first part of my test...I'm going to evaluate your best techniques...or those you know how to use best. And I know you like water techniques most...so go ahead Riko." Yagami Hiroto crossed his arms, giving the signal for 'go' to the young graduate. "Show me what you've got."

Riko frowned as he stood on the water's surface. He hadn't performed a water jutsu of any spectacular feat before... Only his water-gliding jutsu and that fountain jutsu... neither of which would impress Hiroto much. Wait, impress? Nah, wrong word. Nothing would likely impress this guy short of using a Kinjutsu.

The sensei's earth dragon jutsu... I tried to replicate it before, though I didn't use that much chakra... Nah, I probably couldn't do it. Not yet, anyway.

Riko sighed. "I admit, Sensei, I have not practiced much. But I'll do what I can! Now, let's-"

"Hey, Riko, you just gonna stand there all day?!" Genonosuke was purposely taunting Riko. He needed someone to pick on due to his current crankiness caused by Hiroto, and Riko seemed a prime target.

Dammit! He gets on my nerves sometimes... I wish I could just use Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and... !!!!! An idea suddenly popped into Riko's head. Some chakra, a transformation technique, and a little improvisation... Riko smirked, and pointed at Genonosuke. "Since you're so impatient, why don't you come down here? You can paint a bullseye on your chest while you're at it." Genonosuke cracked a grin and leaped to where Riko was. "Sure, cuz. I'm not afraid of your techniques. You attack like crap, anyway." Riko grinned as he noticed Geno was having trouble standing on the water. He focused on Genonosuke, and clasped his hands together, summoning chakra. "Huh?" Genonosuke stared as Riko grunted. "You look... constipated or something." was Geno's blunt comment. In truth, Riko was preparing most of his chakra for release. "Ok, here I come!" Riko cried.

"Hare! Dragon! Suiton: Mizu bunshin no jutsu!!!!" Riko gasped as the chakra left his body, and he quickly grabbed his key ring, transforming it into his bo staff, then leaped at Genonosuke.

"Hey, what the hell?" Genonosuke was surprised to see Riko charging at him, then smirked. "Whatever. Don't expect me to just stand here though." Genonosuke drew his katana, and slashed when Riko came in range. Geno expected Riko to dodge, like he usually did, but... "WHAT THE CRAP?!" Geno had sliced completely through Riko, who had exploded into a stream of water. Suddenly, the water churned beneath Genonosuke's feet, and Riko came out of the lake. And so did Riko. And Riko, and Riko, and Riko... Genonosuke gaped. At least a dozen Rikos surrounded him, and from the way the water moved, these were the real thing! The shock was too much, and Geno lost his concentration and fell into the water. All the Riko's smiled, and then left their place around Genonosuke, facing Hiroto once more. "Mizu bunshin no jutsu, Hiroto-sensei, the water-clone technique," they all said at once. "I thought of your Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, and figured it could be done with water. I believe I succeeded, though... For some reason..." The Riko in the middle grimaced, and spoke alone, "For some reason, these clones don't feel very strong. I guess it's expected, since they're just water." Riko signaled the clones, and they vanished into the water once more. Riko waited for Hiroto's response, though he didn't feel too confident despite the fact he had just performed a neat jutsu he had never even tried before.

Yagami Hiroto remained silent as his ears twitched. Huh...I was kind of looking forward to see how different his Water Glide technique was from merely standing upon a cushion of chakra to keep you afloat...but oh well. He did particularly well. "I have to say, not bad...but judging by how much chakra you expended and how weak the clones were, it was your first time trying it. Commendable...but a bit foolhardy. Using a technique in battle without knowing how to properly perform it is roughly equal to suicide. Improperly performing a jutsu's hand signs...incorrectly manipulating chakra flow...this can lead to a technique backfiring on you in several ways. You could lose control over the technique you unleash...it might not come out at all, at the cost of valuable chakra. In the worst cases, you lose all chakra...and without chakra, you die."

Riko gulped. Darn it...I knew this wouldn't impress him.

Hiroto quickly smiled. "But still, you've got a lot of guts. I admire that...step out Riko. Now it's Genonosuke's turn."

Chakuya Riko grinned as he swam out of the lake. YES! I still have a chance to make Genin! From the edge of the lake, the white-haired Akura smiled out of sheer joy. Riko-kun...you did it...

Chakuya Genonosuke snorted. "Whatever."

Hiroto twitched. "Now Genonosuke...let's see you come against me. Blade to blade." Hiroto suddenly leapt into the air, roaring, "KONOHA HASAI ASHIGE! Leaf Smashing Kick!" He slammed his foot into the ground right near the edge of the lake, creating a large web of cracks through which the water drained out.

Yagami Hiroto stared calmly at Genonosuke.

The graduate smirked as he grabbed his katana, his chakra flaring. Heh...he's asked for it. I'll pay him back for humiliating me! He quickly dashed forward - speed increased by his chakra - and roared. "HAAAAAAAA!"

Genonosuke was prepared to see the arm-blade that Hiroto had used the previous day.

He hadn't expect him to pull out one kunai knife with his left hand. That arrogant...! "DON'T BLAME ME IF YOU GET HURT!!!" He lunged.

SHINK!

Metal struck metal.

The heir to the Chakuya clan paled as his downward slash was stopped by Hiroto's tiny kunai knife. ...what? He quickly shifted his stance and slashed sideways toward the stomach.

Hiroto twisted his left arm to have the kunai meet the long sword. Just as before, the katana stopped. Genonosuke paled. Impossible! He stepped back and thrust forward.

The tip of the kunai knife met the tip of the katana. Genonosuke was utterly dumbfounded; he was growling, muscles bulging...and Hiroto wasn't flinching. His face betrayed nothing. He wasn't even breaking a sweat. As if he weren't trying. "...rrrRRAAAAGH!"

A flurry of slashes erupted from Genonosuke. Hiroto blocked them all, the only movement coming from his left arm. All with one little kunai knife. The cadet was completely stupeified. There's no way...we can't be THIS unequal!

Izzy whistled from the sidelines. "Dang. That's pretty slick."

He IS a Jonin after all, thought Riko...but some part of him was secretly enjoying Genonosuke being taken down a few well-deserved pegs.

Riko sat back as he watched Genonosuke try to damage Hiroto. The Mizu Bunshin, no matter how nice it seemed, was performed somewhat improperly(the hand seals, perhaps...) and had taken a huge toll on Riko's chakra. This, in turn, had taken out quite a bit of Riko's stamina. Riko frowned. Hiroto-sensei was right... Huh, it was probably only dumb luck that I pulled it off. Maybe I should have stuck with my water-glide jutsu. At least I do that well... Crap, I'm such an idiot... Now that I think about it, he said he wanted us to use the techniques we could do best. I was too concerned with trying to make myself look good... Riko stood up, and looked at the river. It wasn't far... Maybe our next assignment will actually show our skill in the field... I can show everyone my speed then. Heh. Riko's attention soon got back to the 'fight', if you can call it that.

Genonosuke might as well have been slicing at a brick wall. Except that a brick wall might have given way by now. Geno was tired, hungry, and above all else, pissed. He leaped back, and then charged foward. "One thousand blade jutsu!" Genonosuke cried. You have to understand; this wasn't really a jutsu but just a fancy name applied to his flailing. That's Genonosuke for you. The hot-headed Chakuya leaped foward, swinging his katana like a hurricane, but still... CHINK, CHINK, CHICHICHICHINK Genonosuke stopped to look at his sensei. WHAT?! Genonosuke was in shock as he observed Hiroto.

Hiroto was playing Janken. A Shadow-clone stood nearby, showing the sign of Paper, and winning. "...You cheat." came the real Hiroto's response, and he made the clone go 'poof'. "Hm? Oh, are you through, Genonosuke?" Geno found his blood temperature rising again. "You'll have to forgive me if so... I simply wasn't paying attention." This did it. "YOU BASTARD!" Genonosuke pulled back with his katana, and sliced...

Riko shook his head at this. "Man, Geno's gonna get creamed."

SHICK.

...Hiroto's head went flying.

Genonosuke, in his rage, didn't realize the full implications immediately. He just stared at the head with a bit of confusion. "..."

Kai was much quicker to react. "YOU IDIOT! YOU BEHEADED SENSEI!"

Genonosuke paled. I...I killed him? All of a sudden, his rage disappeared...and intead of the joy of beating a Jonin claiming him, it was cold horror. Oh God...what have I done?

POOF.

The body disappeared. So did the blood that had come from the head.Everyone blinked out of confusion.

It was at that moment that Yagami Hiroto - the REAL Yagami Hiroto - dropped out of the tree closest to the Honorstone, rubbing his hair lazily. He yawned once before saying, "Morning. Thought I could get some more shuteye...so I let the other guy give you boys a shot."

Izumo sighed out of relief. "He's still alive..."

Kai chuckled nervously at the sight of Hiroto. "Heh heh...wow...not bad...heh..."

Riko, meanwhile, was utterly dumbfounded. You mean to tell me...that the Hiroto we've been all morning...was only a Shadow Clone? The graduate was astounded; no wonder the Hokage had chosen this Jonin to lead the first eight-man team. He's good...VERY good...

Ryu, meanwhile, was analyzing the situation quietly. His clone let itself get beheaded on purpose...so the real Hiroto could psyche us out. And it worked...even I'm feeling a bit jittery. No wonder his brother thought so highly of Hiroto. He WAS indeed the toughest guy he had ever met.

Genonosuke breathed heavily, his blue eyes fixated upon the approaching Jonin. He was so on edge - a feeling he was NOT used to - so badly that he couldn't even raise his sword, even though his hands were clenched so tightly on it that his knuckles were white.

Hiroto calmly wrenched the katana from the cadet's hands and held it over his shoulder. "Like I said...this blade is only making up for deficiencies. If I could beat you with a little kunai...do you think you'd stand a chance against REAL swordsmen?" Hiroto loomed straight down into Genonosuke's face; the cadet could see his face in the Jonin's hitai-ate. "Get the picture?"

Genonosuke grimaced as he looked down at the ground, wet and cracked. Much like his face; an angry tear was going down his cheek. ...he's...he's right...I may have my katana...but all I know good is Taijutsu and swordsmanship...

The Jonin calmly sheathed the katana back into the graduate's sheath. "Looks like you only have two options...one: expand your repetoire. Learn some ninjutsu or genjutsu techniques to back up your primary taijutsu techniques."

Genonosuke's frown deepened.

"Or...there's option #2." Hiroto put a hand on the Chakuya male's shoulder, a warm smile coming to his face. "Work harder...become a better swordsman...gain control of your emotions...and one day, perhaps you'll be good enough to merit my usage of the arm-blade."

Genonosuke's eyes widened as he stared at the grin on the Jonin's face...and he understood. It was a challenge...to rise to the occasion. If he couldn't back himself up with other techniques of the ninja arts...then he would simply push himself harder. Learn more sword techniques...and one day, inherit the legendary blade - Jintetsu - of the Chakuya clan...and do so rightfully. ...heh...he's actually not that bad. He bowed. "Yes sir, Hiroto-sensei..."

Hiroto chuckled as he turned Genonosuke around. "You're learning. Okay...Bachiwaka Akura! You're up!"

!!! It is my turn?! Akura's thoughts wildly raced. Even Genonosuke's attempt at battling Hiroto-sensei's clone was better than anything I could do... Oh no... Akura gulped, and slowly stepped foward. Her specialty was Genjutsu, but what could she do? Bunshin no Jutsu was a basic skill, something that would make her the subject of ridicule! As she walked past, Riko caught her eyes and whispered, "Just try, Akki." Akura kept walking, and stopped in the middle of the muddy field. "u-um..." Akura froze, feeling the eyes of all the students on her back. They're all watching me... Oh, I can't do this... Akura concentrated as best she could, creating chakra. She formed a hand seal, and...

Nothing. Silence. Akura was on the verge of breaking down. I feel so ashamed... They're all looking at me... And I've let down Riko-kun... I don't want to be seen like this!I don't want to be seen! Akura felt her chakra being released, and she heard gasps from the back. She opened her eyes and looked around, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except... All of the students were looking around in confusion... all except Diao, who was looking at her with an odd expression. "Where did she go?!" Izzy cried. "Akura!" Riko yelled, unsure of where she was. "W-what? I'm... I'm right here..." Akura said quietly, and everyone suddenly stared at where her voice came from. Riko, especially, was awed. "An... invisibility Genjutsu? I've heard of a target's sight being darkened to where they can't see, but I've never thought this was possible..." Though they all knew where she was now, it seemed the only ones who knew exactly where she was standing were Hiroto and Diao...

Hmm, thought Hiroto as he sensed the chakra swirling around the white-haired girl. Impressive...no katas...no jutsu name...her panic made her body react without her realizing. And now her chakra has surrounded her body, bending the light so that those who see her perceive her to be invisible...although it doesn't do anything to help her hide from those who have an exceptional sense of smell or hearing, it's still pretty good. "Not bad Akura...a genjutsu technique without a name or katas...pretty good for a cadet."

The compliments made Akura flush out of embarrassment...yet she was overjoyed at the same time. Acknowledgment was hard to come by for her, especially due to her appearance. As her panic subsided, she reappeared to everyone else as her chakra aura receded.

"You just need to work on control," continued the Jonin as he faced the white-haired girl. "Control of a jutsu like that would be pretty handy, especially when scouting or sneaking around...I've seen all I need to see from you."

Akura's face beamed. "Thank you, Hiroto-sensei."

Riko smiled from afar. Wait to go Akki! You did it! Even though he didn't really know exactly what had happened.

Hiroto then turned to Shiake Daio. "Same for you Daio; I already know what I need to know."

The female blinked. "Huh?"

Kai roared, "NOT FAIR! She didn't even do anything!"

"Actually, she was the only one of you cadets to see Akura after she had disappeared; probably due to her eyes." Although Hiroto wasn't looking, he was thinking about the skull-shaped pupils that was present in some of the female members of the Shiake clan. "Her eyes are more in tune with the surroundings, along with chakra...she could probably see through the chakra aura that had rendered Akura invisible to anyone else. And not only that, but you remained calm and poised. That's something invaluable on the battlefield: it allows you to keep an even head."

Daio blinked. "Oh...thank you, Hiroto-sensei."

A smirk greeted her. "Don't mention it...and by the way, I WOULD ask you to use the Banmoku-kon no jutsu, but seeing as how you haven't developed it far enough yet, it wouldn't work unless you saw my eyes." Daio blinked again as the Jonin continued. "I've been through all of the class reports; you're currently at Stage One of the Shiake clan's Bloodline Limit...and as such, it requires that you look into the opponent's eyes to use your special jutsu. You can imagine why it wouldn't work on me, eh?"

Daio nodded. "Yes sir." Not with that headband protector blocking his eyes.

"Okay...Shiake Kai." Hiroto glanced at the blonde-haired graduate. "Show me your best jutsu."

Kai nodded and stepped forwards
"Doton; Dotonoonyuudou no jutsu!" he Cried, forming the hand seals, he then drew both his axes and slammed the blades into the ground, his chakra released and the Ground around Hiroto sensei churned as eight giant hands made of stone gre from the ground and extended to grab him, Hiroto made a short hop to avoid the hands, but found many more waiting for him when he landed...

Suddenly, the Jonin reared his right arm as a thin film of chakra covered his armored fist. "Bakuha Tekken! Exploding Fist!" He slammed his hand into the first earthen hand to reach him.

BOOOOM.

A dull sound sounded out as a shockwave rushed through the hand and outwards, splintering it into a hundred pieces. The other fists around it also fractured and split apart as the shockwave passed through them. Moments later, the shockwave ended, and Hiroto landed amidst a pile of rubble. "Your chakra flow wavered a bit as you tried to grab me on my way down. That could only mean that this jutsu takes a lot out of you in a short amount of time...you need to work on it."

Kai sighed out of slight dejectedness. "Yes sir..."

Daio took the opportunity to stick a tongue out at her brother.

Hiroto flinched.

SHICK.

Daio blinked. Then she turned her head.

Embedded into the tree right behind her was a kunai knife. Hiroto had thrown it so closely to her that some strands of her hair had been cut. "!!!"

Hiroto calmly said, "No taunting...after all," He suddenly donned a deep, dramatic voice. "IT KILLS."

Izzy wasn't that amused. Drama queen...er, king I mean.

"But back to business...not bad at all kid. Not bad at all..." If he could learn to concentrate long enough to use it for more than just ten seconds, that could be a really potent technique. "Thank you for your time Daio...Nyoda Suki, you're up."

OOC: A little question, if I may... I've been thinking, and Mizu Bunshin seems a little much for Riko right now, IMO. According to sources I read, it's a Genin level technique, but it seems too good for a Leaf Ninja to just perform out of nowhere and get it right. Perhaps we could go back and change continuity to balance things back? I don't know if that's acceptable or not, but...

OOC: We'll just chalk it up to blind luck THIS time...but if he uses it again without studying up on it or practicing, then there'll be heck to pay. Heck, even in the show SASUKE uses a new jutsu on the fly (Of course, this is much later on during the Chuunin Exams).

Suki ran forward "hai!, I managed to perfect this this morning thanks to your wake up sensei"

"Katon; Kitsunehokage no jutsu"
(ooc: I'm taking it at face value, someone said hokage means fire shadow so this should mean fox fire shadow)

Suki flicked several forms in her right hand while spinning her spear in the other, she breathed out nine tails of fire, which streaked towards Hiroto
(ooc note: this technique is a combination of the fuuma shuriken and the technique Sasuke uses in the forest chuunin exam against the sound ninja.
it consists of the nine fireballs, each concealing a large shuriken, hidded in the shadow of each of the shuriken is a second shuriken, it's all clever misdirection really, plus a tiny bit of weak elemental creation)

OOC: I said that, but 'Kitsunehokage' is a little rough off the tongue. How about 'Katon; Kage Fogouka', which means Fire Element; Shadow Fox Hellfire?

xxxx

Hiroto quickly knelt down, putting his right hand against the ground and performing signs with his left hand...and ONLY his left hand. "Doton; Doruki Gaeshi!"

Riko paled. Signs with ONE hand? Impossible! How's he doing it?!

"Earth Element; Earth Land Wall Flip! The Jonin pounded his right fist against the ground...and a rectangular section of earth flipped up, becoming a barrier for him.

The nine fireballs slammed into the barrier; the flames dissipated, revealing nine pairs of large shuriken.

Suki nearly facefaulted. No fair! I thought that would get him for sure!

"Hmm...very impressive," remarked Hiroto. "Fire over the shuriken, coupled with the Shadow Shuriken technique...you have potential to be an exceptional fire and weapons master." The Jonin smiled widely. This group was MUCH more talented than his previous groups of graduates. "Heh...you kids might actually be the first ones under my tutelage to make it to Genin...but enough talk. Ryu, you're up."

Ryu sighed and looked straight ahead.
"Very well... Here's something I've been working on.Uddo; Ibara Ne Hishigu!"
He stepped forward and did some seals quickly, and then proceeded to stand still for a moment, slowly outstretching his arms. Everyone looked at him, puzzled. What was he doing?
Was the Ryu standing still a clone?

Suddenly, Ryu bent down quickly and touched the ground with one finger. There was a brief light at the moment of contact, and then The ground shook for an instant before Massive, Thorny Tree roots burst up through the ground in a circle around the Jonin and wrapped themselves into a hemisphere around him, standing still for an instant until Ryu clenched his outstretched hand into a fist and the dome collapsed upon itself, crushing in on the trapped Jonin.

"Did... did it work? No... he escaped somehow... I failed, I know it." He said disappointedly, loooking at his feet. "But what else did I expect?"

OOC: Izzy's hair color was never really told...so I'll just go with reddish-brown. o.o

Also, some techniques are prefaced by 'Ninpou', which means 'Ninja Arts'. In cases such as these, there is not a 'no jutsu' after the technique name. For instance, someone could go 'Ninpou: Yadda yadda yadda', and it'd translate to 'Art of the Yadda Yadda Yadda'. Get my meaning?

And Wonderbat, Ryu's brother needs a name. o.o

xxxx

"Katon; Hibashira no jutsu!"

A column of red fire erupted from the flattened dome of thorns, incinerating the roots on contact. When the column dissipated, it revealed a small patch of scorched earth...and a hole in the ground. Hiroto jumped out of the hole - thereby revealing that he had escaped the thorns by digging a hole with his chakra - and smiled. "Fire Element; Blazing Fire Tower."

Ryu frowned. I knew it...what the? He suddenly noticed a small nick on Hiroto's left sleeve. "I got him?"

"Indeed," replied Hiroto with a grin; the cut was only two inches long, and it was less than a millimeter deep...but it was a cut nonetheless. "You kids keep surprising me...and although I'm not in 'Full-Battle Mode', the fact you nicked me as it is...well, that's an accomplishment all on its own."

The young Kanshisha male felt a small upswell of pride. He had actually gotten a hit on the Jonin! But even though he isn't really going all-out...I still got him.

From afar, Genonosuke frowned. "Meh...I wore him down though."

Izzy snorted. "Eh, whatever." Sore loser.

"All righty...now for the final guy. Shiranui Izumo...you're up."

The cadet grimaced as he brushed a strand of his reddish-brown hair out of his face. I really need to cut it. His boots thudded against the wet, cracked ground as he stopped ten yards away from the Jonin, his backpack sagging against his shoulders.

"Your move kid," said Hiroto.

"Fine sir." He quickly performed a few katas before roaring, "Ninpou; Bakushi-endan!" As blue chakra swirled around his hands, he reached into his backpack and pulled out six smoke bombs. "Art of the Rushing Smoke Bomb!"

He thrust all six spheres into the ground...and the smoke cloud that resulted from it was increased and enlarged by the cadet's chakra, creating a massive cloud of smoke that blocked out the whole field.

The other graduates stepped back as smoke rushed by them. Akura coughed viciously as the choking gas entered her nostrils. "Erg...Riko-kun, ack...where are you?"

A hand reached out of the smoke and grabbed her. "Right here Akki."

Meanwhile, Suki frowned; she could've sworn she heard a 'no jutsu'...but she didn't catch the first part...

Ryu's eyes narrowed as he heard footsteps. Hmm?

Daio yelped out of surprise. Someone pinched her butt!

The smoke started to dissipate from the top-down. As the cloud spread out and descended, Hiroto slowly came into view. He hadn't moved an inch. Moments later, as the smoke lowered to a height of two feet, three Izzies leapt out of the smoke; they had used the smoke to hide on the ground before leaping up. Each of them held kunais.

Riko frowned. Clever...but the sensei's going to know which one is the real Izzy.

All three Izumos went through the Jonin. The elite ninja didn't even budge as the three clones dissipated into nothingness on contact.

Shiake Kai blinked. "Huh? The kid's not there? Where'd he go?"

Hiroto smirked.

All of a sudden, he burst off running toward the seven graduates, his body a blur. The cadets blanched as their teacher stormed toward them; what was he doing?!

"Yo, Hiroto-sensei! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" yelled Genonosuke. "IZZY'S NOT OVER HERE!"

Hiroto came closer. He reached them.

He ran past them; his target was the tree right behind the group. Without hesitation, he slammed his leg into the tree's side, causing it to shudder violently.

A groan.

"...ow..." Suddenly, a mat fashioned to look like tree bark fell down over Hiroto's leg, revealing none other than Izzy, holding a kunai. "Darn...it..." Then he fell over Hiroto's leg, slumping down onto the ground.

Hiroto chuckled. "Creating clones in the smoke cloud, then hiding yourself...hoping I wouldn't anticipate an attack from the main group...but it's kind of null and void when I can hear your footsteps and your heartbeat."

Ryu blinked. Heartbeat? He could hear Izzy's heartbeat? How?

The dark ruddy-haired graduate groaned as he stood up, clutching his stomach. I'd hate to feel a full-power kick...he probably would've pulverized me.

"Still...sneaky and deceptive. Useful for tricking an enemy or making a quick escape..." He suddenly snickered. "Still, I have to say you're quite the pervert...after all, you DID bother to pinch Daio."

Daio glared at the nervous Izumo.

POW!

Several moments later, Izzy was rubbing a black eye. "Owie..."

Riko sweatdropped as he said, "I've told you before that your girl-crazy habits are gonna get you hurt." At least Genonosuke's more restrained.

"So versatile, the lot of you," said Hiroto as he walked to about ten feet in front of the group. "That's what makes the Hidden Leaf Village so great...although we live in the Fire Country, we have enough natural materials to use all five elemental jutsu types...and we have masters of taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, or combinations of the three...it's that well-roundedness that allows us to be ready for any threat."

The eight graduates remained silent as they looked at the taller ninja.

The brown-haired Jonin calmly stood above the eight cadets, a small smile on his face. Hmm...they've got the skills...but do they have the guts? "There's no doubt that you kids are the most talented bunch I've ever had the chance to work with...but all the talent in the world doesn't matter when you don't have the spine to back it all up."

Genonosuke snorted. "If you're trying to scare us, forget it; we know we might die in battle. I don't care."

A sarcastic chuckle came from the Jonin...and its low tone sent a chill down everyone's spines. "Silly boy...in the world of shinobi, there are fates worse than death. Much worse."

That sent more chills down everyone's spines.

Hiroto turned towards Ryu. "Ryu...do you remember a time where your brother returned from a mission with a bandaged right arm?"

Ryu blinked as he tried to recall. "Yes...he had come hom from mission to the Wind Country...he said it had to deal with the protection of a powerful businessman...he said he had badly hurt his arm."

"That's only part of the truth. He had gotten split up...and he fought an assassin commissioned to kill the businessman. He killed the assassin, but at a cost; his right arm had been poisoned from a knife laced with a powerful toxin. And since he was separated from the group, he had no choice but to prevent the spread of the poison the only way he knew how...he struck at his own shoulder with a kunai knife, with the intent to sever his arm off."

The eight cadets paled. Akura gulped out of worry; that souned horrible. Suki quietly asked, "But...couldn't he have just drained the poisoned blood out?"

"This kind of toxin was too refined for such a method...it had already contaminated his muscle tissue in a matter of minutes." The Jonin glanced upward, the sky reflecting off his hitai-ate. "Had the medical ninja assigned to his team not gotten there in time, he'd be short one arm today."

Kanshisha Ryu felt a twinge of coldness grip him; his brother was so big...and so strong...and he had been so close to being a cripple for the rest of his life. "I see..."

"And it doesn't compare to the pain of being tortured..." He calmly reached for his headband protector, undoing the knot. "...I should know. I have first-hand experience."

He removed his hitai-ate...and everyone saw his whole face for the first time.

The eight graduates gasped out of sheer horror. Akura squealed as she hid behind Riko, her eyes widened out of shock. Izumo felt his bowels squirm...and Ryu finally understood why his hearing was so good.

It was to make up for his lack of vision.

His eyes...they weren't merely scarred. They were GONE, along with his eyelids. The soft meat inside his eye sockets had been hardened over, becoming a big bundle of scarry tissue.

It was a horrifying sight; Yagami Hiroto had no eyes.

Riko's expression softened as he looked at his sensei. Chalk up another twenty respect points. he thought. I can agree... I'd rather be put out of my misery than crippled... I wonder who did this to him? And... did Sensei train to become a Jonin after he was blinded, or... was there a force out there strong enough to overpower him in his prime? Man, that's a scary thought...

Riko looked at his hands, then thought, ...but I suppose I could live like that. The thing that scares me most would be... seeing my friends fall...

Akura looked nervously at the unmasked Jonin from behind Riko. Poor Sensei... I was scared at first, but... She pulled a strand of her ghostly hair in view of her eyes. Is that it? People fear what they don't understand? Am I so similar to Hiroto-sensei? As for what I fear... Is there anything I fear because I don't truly understand it? Suddenly, images of her dreams the previous night came flooding back. Am I afraid... of myself?

Genonosuke was still gaping. He was able to outmatch me BLIND? I thought his eyes were special or something, not that he totally lacked them... Man... Well, if a guy like Hiroto-sensei can be so awesome, I'm not too far behind! Better watch out! Genonosuke had to stop himself from breaking out into a smile. Death? Torture? There's nothing I'm afraid of, except maybe being shamed and dishonored...