ANBU 101 [Class]

[Haku Yuki]

Haku Yuki as sat with her legs crossed on the dew-covered grass outside the academy, the pink stain of the firsts suns light blotted the sky, her hands rested on her thighs she breathed softly allowing her to bask in the silence of the dawn find a much-needed calm to steady herself. The ANBU open her eyes a looked out through the mask that obscured her face the way that sky was lit as could tell it was going to be a hot day just like the one before it, she sighed enjoying the cooling air of the morning against the bare skin of her shoulders and arms. While the hot weather here didn't overly bother her, her time spent in the almost complete frozen tundra of her homeland recently made her aware that she just needed to spend a little more time readjusting.

The morning birdsong fill the air as the dawn began, hearing this the female got to her feet shaking off the damp that had gathered on the back of her legs was she watching in front of her. She had told them to be here by dawn and so far, was a little less than impressed with the turn out, granted she had been there since the early hours of the morning but that mattered little. Folding her arms, tapping her foot on the ground impatiently was she continued to wait for her students getting herself ready to scold them if they took any longer.

 

[Shirai Sadao]

Otsune strolled onto the fields, the suns light glinting off his white hair as he lifted an arm to shield his eyes. He was a morning person that much was obvious but still seemed somewhat tired, a slight black tinge under his eyes from being unable to sleep from nervousness. He wasn't sure what to expect nor what the consequences would be if he was late, He could only hope his arrival was in satisfactory timing.

As he saw his new tutor standing in the field he couldn't see her expression, not knowing what she was feeling at this point in time but could only assume she had waited there since the early hours of the morning from her more comfortable seating position as he approached.

"Apologies if i am late for you lesson i know we were meant to be early that much was certain, how early i believe i underestimated."

He decided it would be best to remain standing, rubbing his arms with the slight edge of his more nervous tone still in his voice as he took a moment to look round the field, taking the short moment to feel the relaxing sensation of the early suns warmth. It was a long time since he had taken part in training like this, not since his time at home before the academy. His grandfather had been a strict tutor so there was always preparation for the same level of discipline from the women stood there. Reading himself to wait to see if the boys he had met in class the other day would make the same timely arrival he had attempted to make.

[WC: 275]

 

[Megumareta]

Megu half jogged down to their meeting place, his feet almost slipping on the morning dew. He was hardly what would be described as a morning person, but years of rising at dawn to knead dough and fill cooking pots had trained his body to work with very little sleep. He wore an oversized hoodie he'd borrowed off of his brother with a scarf wrapped around, so warm he may as well still be in bed. They'd been told to meet at dawn and as he drew closer he was happy to notice that Yukio was already there, but his tutor was stood tapping her foot.

"I'm sorry if I'm late, I mean dawn isn't really a specific time right?"

He smiled sheepishly and sat on the grass, nodding at Yukio, waiting to see if any others arrived.

 

[Naru Hiroshi]

Hiroshi had been sat in the trees that skirted the area that surrounded the ninja academy, idly leafing through some of the notes from the student's most recent lesson to fill the time, when he thought he spotted one of his friends out of the corner of his eye. Ignoring the notes which he held in his hand, the silver haired boy looked closer at the half-running figure and smiled as he realised he had been correct and that it was indeed Megu, making his own way to the lesson.

Maybe I was in the wrong place.

Leaping nimbly down from his position, the young shinobi stuffed his reading material back into his pocket as he jogged to try and catch up with his friend. Luckily he didn't have to run too far, arriving at the apparent spot for the lesson as Megu was talking to their teacher; the woman that had been assigned as their team leader at the last lesson. Hearing his friends words, Hiroshi had to admit that the other boy had a fair point; dawn wasn't the most specific of times.

"That's probably a good point, and I've been sat in a tree not too far away waiting. Apparently I misread the directions and was waiting in the wrong place. My apologies."

Hiroshi turned and winked at his friend even as he sidled forwards to stand next to Megumareta, who had taken a seat on the damp ground.

Well, I guess it's time for this party to get started, here's hoping we learn something nice and useful as opposed to nebulous lessons about teamwork and reading from books.

Hiroshi folded his arms over his chest and stood, waiting to see what the group would be doing with their new teacher.

WC - 294

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

The dawn was approaching Kaori as she finished her daily chores at the Shrine. She is at the crossroads now to where she has to decide on whether or not to enter ANBU or become a medic. A small part of her wanted to become a medical practitioner so events like what happened to Mina wouldn't repeat themselves, but another part of her wanted to do something on a grander scale. She wanted to feel like the skills she had learned from Coffee-sensei and Yume had an impact. It was a flip of a coin on what path Kaori wanted to carve out for herself and the first step was to see if ANBU was for her.

She hadn't heard much about the ANBU other than knowing of their existence, but she only knew that the things they do can shake the world to it's foundation and can alter the course of history; if given the right mission and skill for it. The ANBU could stop wars or essentially begin one if the mission dictated it. It was this kind of impact that Kaori longed for instead of rotting away at the Shrine, praying to a god she doesn't know exists or not, physically speaking. Kaori dressed in her usual white and red haori with red detatched-sleeves. A couple of red bows adorn her head to cover the black horns that grew; a birth defect that some people say is the mark of the dragon.

Kaori walked casually from the Shrine towards the Academy. She came here every morning for classes, but this class was earlier than the usual class. Song birds started to sing, filling the air with melody and sound. This caused Kaori to close her eyes to listen to the blissful music of nature as she continued forward towards the academy. She opened her eyes to see a pair of bluebirds flying with one another, as if chasing each other in the cool morning air. Before she knew it, she found herself at the training grounds of the academy, noting the arrival of 3 young boys and a long-haired individual donning a strange looking mask. Kaori tilted her head to the side as she examined the woman's mask as she walked up to the group.

She waved at the boys and offered them a bright smile. "Good morning, she said with a cheerful demeanor before turning towards the masked ANBU and bowed to her. "Thank you for having me. My name is Tenkawa Kaori," she said as she stood up and offered a smile to the ANBU. She didn't know the mannerism nor did she know how callous ANBU could be, so she acted normal towards the woman. Whether she makes a decision on becoming a member of ANBU or not after this class is irrelevant. The fact that she is learning and potentially picking up a set of skills that she could use at her disposal was more important than the over-all outcome of her participation in the branch.​

--
OOC: I hope you don't mind me joining.
WC: 502

 

[Haku Yuki]

Yuki heard brushes and leaves rustling in the distant as one by one each of the young ninja arrived at the clearing, granted they were a little late but had to admit to herself that she could have been a little more accurate with the time that she wanted them to gather but she wasn’t going to let them know that. The female looked over the gathering of students in front of her was the came to join her one by one, three of them she knew but the forth she didn’t. She regraded the girl from behind her mask wondering what it was that brought her to join them and what she was hoping to get from the lesion, Yuki shrugged the thought taking the more the merrier approach to the situation. The unknow girl approached her introducing herself, the Haku nodded and gestured to her to join the others. Clearing her throat and she address.

“Good Morning Students, it is good to see that you are somewhat punctual. And I apologize for the confusion Hiroshi I thought that a more open area would be more fitting for what I have in mind. While I know that three of you are aware of who I am for the benefit of our new attendee I will introduce myself again, I am Yokai your ANBU tutor.” She began pacing in front of the gathering as she spoke. “As you all should know by subterfuge is one of the key skills that all ANBU must have mastered. Without this not only do you put yourself in danger you endanger your fellow ANBU and the entire village, so for today’s lesson we are going to see how well you cope hunting as well as being hunted.” The Shinobi moved her fingers quickly, summoning two clones, one was formed from super cooled water vapor appearing from thin air, the other rose from the ground before taking its shape as if it was being moulded from clay. “Your lesson for today, hunt down my two clones, while avoiding being captured by me.” The clones disappeared into the woods behind them. “I suggest you start running.”

[WC = 360]
[MFT]

 

[Megumareta]

Megu remained sat on the ground and watched as Hiroshi revealed he'd been there the whole time, classic Hiroshi, before another girl approached their little group. The contrast between the girl's attire and the general cloak and dagger, masked approach of the Anbu, made him smile.

I guess super secret assasins come in all shapes and sizes...

He shuffled in his seat slightly as the Anbu started to speak, the dew starting to seep through his knee length shorts, only half paying attention as the Anbu began pacing. Within an instant two clones had appeared at the front of their group as the nin revealed her plans for the day, and for them. The hairs on the back of his neck raised at the sound of a hunt, especially when they were the ones being hunted. Jumping up he tore off his hoodie and scarf, not wanting to be slowed down, to reveal a light grey tank top underneath. He quickly drew two kunwai from a sheathe held tighltly against his side, and for a second considered throwing them after the clones.

I'll never be able to hit a moving target amongst the trees, later Megu.

Returning the kunai to their sheath he quickly moved off into the woods, taking care to jump over every branch and twig. Whilst he'd hunted when he was younger with his father, it was hardly the same as someone being hunted. He came to a pause some distance in, hoping the group were heading in the same direction. Coming to a standstill he knelt on the ground, resting one hand against his leg as he caught his breath.

"We'll never get away from an Anbu in a straight race. Anyone have any ideas or anything we can use?"

He paused for a second and looked around to see if anyone was actually with him. If not, he hoped the sounds would draw the Anbu's attention, giving the others more time to escape whilst he enacted his plan.

"What if we split up into two groups? Two of us can sneak after the clones, while the other two can split up and leave separate trails. This might distract the Anbu from our paths and give the others time to catch up to the clones?"

Whilst it was hardly plan of the century it would hopefully buy them some time. When he'd hunted previously they'd tracked their prey by examining any patch of flattened grass or broken/bent twigs. If two of them were careful with their movements whilst the other two laid down an obvious path, the Anbu would at least have to decide who to follow and leave the others free to continue their hunt. He knelt waiting to see what the others thought of his plan. Scanning round the woods his eyes flickered to any movement of leaves or twigs, paranoia starting to creep in as he imagined the Anbu appearing out of the bushes at any moment.

MFT-495
Total WC: 633

OOC:

Spoiler

Hi Kaori! Sorry if I've broken posting order, wanted to make sure I had time to get one out and not hold anyone up.

 

[Shirai Sadao]

Yukio remained standing, watching the other students arrive one after the other. He recognised most of them from the previous lesson feeling relieved to see a few familiar faces in the lesson, he took a second to look the new comer up and down as he always did with people he had never met before. Now familiar with how she looked he greeted each one of them with a simple wave of his hand and a slight smile.

"Good to see you all again"

Turning back to the ANBU as she began to speak he listened carefully to what she had to say, hearing the contense of the lesson at hand as she formed the clones. A nervous smile crossed his face watching her create the clones, seeing such Jutsu was not for the inexperienced.

"This won't be as simple a task as it seems, I suspect me have a high chance of failing this one if we're not careful."

He saw Megu moving for the trees and tailed him, feeling it would be better to work in a group than attempting this task alone, as they had learned in the first lesson teamwork is key to success in any mission and he wasn't about to forget that on their first active, out of the classroom, task. He caught up with the boy when he stopped reminiscing for a while about the days of his grandfathers training and how hard that had been, this would be no easier and would require just as much focus. Turning to look at the Kneeling boy he paused to think as to what would be the best way to pass this lesson of theirs, what could they use to stop such a powerful foe that was most likely not far off catching them at this very moment. He leaned against one of the trees a tad out of breath himself keeping up with Megu as he ran off.

"Well teamwork is the first step, splitting up will just get us picked off one by one if we're not taking this seriously and I doubt normal traps will work. But what we do know is there is only two clones and the original so we have a numbers advantage that we can play on and in these woods hiding works both ways"

He took into account what Megu suggested, What plan would work. The outcome depended on what the other two students did in the end, if they didn't follow with them then Megu's plan would already be in effect and would be best to take advantage of that quickly.

"If we can accomplish that plan then it will go swimmingly, if we mess up even a tiny bit then we are at the mercy of our tutor and I don't think either of us wants the latter. Though if we can coordinate it's more than possible to accomplish."

He said this with a smile, trying to remain confident and giving his fellow students confidence in the plans they too had put forward.

[WC: 508]
[WT: 783]

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

A gesture was sent her way to join the others and with a nod she turned and walked over towards the other children that were also here. She looked at them one-by-one to examine their features. It seemed, that with their interaction with one another, that they were all (if not mostly) friends already. These were new people so she wanted to make a good first impression. She turned towards the three of them, primarily looking at Megu, who was as adorable as she was, and waved to him. "Nice to meet you," she said with a warm and comforting smile. Megu had offered her a smile in return; at least one person, other than the instructor, paid her any mind at all. The one named Yukio apparently ignoring her existence, which actually didn't sit well with her.

She had taken a seat in the grass next to Megu, sitting upon her knees with her hands placed primly upon her knees. She had been taught to even sit properly as the presentation of sitting told volumes of a person. What it told was still a mystery to Kaori. She turned and looked towards Megu with the same smile upon her face before looking back up towards the ANBU instructor as she began to speak.

The instructor introduced themselves as 'Yokai'. She tilted her head for a bit in confusion. There was no way that could be her real name, she thought. That must have been some sort of fake name. Similar to the reason she covered her face with her mask, it must be a fake name to cover up her identity. It only made sense to her that someone would name themselves 'demon' as a code-name; otherwise, her parents must have REALLY hated her. After the pleasantries and introduction of the topic was out of the way, the meat of what's going to be happening actually came to fruition. They would be chasing while being chased at the same time.

Kaori only imagined this as a means of chasing after someone as the main mission objective while also messing up and being seen. Kaori raised her hand and spoke. "If it came to that, wouldn't that mean that we messed up and got caught?" she simply asked. With a snap of her fingers, two clones appeared. She was about to ask a question, but before she was able to say anything, Megu and Yukio just vanished to chase after the two clones. What exactly where they supposed to do against these clones? Well, only time will tell then.

Upon taking off like a bolt of lightning, Kaori started to run at normal speeds. She had to remain on the ground as she had yet to learn how to 'jump good' or to manipulate her chakra to allow her to run up walls or stand on the wall sideways. She ran until she found herself on the ground underneath Megu's tree. She took a second to catch her breath and put her gloves on before she continued running. "I don't know," she said in response to Megu asking for a plan. Yukio ended up turning down Megu's original plan. Made sense to stick as a team, but what would happen if the clones split apart? That would almost force them to split in twain in order to complete the mission.

"If the clones split up, we will have to split up. We should, um," she said as she started to draw a blank. What she wanted to say was to assign each member to a specific clone and the duo would track down that specific clone so the group doesn't put their full concentration on a single clone and get tunnel vision to the point they'd lose the second clone or get snuck-up on by the instructor.

"Maybe the strongest one of us can throw the lightest one closer to the clones?" she said as she came up with a half-cocked idea. She didn't get any training when it came to military tactics, only having learned to punch and kick very recently. She may have arrived to a class that was a bit over-her-head. Her heart was pounding as the 10 laps around the academy daily started to pay off, but due to the little time spent doing so, she still wasn't in the greatest of shape. Unlike Yukio, however, she had almost no confidence in her idea.​

--
WC: 733
WC Total: 502 + 733 = 1235

 

[Naru Hiroshi]

Hiroshi smiled back over at the newest arrival, a small looking girl who he had never met before but was clearly another young member of the academy, before nodding a greeting towards Yukio who he had met at their previous class. However, his attention was brought back to their tutor as the masked woman began to talk, outlining the plan she had for the lesson they would be undertaking.

Ouch, this is not going to be an easy one at all.

Hiroshi had no idea about the skills and abilities of the groups tutor, but the one thing he could be certain of was that she would be more than strong enough to deal with all of them without breaking too much of a sweat. With that thought set in mind, Hiroshi set off at a run and followed the other students, the group opting wordlessly to stick together to begin the task. The quartet didn't go too far before coming to a stop, Megu dropping to a knee and asking for ideas. Hiroshi cast into his mind for any sort of plan, and before he had come up with one, his friend had offered up a suggestion that made sense to him. However, before the silver-haired boy could voice his support, Yukio had voiced the opinion that their best hope lay in staying together, although the new arrival, Kaori, spoke the words that Hiro had been planning when she said that the clones would likely split up.

"Maybe the strongest one of us can throw the lightest one closer to the clones?"

The suggestion brought a smile to Hiroshi's face as he shook his head, words coming into his head that he hoped would make sense to the group.

“The problem there is that it would leave the one person who was thrown isolated and alone, which would mean that the clone would actually have a good chance of doing something to them. We don't know if the clones will attack or just flee, but I've always been told that a cornered enemy is the most dangerous, so we have to decide if we are assuming the clones will just get caught and dissipate, or try to stop us getting to them with more than fleeing. That said, we need to keep moving, we've waited here too long already so if we aren't going to split up, which I think we should into two pairs, we should at least choose one clone and go after it now.”

With that Hiroshi began to run again, aiming his advance towards the location he thought that one of the clones had gone in. Would the whole group follow, or would they split into pairs?

Hell, will I be left on my own? I guess we'll find out soon.

WC – 466

Total WC - 760

 

[Haku Yuki]

Yuki couldn’t help but grin behind her mask watching the four academy students scramble away from the clearing and off into the woods it was amusing to see they looked like frighten rabbits. She waited a few moments before calming walking to the woods behind them wondering how long it was take before one of her two clones would take to find them.

Hiding in the bushes the sounds of panicked voices echoed off the trees around the ice clone, from its hiding place it could clearly see one of the boys breaking away from the group running passed the clones hiding place, the clone grinned it focused its energy morphing into the student that had just ran past it. It stood from the bush moving its arms and legs adjusting it new shape, it ran on the spot before sprinting out to join the rest of the group. In the clearing the clone, now taking the of a tattered and battered Hiroshi, panted looking at the group in a state of panic.

”Don’t go that way! They are both waiting in the bushes I am lucky that I got away!” The voice of the ice clone mimicked that of Hiroshi perfectly as it panted through words. ”I think that its best we head that way” The ice clone point in the direction opposite to the one that Hiroshi went, it grinned to itself as it how easy this had been.

In the distance, the other clone watched it companion morph into the shape of the student, that had walked pass him, the elemental clone followed suite this time taking the form of Megu. The emerged from the bushes and ran off after Hiroshi.
”Hiroshi, wait up!” The clone called after him getting his attention as he ran to keep up. ”Yukio and the new girl have decided that splitting up would be a better idea, and I’d much rather stick with you cause we work well together”

[WC = 328]

 

[Shirai Sadao]

Yukio listened to what each one of them had to say and thinking on what the best possible options would be for a situation such as this, Divide and conquer would be as effective as the pairs they were placed in. Hearing Kaori’s suggestion he couldn’t help but chuckle a bit smiling to her.

“A creative idea but I would have to agree with Hiroshi, it would leave someone completely open to retaliation but any idea is better than no idea at all. We can always see if it will lead to another idea”

Taking time to take in what Hiroshi had said he couldn’t help but nod in agreement with his suggestion, if they stayed here any longer they would simply be tracked down by the clones and picked off like rabbits to a fox. Watching Hiroshi leave he took a step to follow him, when he returned but a moment later.

“A clone in that direction, well we know where one of them is at least but are you ok Hiroshi? You seem rather rough around the edges”

Putting a hand on his chin in though he thought to himself, with Hiroshi in such a state it was clear taking on the clones alone was out of the question. But knowing where one of them was created an advantage of its own.

“I would agree however if we know where one of them are we could use this to our advantage with all of us being together. We know where they are, and from the state of you in the fact you managed to escape the clone it would seem they don’t want to cause severe harm to us either, either that or you are a very lucky man Hiroshi”

[WC:292]
[WT: 1075]

 

[Megumareta]

Megu knelt, slightly crestfallen as his idea was batted down by the others. It made sense to him, sacrifice himself to give the others a greater chance of success, but chances were they were right. The young girl outlined her plan to be thrown and whilst at first he stifled a laugh he suddenly realised that there might actually be a way to use this. Instead of throwing each other they'd have much more success throwing logs or rocks, using a body switch jutsu to swap places with it mid air before throwing a second out and repeating. He wasn't sure how long they could actually do that for or whether it would actually be any quicker than running, but it might just be worth a shot. Before he had chance to fully form his plan and present it to the group they'd moved onto other ideas.

The group seemed split between staying together and breaking into sub-teams to each chase after a clone, but time was running out and Megu could almost sense the wolf at the door. Before any other ideas were discussed Hiroshi took the lead, outlining his plan to split up whilst running off alone into the woods. He stood to follow him before Hiroshi once more reappeared, looking a little worse for wear.

"Hiroshi!"

The boy explained how he'd been ambushed by one of the clones a little further along and had come back to them, but something about the young shinobi's story didn't sit quite right with Megu, nor did his actions. He watched the boy closely, looking over his shoulder to ensure that no one was following him. As he watched, he saw something else that raised his suspicions, as well as the hair on the back of his neck. As he was pointing 'Hiroshi' was grinning to himself. No more was he the panting nervous child that he'd presented himself to be a moment before.

There! The pointing and that grin! I guess there's only one way to find out...

Walking behind Hiroshi he pretended to stretch. Instead his hand slipped into his jacket as the cold steel of a kunai met his fingers. With his hand still in his jacket he positioned himself behind Hiroshi. He allowed himself a glance down at the boys attire, but didn't see anything amiss there. He started to doubt himself but he'd wasted precious seconds already, and there was no time like the present.

"You were just here a second ago, that seems pretty quick to be attacked and to return so it must have happened nearby, yet there was no sign of a struggle, no noise or shouts. It seems odd that this could happen so quickly without any of us noticing a thing."

Drawing out the kunai he stepped slightly away from Hiroshi. Not that he was going to attack, not until he was sure anyway.

"So why didn't you call for any of us?"

He let the words hang in the air for a second, hoping the others would take their positions around the boy, blocking him in, in case his instincts were right.

"And when you were pointing in the opposite direction why were you grinning? A second ago you were panting and in a state of panic... You're not Hiroshi, are you?"

MFT-552
Total WC: 1185

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

Her idea was shot down near instantly. Well, a half-crocked plan was going to get turned down. Kaori, after all, isn't a tactician and this kind of information (tracking a pair of running shinobi) was brand new to her; completely different from tracking down small woodland animals after the lesson given to her by the Sennin Hakuren. She laughed a bit uncomfortably and scratched the back of her head in response. Hiroshi arrived for a brief moment, said his piece, and took off. Before the group had a chance to re-organize, Hiroshi had returned looking like he walked through a minefield.
This left the girl in a bit of a state of disbelief.

If the boy had been in an altercation, someone his age would scream out for help instead of try to handle an ANBU's clones; the clones of a professional assassin. While she doesn't believe this training exercise would lead to extreme acts of brutality from the instructor, she also believed that a child would also cry for help in the event of a fight or even hear evidence of something being amiss. At least, Kaori would. Perhaps her suspicions were just her imagination. She shook her head and cleared her throat, nodding to the clone that looked like Hiroshi.

She didn't know any of Hiroshi's nuanced behaviors, so she was forced to go off of common sense and the timeline of things happening. Megu started to air out the exact same suspicions that she had. A subtle non-verbal was given from Megu before she took a few steps off towards the right side of the 'Hiroshi' clone. She adjusted the gloves upon her hands and moved into an offensive position. Her suspicions may be right, but it's better to be safe-than-sorry. If this was, indeed an impostor, then where was the real Hiroshi. "Hiroshi-kun! Hiroshi-kun, where are you!?" she shouted out in the direction he originally set out. She wasn't very convinced that what was standing in front of them was actually HIroshi.

The grin from the creature was quite unsettling. She turned towards the other two that were seemingly friends with Hiroshi. "If you two are friends with Hiroshi-kun, as him a question that only you 3 would know?" she said. It was something she had read about as a good way to ensure you know exactly who you are talking to. Some people use specific codewords or codephrases, but even something akin to memories of the past would work well enough. If this was, however, the real Hiroshi, this would be EXTREMELY awkward.​

--
WC: 427
WC Total: 427 + 1235 = 1662

 

[Naru Hiroshi]

Hiroshi's headlong run into the trees was not done on his own for long, as he was joined almost immediately by Megu, his friend since the first day the pair had shared at the academy.

”Hiroshi, wait up! Yukio and the new girl have decided that splitting up would be a better idea, and I’d much rather stick with you cause we work well together”

Hiroshi heard the words and continued his run, but his mind was racing far faster than his body was as he mulled over the words his friend had spoken to him. Something about what his friend had said seemed a bit strange, but he couldn't quite work out what it was that had him feeling on edge. Slowing his run to a walk, Hiroshi turned to his friend even as his mind continued to work at the issue at hand.

What is it that has got me feeling so out of sorts? Is it natural paranoia based on the fact I know we are being hunted by a ninja far more accomplished and experienced than we are?

Even as he was contemplating this, clarity seemed to banish the curtain that had befallen his thoughts, as he looked directly at his friend.

“Really? Yukio didn't seem to think that it was such a good idea before so that we didn't get outnumbered, why would he suddenly decide to change his mind when I was just out of earshot, and could have easily been caught to tell me that himself? Did he say anything about what we do to meet up again? Also, I know this might seem a bit out of the blue, but do you fancy grabbing some ramen at that new shop that's opened in town when we finish? I skipped breakfast to get here early enough, so I can barely think of anything other than food at the moment.”

Hiroshi waited for his friend to reply, his body poised to act if the instincts that he didn't realise he had were proved to be accurate.

Is it paranoia if they really are out to get you?

WC - 353
Total WC - 1113

 

[Haku Yuki]

The Hiroshi clone jumped back seeing the sudden aggressive actions from those in the rest of the group it's face was of confusion and surprise.
“What are you doing it's me, I smiled cause I was glad to see a friendly face, and now you're pointing kunai at me!” The clones eyes looked panicked and tears started to form. “I've just escaped from people trying to kill me and now you are trying to as well, Megu I thought that we were friends!” it backed away from them slightly trying to convey as much fear as possible in order to sell the performance, if this didn't work then it would have to change its tactic to a much less gentle approach. It readied itself slightly in case things did turn nasty.

Megu, or the clone posing as him, stretched a little once he had finally caught up with Hiroshi, it smiled a goofy looking smile.
“Well he seemed pretty keen once the new girl agreed to team up with him, I think he has the hots for her,” it laughed a little looking at the boy in front of it. “Look if you really want we can head back toward them but the longer we are standing around the more likely we are to get caught but the crazy ANBU" The clone walked ahead a little looking over it's shoulder looking if the Naru was going to follow it or not it was hoping he would it wasn't really looking for a fight especially against such a weak opponent ”You coming or not?”

Yuki walked slowly through the tree enjoying the cooling shade that the leave provided, it was a perfect shield from the hot summer sun, she had very little intention of actively trying to hunt down the students. She had the unfair advantage of experience in her side she was mainly hoping that they would see through the clones deception and trickery.

[MFT]
[WC =324 ]

 

[Megumareta]

Megu's eyes glanced over Hiroshi's shoulder as he saw Kaori take position almost opposite him, adjusting her gloves. He threw her a smile, then followed up with a quick nod towards Yukio. They had Hiroshi surrounded, but what to do next? The look of panic on his friends face had started working it's way into his mind. His once solid conviction was starting to fade a little.

What if this actually is Hiroshi? Kaori's right, there must be some shared memory or experience that they'll not be able to guess. Then we'll know for sure if it's him or not. If only we'd made up a password or something before we started this. That's one lesson learned from today at least.

He cast his mind back to when he first met Hiroshi, thinking over every little detail of their encounter for anything that would stick in both or their minds.

He'll remember Shiori won't he? What if I ask who we met on that first day? Nah too easy. What about what I was wearing? Okay no that's way too hard. Something simple they wouldn't be able to guess... got it.

With the rest of his team surrounding the possible imposter he muttered a small prayer under his breath before finally speaking aloud.

"If you're Hiroshi then answer me this, where was our first conversation?"

He stood awaiting the response, his stance stiffening as he once more readied himself for action.

If that is you Hiroshi, I'm really sorry for what's about to come...

 

[Shirai Sadao]

Yukio watched the scene unfolding before him watching the other two of his teammates taking positions around the one they weren’t quite certain was Hiroshi. He couldn’t help but wonder to himself what if these accusations were wrong but if they were making a choice they may as well make it as a team.

Nodding back to Megu he moved himself to give even spacing between the three of them around Hiroshi just in case things took a turn for the worst. Hearing Kaori’s suggestion he left the question to Megu knowing full well he had not known Hiroshi long enough to ask any question that couldn’t be answered through simple logic.

“If this turns out to be a mistake the outcome of this test is looking grim for us”

He though this to himself the air of doubt still in the back of his mind maybe it was the tension in the air or just the fact they may be about to attack their own teammate and friend but now wasn’t the time for that. He readied himself for what could come next using the position he had moved into to give him room to move forward or back as the situation demanded.

Hearing Megu mutter the small prayer he couldn’t help but sigh a little as a drop of sweat made its way down the side of his cheek. He looked over to Kaori seeing she had adjusted her gloves and moved in time with them there was a chance if this Hiroshi was not real they could take advantage of the unique circumstances. He held his breath waiting for Hiroshi to respond.

[WC:275]
[WT: 1,350]

 

[Naru Hiroshi]

“Well he seemed pretty keen once the new girl agreed to team up with him, I think he has the hots for her.”

The girl who looked at him like he was an idiot when he basically ignored her? That doesn't seem right to me.

”Look if you really want we can head back toward them but the longer we are standing around the more likely we are to get caught but the crazy ANBU"

The other boy walked ahead and turned his head towards Hiroshi, speaking words that the young silver-haired Sunaku didn't hear as he concentrated on the thoughts racing through his head.

No, this is all wrong. This isn't Megu, this can't be Megu, he ignored the ramen question and that just isn't something he would do. If it's not Megu though, that means...

Hiroshi's fingers clenched together, forming a fist as the pit fell from his stomach, and ice seemed to run through his veins as a combination of fear and adrenaline flooded through him.

Enemy.

The young shinobi's hands flitted into the form of handseals, his innate mastery of the sand which was his birthright adapting the jutsu he was bringing forth and changing it's element. His chakra channelled into his fist, Hiroshi struck the floor with as much force as he could muster. Debris flew from the point on the ground that he had punched, although whereas the chosen technique was normally an earth element technique, Hiroshi had changed it so that it was instead blocks of sand which flew towards the figure wearing Megu's face.

If I'm right, that means my friend might be in danger. I need to do something about that.

Hiroshi didn't have long to think, and so he resorted to the easiest option. Hoping that anyone who heard him might recognise his voice, he shouted as loud as he could.

”CLONE!”

With that, he knew that the jig was well and truly up, and that he would be dealing with an enemy who would be, to say the least, annoyed at being rumbled. There was still a voice in the back of his head though, and it spoke the quiet words that threatened the young boy's resolve.

What if I'm wrong? What if I've just attacked one of my best friends?

Hiroshi batted the small voice away, trusting in his instincts and knowing that, whatever else would happen, he could never afford to not listen to his gut.

Now, would the blow land and, more importantly, what would happen next?

WC- 421
Total WC - 1534

[OOC – used sinkhole fist and Sunaku ability (sand manipulation) to change it to a sand element attack]

 

[Kanagawa Nozomi]

Megu delivered his challenge question towards the Hiroshi that stood in front of them. Without loosening her grip on her stance, even in the slightest, she watched the guy like a hawk. The easiest way to detect whether this person was a liar or not would be to activate her Ryuugan (Byakkugan) and simply read the child's chakra signature. Being that the child was a young student, his chakra readings would be very minimal and that if the clone had any chakra at all, it would probably be HUGE compared to the boy's. However, due to Kaori's inability to really control the Ryuugan with any form of perfection made it difficult for her to want to execute it to begin with.

The Hiroshi that stood in front of them seemed to have dropped his guard, acting fearful of the 'hurtful' words being spoken by her and the Hiroshi's friends. Her naivety caused her to believe this clone for a moment, but due to the use of the challenge question, it would completely rely on whether or not the clone answered it correctly for her to proceed. She shifted in her stance a little bit, opening her fists for a brief moment before closing it. Holding this position for too long started to ache; more of a reason for her to do more training.

An idea just came into her mind though. Even if this was a clone, would those in attendance be able to challenge this thing? Her initial cries out to the forest came back with no response. Whether this was the real Hiroshi or her voice got muffled by the thick wood was still a mystery to her. She shifted once again, awaiting the answer from the Hiroshi.​

WC: 289
WC Total: 1951