Basic Lightning Country Geography [Open Tutor]

[Osuteno]

Spoiler: Osuteno

Spoiler: Karasuko and Yukiko

Osuteno carefully finished drawing the outline of the country on the chalkboard and looked towards twin toddlers sharing a chair and table in the front left corner of the classroom. The white haired child was napping with her head on the table and using a black rabbit doll as a pillow and the black haired child was drawing with a crayon in each hand while holding a white rabbit doll in her lap.

Smiling, seeing the two were fine, Osu began writing a few things up on the side of the chalkboard.

- Sit at any of the desks, but don’t move them. You may socialize a little before class begins.

- Save questions for the end of the class unless you feel it necessary. Simply raise your hand at the end of a section and ask.

- Do not distract others. This includes talking, non-verbal communication methods, doing unrelated tasks, sleeping, eating, etc.

- Feel free to take notes, particularly to keep track of any questions you might have.

- If you are not here for Basic Lightning Geography with Chigokai Osuteno of the Med Branch you are in the wrong class.

- ***We use the Oxford Comma in this class.***

Nodding, Osu stood by the chalkboard and patiently waited for the class to start gathering. Of course it was at this moment that the sleepy white-haired Yukiko slowly climbed down from the chair and drowsily walked over to Osu, dragging her bunny, and tugged on Osu’s yukata before raising her arms up to be held. Osu sighed whiled picking the three-year-old up in one arm and glancing at Karasuko who was still coloring peacefully. Yukiko was already back to sleep as she rested her head on Osu’s shoulder.

Osu turned back to the chalkboard add added one more line.

- Don’t mind the twins, the babysitter canceled last minute.

Osu would casually return any greetings and waited for the scheduled time to start class to begin.

[OOC: Greetings and bienvenue. This is a lecture style tutor and due to the style as many people who want to join can without having to worry about post order or replying to other people taking the class unless you want to, though don’t be caught breaking any rules excessively lel.

You do need 5 posts and 1500 words total to get credit as usual. My posts will be around every 72 hours and I will do up to six posts total (the last one is the optional end of class questions) so you can only miss one and still get credit for the class. People who miss two will be caught “not paying attention” and sent out.

This is a good opportunity for your characters to gain some ic knowledge about some of the outer village zones and interesting landmarks in the country you might want to have adventures in one day. Anyone at pl 3545 and under can get tutor credit for this course.]

 

[Tsuyo Oushi]

Another day, another lesson. Lately, the young, purple haired boy felt he was getting used to these sorts of studies. It was certainly more of an education than he probably would have received if he had remained back home on the farm, working the fields. Sure, there were still some ill feelings about being essentially sold off, but steadily, more pros had built up against the cons he initially weighed against each other.

For one, would he of had the opportunity to learn about the country’s geography? Probably not. So, he was a little excited to properly learn what was beyond the fields, and what other nook and crannies the Lightning Country had to offer. Luckily, since he was staying at the Academy’s dormitories, Oushi had no way of arriving late. All it would take was a quick walk to the other building, find the classroom, and he’d be good to go. It’s not like he had to do extra hiking to get there, like with the survival class he had taken. This would be noticeably a lot calmer, he felt.

So, pencil and notebook in hand, eraser in his pocket, the boy’s bound hair resembling an oxen’s tail jostled atop the downed hood of his vest as he made his way to the lecture. Of course, he would have to make his way through the halls how he always did, dodging those of opposite gender, but he had managed so far. Oushi preferred not to wander the halls much, heading directly for the classroom. Lingering in the halls would leave him to the flow of hallway traffic, and who knew where that could lead him.

Cautiously, he entered, making sure he was in the correct room. His caramel gaze looked over the chalkboard, thoroughly reading the rules before he seated himself. A small smile slowly creased his lips, content with it all. He could manage this, at least, Oushi believed he could. Even the fact that there were twin toddler girls in the room, he felt would be okay. At least, the boy hoped so. Giving a shy nod to the young looking instructor, he sat himself right up front and off to the side so he could see the board clearly. Oushi opened up his notebook and quietly scribbled down the name of the lecture, ready to take notes if need be. If he was lucky, maybe no one would join him so close. Who liked to sit up front anyways?

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WC: [ 413 | 1,500 ]
Posts: [ 1 | 5 ]

 

[Norisuke Kujo]

Norisuke does.

Squinting a little to read, and wondering Wait, what the fuck— an Oxford comma even was. The Kujo plops down into his seat next to Oushi. Norisuke has a pretty standard outfit and complexion. Even his hair, bangless and dangling shaggily down his back is paltry. Just some student.

But, emanating from him are bad omens. Not the kind where danger is sensed...Norisuke isn’t at all creating tension.

He’s creating the feeling of ‘what is he going to do that will derail the whole lesson?’

 

[Senju Shizuka]

Hurrying through the street she slipped between the gates right on time, class would be starting soon, but she thought to be able to get there without being late. It’s why she put some speed into her pace, jumping up the stairs and zigzagging between other students while looking for the room she had to be in. Once at the door, Shizuka took a moment to catch her breath, straightened up, and entered the room which was fairly empty. A quick glance around the place had her waving towards Oushi.

Already hurrying toward his side she nodded politely at the teacher while curiously eyeing the kids. They were quiet, and she wondered if they would remain calm throughout the class. Too many noises would disturb her potential nap, should the lecture become too boring.

“Hey, can I get some of your paper? I eh.. I’ve somehow only had the time to grab a pencil.” Showing the item she spoke about by pulling it from her pocket, Shizuka laughed gently. The pencil was only the size of her index finger obviously having been used quite a lot. Both ends were sharpened. That way she wouldn’t need to struggle or look for a sharpener if one side would break.

Sitting, a row behind Oushi so she could sleep behind him -with him being taller and all that- she mouthed a ‘thank you’ toward her friend. Another reason to why she sat behind him instead of next to him was to not make him feel uncomfortable. They wouldn’t be able to really talk anyway, so being too close would only make him nervous.

Now that she was seated her eyes went to the board again. They slowly slid across the rules. She tried to ignore the part where ‘sleeping’ was mentioned as a distraction to others and decided that her plan to stay behind Oushi was a solid one. There was nobody around her to distract, besides, for all the teacher knew she might be writing with her face very close to the sheet of paper.

The space was very cosy, she enjoyed the couple of rays falling on her desk. It caused her to yawn and settle in a comfortable position while waiting for the class to start. She would only close her eyes for a little bit, at least that was the plan.


[392/1,500 || 1/5]

 

[Naomi]

Something that wasn't so odd was Naomi sitting in on advanced lessons between a shinobi and his team of fledgeling Genin. The lessons that were usually shared with much smaller, more specialized groups, and not classes of entirely unrelated children that were simply learning how to throw kunai and learn what chakra is. Never having been part of a team herself, this was the closest to advanced education as she could get.

Something that was so odd, however, was Naomi sitting in on a lesson she took before as an Academy Student, and probably one she took multiple times with multiple teachers. As a child, these sorts of things (geography, that is) would have tired to a sleep so deep you could probably steal her clothes from her back. It wasn't only because the subject matter was boring (though she certainly thought it was). She also didn't care about anything in the slightest. She found the academy pointless and not worth her time, which is a point of view that she (only somewhat) regrets.

The main reason why she was sitting on this one, however, was because she wanted to learn more about the other Hidden Villages. The recent world tournament had sparked the beginnings of a new passion. The minute she learned it wouldn't take place in Kumogakure was the same minute that she felt the absolute need to go visit these villages. Speak with their citizens and leaders about their relationship with Cloud (and their previous relationship with Mist, though she didn't think about it much more than a second).

Consequently, that was exactly the reason why the six foot, three-inch blind woman entered the classroom. Today she was walked in the black slippers of a simple life. A rather loose and airy white tunic covered her torso while normal black leggings graced her legs. She had a coat but didn't wear it in the classroom, though she left on the lighter vest. A slim length of cloth tied her hair up in a bun while a wider one remained wrapped around her eyes and forehead. If one were to pay close enough attention, they'd notice that the pad she clutched in her hand held thicker-than-normal paper and a smooth stick that lacked any writing lead of any sort.

Though sunlight streamed into the classroom, she was still able to navigate her way around the desks and get an understanding of where everyone else stood (and sat) from the shadows each object created. She got to the front of the classroom, in between an empty desk and an unknown student (Oushi), and looked towards Osuteno as she spoke. "I'm blind and this is geography, yes?"

 

[Nagasuro Kibashi]

Nagasuro Kibashi made his way down the hallway to his next class. He took note of his schedule and noticed “Basic Lightning Country Geography” written down as his next class to be. ”The geography of the Lightning Country.” he repeated almost in a whisper to himself. As a Nagasuro Clan member, it was considered highly important to learn about the history and geography of the Lightning Country. He had taken studies on it before at the barracks of his training facility, however he expected to learn more by viewing it from Kumogakure’s accounts. He carried a notebook and writing utensil in hand, the adolescent boy took his training and academic studies seriously and today would be no different.

He wore a more relaxed uniform today, sporting a loose fitting dark slate gray hoodie and a light jacket over it. He was wearing a pair of loose-fitting black trousers and a pair of clean black shoes. His trademark black scarf was wrapped in a turtleneck fashion around his neck, with the rest disappearing inside his hoodie. Despite the extremely casual style he was sporting, his clothing was immaculate and wrinkle free, taking much care in his appearance even in his casual style. His spiky hair was a little disheveled but still somehow managing to keep him in touch with a clean appearance, his amber eyes his most colorful feature on this day.

He quietly entered the classroom as he looked around and noticed the sensei. Before performing any other actions, the young boy would take a bow towards his instructor, introducing himself formerly as he caught the name of the instructor on the board “Nagasuro Kibashi reporting to class, Chigokai senpai.” After introducing himself, the stoic boy took a casual glance at the twins, though seemed relatively unaffected by their presence. He was extremely polite and well mannered, though his relatively “wild” face and general stoic demeanor was highly contrasting to his mannerisms, as if this was an automated learned behavior rather than anything else.

Making his way to the front of the classroom, he casually glanced around the room, his amber eyes studying rather quickly the members in the room. The first he would notice was a quiet purple haired boy. He seemed rather shy and possibly nervous, non-hostile individual. The second would be a green eyed child with a rather boney physique. She seemed on the short end he thought, he felt he was older than both her and the shy boy. The last member in the classroom at the moment seemed to be an older woman, an adult. She seemed to have visual impairment, a rather attractive woman in his young eyes as he made his way to a seat and sat down. Once comfortable, he placed his notebook precisely in the center of the desk with the pencil being placed directly in the middle in a horizontal fashion. His attention was diverted to the instructor once again as he quietly awaited further instruction and the lesson to be.

Word Count: 501/1500
Post Count: 1/5

 

[Osuteno]

Osu looked up at the blind girl and replied, “Yes, you are in the right place… I will borrow a sheet of your Braille paper for a moment.” Several long red strings came out of Osu’s sleeve and began pressing a copy of the map onto the paper for the girl to feel out with a few landmarks already marked and appropriately labeled in Braille.

At the site of this, the young black haired toddler who had been coloring darted from her seat and began hopping next to Naomi’s desk to take a look at what was being drawn before trying to show Naomi her own picture of the Lightning Bird. “I also drew a picture!” Karasuko said as she pressed her picture towards the blind girl before one of the red strings picked her up by the waist and carried her back towards Osu.

“I’m sorry about that,” Osu said with a odd note in his voice, as if the accumulation of many nights sleep cut short could be turned into a voice.

“Stupid Suko, blind means she can’t see,” the white haired Yukiko woke up and started poking fun at her sister with her face still relaxed on Osu’s shoulder.

“I know that, I also pressed really hard on my paper! I’m not stupid! You are stupid! Mama says people who call others stupid are the stupid ones Kiko! … Wait does that mean I am stupid?” Karasuko realizing she herself just called her sister stupid was now suffering from the mental paradox of being sure she wasn’t stupid but also that mama was always right, while Yukiko lazily rolled her eyes and started going back to sleep. Osu in the meantime was simply staring at a spot on the ceiling during the exchange and for a bit after. The strain of being pulled between extreme exhaustion and a fit of laughter left an expression that might have made a good painting should someone want an image that would deter kids from being involved in teen pregnancy.

“Well….. Welcome to Basics of Lighting Country geography, today we will begin with one of the less obvious regions, the Heartland of Kaminari no Kuni. In this country famous for its mountains and frigid climate, we actually have a lush jungle. Honestly it is quite fascinating how precisely the mountains, global winds, and crisscrossing valleys formed by rivers long gone worked together to allow the jungles of our southern neighbors to spread this far North… But unfortunately our lecture doesn’t really have time for that so if anyone is curious you can apply for a more advanced course or just drop by my office when I am free. More important for now is to make you all a bit more familiar with the area. 68% of the country’s plant species are unique to this region as well as 87% of our more cold blooded creatures, and both of those groups get quite large there. Surrounded by lush grassland, the creatures living there unfortunately prevent the establishment of large scale farming communities. It is hard to convince people to move to an area with large groups of migrating carnivorous amphibians that are around half the size of a horse and just as fast over short distances, among other troubling species.
There have been plenty of scouting and record keeping missions but many of the more dangerous creatures don’t actually have a very strict migratory path… I should mention that they migrate several times a year due to the subtle shifts of temperature with the seasons though the migration is typically just from one part of the jungle to another.”

“The ribbits and snakes don’t like being cold, it makes them sleepy because of their low body temperature!” Interjected Karasuko who has gone back to her seat to draw as Yukiko was now napping leaning against her small shoulder.

“Very good Karasuko, but did you forget you were making pictures for the nurses at work for watching you? Why don’t you focus on that?”

The black haired toddler suddenly remembered her important task and got back to drawing mythical creatures from her bedtime stories while Osu returned his attention to the class while making a few marks on the map he drew on the chalkboard. “These fertile grasslands as they extend north and out are the region we know as Solum de Asphodelus, where we start to see major production of agricultural resources and eventually the Rolling Hills that approach the base of the mountains. The original establishment of Lighting Country civilization actually started in the river valley centered about… Karasuko stop drawing on your sister’s face!” Yukiko in her deep sleep was now sporting a surprisingly well drawn monocle and half of a fancy mustache. Karasuko realizing that tone of voice meant she was about to be put in timeout darted straight to the window and tried to hop out of it. Unfortunately the long arm of the law… or rather Osu’s arm that had suddenly stretched to be about twenty feet long had caught her by the scruff of her kimono.

Yukiko, who was now awake once more, pulled a spoon from her lunch box and looked at her reflection before she began crying. Osu stares at that spot on the ceiling again for a moment before tucking both crying toddlers under his arm and said, “I will be back in about three minutes, take this time to check your notes and maybe take a shot at drawing the map.”

[sorry class for the delays, I kinda fell from an attic with a power saw on Saturday and broke a few things, been pretty pain killered up, generally sleepy, a little sick, and a mild dose of “I feel too crappy to get up right now.” But from this point on I will not be allowed to do dangerous things for myself for a few weeks so we should not have to worry about more delays. Next posts are due before my next one in about 72 hours but if you all post before then I will rush to try and catch us up a bit to schedule.]

 

[Tsuyo Oushi]

Oushi had found presumption of no one liking to sit up front...to be wrong. A fellow sat down next to him, nothing but negative vibes emanating from his person. The lesson hadn’t even started yet and there was already someone looking to start trouble? He withheld a sigh, not looking forward to any future shenanigans that the boy had planned. Speaking of shenanigans, Oushi’s caramel brown orbs noticed the familiar form of his friend, Senju Shizuka. He hadn’t thought to see her in this class, but nonetheless returned a small wave of greeting. Evidently, she had forgotten her own notepad, immediately asking to use some of his own paper as she sat down in the row directly behind him. He was happy to oblige, more so since she respected his space.

He would soon have a problem though, as an older girl entered the classroom. Her features were more defined, being ahead of them in age gave her a more mature look. In short, she was quite pretty. Though, she curiously wore what looked like a blindfold over her eyes. He would be able to get a closer look soon enough though, whether he wanted to or not, as she sat down in the empty desk on his remaining side. The blindfold was quickly explained, as the girl stated that she was blind, double checking to make sure that she was in the correct class. He was now pinned in. No escape. Two girls and a bad omen. He had to do all that he could to keep from getting fidgety and set to panic. The last thing he needed was for him to disrupt the class and get kicked out.

While trying to keep himself calm, making due with quiet breathing exercises and calming thoughts, another presence had entered the classroom. A boy with amber eyes. He hadn’t even paid attention to where he sat, as one of toddlers darted over to show off her drawing, causing the boy to flinch a tiny bit. It only caused him slight panic, gone once she was no longer rushing over. Perhaps his initial thoughts were right, that he would be okay with toddlers. Maybe it was because they were younger than he was...either way, it was a small relief to him.

That being said, the class was about to start. Pencil in hand and eraser on the desk in case he needed it, Oushi did his best to focus all attention on Osuteno-Sensei. He just hoped he would be able to keep it up, the last thing he wanted being a panic attack. Pencil tip to paper, the purple hair boy quietly jotted down some point form notes on the Heartland of Kaminari no Kuni, making a note off to the side of a possible advanced class in case he wanted to know more. He found it interesting that they actually had a jungle and just how much life thrived there. The fact that both plants and cold blooded creatures amazed him just the same. Despite there not being much opportunity to farm on the surround grasslands due to the creatures themselves, Oushi couldn’t help but wonder if somebody had actually managed. Large scale farming lands would be difficult, sure, but what there was a way to scale it down enough to get by?

The boy’s notes were neat, all the more so from his quiet pencil strokes, not wanting to make noise with furious note taking. All the same, it seemed the class would have a small disruption, the toddlers making a fuss. One in trouble for drawing on their sister’s face, the other crying at the discovery of a monocle that shouldn’t be there. They seemed a handful. Since they had the time, Oushi took it upon himself try his hand at drawing the map in his notebook, turning to the next blank page so he had more room to work with. He was so focused on getting the linework just right that he almost forgot he was surrounded on two sides by girls.

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WC: [ 677 | 1,091 | 1,500 ]
Posts: [ 2 | 5 ]

 

[Sato Yuji]

Saki sighed as she walked up to the door of the class that was supposed to be “Basic Lightning Country Geography.” She knew she was late for the class the morning had been a comedy of errors.

She had gone downstairs to the kitchen after being woken up by screaming to scene out of a horror movie, a red substance had been splashed over the walls some of it had even gotten on the ceiling and two of her younger cousins were sitting in the middle of the room crying. She had been forced to calm the children, which had taken a good 20 minutes, while also trying to figure out what had happened. Turns out they had been fighting over the tomato juice and in the process, the cap had come off and the bottle’s contents had gone flying everywhere. After cleaning it up and cooking breakfast for the kids, which had taken a good 30 minutes on top of the 20 she spent calming the kids down.

She still had a good hour and a half before the class started but when she went upstairs to get dressed she had learned that her parents had mixed her and her brothers' laundry again, so now all her clothing was 3 sizes too big. This had led to her having to dig through her brothers, frankly disgusting, room to find her own clothing. She had been able to find her clothing and was now dressed in her usual night camo attire. All together that had taken another 20 minutes which meant she had only had about an hour before the class started.

When she had gone back downstairs her parents had asked her to take her younger cousins to school, she had agreed, the walk was only supposed to take 30 minutes, more than enough time to get to her class that was only 15 minutes away if she ran. That 30-minute walk had turned into 50 minutes one because one of the roads had been closed for some construction meaning they had to go the long way around. After dropping them off she had run to the Academy.

When she arrived at the Academy's gates she had realized that class already had started, so she had utilized the time it took to get from the entrance to the classroom as a cool down. So now here she stood in front of the doorway a good 10 minutes late t class. When she opened the door she blinked in surprise, there was someone on the other side who looked to be holding two children under their arms.

“Do you need help?”

She didn’t think any of the Academy students would be old enough to have children but one could never be sure.

WC: 462/1500
PC: 1/5
MFT

 

[Osuteno]

[OOC: Thought I posted this last night but it doesn’t seem I hit send. Due to the site down times this last weekend I am extending the due time for posts 24 more hours (I suppose that will be from this point rather than the original deadline for fairness.) Remember you can only miss out on one of the six rounds of posting to still get credit for the course. Remind each other to post if you know one another. Later.]

 

[Senju Shizuka]

Noises drifted around her as she kept her eyes close. Enjoying the sun which pleasantly warmed her cheek she didn’t plan to sit up straight until the teacher would speak once more. Even the ‘blind’ girl didn’t get Shizuka to look up. She would see her soon enough, when the start of the class would force her to appear awake. At least for the first part of it. So, listening past the children’s ‘discussion’ she slowly came to life when the older voice broke through the brief silence which hung around them when the kids got distracted with whatever they found to be more interesting than taunting each other.

Gathering the information passed down to them she wrote down the bit about the jungle, then added the cold blooded creatures to it. The farming bit was scrambled on the side, and after a minute or two Shizuka found herself drawing the map of their country. That made it way easier to note down everything else that was being told. By the time their teacher got sidetracked talking to her kids, Shizuka was coloring the map. The hills were light grey, mountains a bit darker. Every body of water was nearly black. Then you had the flat grasslands, those went from very light grey to white. The part where the jungle was supposed to be got little trees with vines drawn all across the area.

The moment the teacher was out of the room, she shifted closer to Oushi (which meant getting onto her toes, and tapped his chair). Wide green eyes would greet him should he turn. Despite of him doing that or not, she had a question. “Is that a he or a she?” The teacher, she had assumed it to be a woman, but the name on the board sounded like that of a male. It was confusing. The fact that there had been kids in the class didn’t really help.

Quietly throwing a glance at the other students, she wondered if either of them knew. The blind girl probably didn’t. At least, it would be a miracle if she did. Unless she’s had class from this one before, and knew that it was the same teacher again.

Playing with her pencil she curiously eyed the taller guy that wasn’t Oushi. That one had to be Kibashi if her ears weren’t betraying her. Of the other boy she didn’t know the name, but didn’t feel like asking either because something gloomy was hanging around him. Poking him seemed like a bother.


**
[815/1,500|| 2/5]
MFT [423]

 

[Osuteno]

[ooc: Alright so as you may have noticed between my injuries and site outages this class is cursed. After thinking a bit about it, I have decided to make up for that I will basically be posting a bit of lore everyday from here on, until most of you are done or until I run out of lore in which case if you aren’t done you are likely inactive lel. Post, comment, and ask questions by raising your hands and assuming Osu acknowledges you.]

Osu came back into the class several minutes later carrying two very pleased toddlers and the three of them all had monocles and fancy mustaches drawn on their faces. Osu seemed to not acknowledge the existence of such face scribbles and went back to the board.

“The original establishment of Lighting Country civilization actually started in a river valley that was once located about 20 miles southeast of the rice paddies of Azusa Field, the largest supplier of rice in Lightning totaling over 45% of the country’s yearly harvest. Of course rivers have a habit of flooding and changing course over millennia so all that is left are some scattered ruins, clay pots, a few tablets, some mythology, and a small number of... devices and trinkets, some more famous than others. Oh if I’m not careful I may accidentally start teaching anthropology or mythology.

Returning our focus to geography we will move our attention to various military locations, nothing really secret of course, like here in Tanegashima where the surroundings facilitate rossbolter and bolt production with steady amounts of quality iron and Arbalest trees, nicknamed such for the natural springiness of the material.

Over here is Tanuki Woods where we harvest a decent amount of chakra paper used to test elemental affinities and also where a good number of our dummy logs come from due to the light but sturdy wood of the trees of the forest.

Down near the southern part of the region back closer to the Heartland are several research facilities including one where we keep a few specimen of the majority of the species from the jungle region.

Also near that area though a bit further east towards the coast is a Class A swamp region, oddly named by the former locals as Youkai bog, home to some larger carnivores, dangerous insects, diseases, bacteria, and even a few treants to be wary of which is why it is used as a upper level environment training zone.

Over in this region of the northeast part of the region, is a lovely little town known as Thunder Hollows and a shop there has some of the most delightful seasonal pickled dishes that you should try if you are ever nearby.”

“Delicious!” exclaimed Yukiko firmly as she suddenly woke from another nap at the mention of food.

“Yes, very much so, the plants in that region grow very well which likely also has something to do with the nearby hot springs in the area, another reason to stop by if you get the chance.

For the most part this area of Lightning is as you have probably guessed by now is our overall agricultural producer, from the grazing of fluffalo and sheep, to the growing of your vegetables and rice.”

 

[Sato Yuji]

Saki slipped into the back of the classroom taking one of the seats in the back. She sat down and looked around. It seemed the class was made of all different sorts. As the teacher droned on about the geography she took better stock of the room. In the front of the room, there was a boy with purple hair scribbling away in a notebook. The most interesting thing about him was that his hair color but purple was not the most unique color found in Lightning so she quickly lost interest. The person sitting next to him was slightly more interesting, in the way they were not interesting at all. They seemed normal looking like they could blend into the crowd. A good trait for this career path. There was an aura around them though, one that screamed they were a troublemaker. On the purple haired boy's opposite side, there was an older looking female. When Saki had been making her way to her seat she had thought how odd it was for someone who looked to be past the age of an academy student to be sitting in a class like that one. She had thought you no longer had to attend them after you graduated. The interesting thing about the older girl was that she was wearing a blindfold. Saki didn’t know if it was because she was actually blind or if it was one of the quirks that some older shinobi developed. It seemed the purple haired boy was the center of the room. Directly behind him was another girl who was also taking notes, though not as diligently. The last member of the class seemed to be a very neat boy. Saki honestly wondered how he kept his hoodie wrinkle free. If her memory served her right he was a member of the Nagasuro clan, which explained some of his serious demeanor.

She half listened as the teacher talked about different part of Lightning country. She had picked up some of the information from her family who liked to tell stories about the missions they went on. Most of the information wasn’t interesting to her. She understood that it was important to know where different things came from but it was boring. The most interesting thing was the swamp region the teacher had mentioned, Saki would have to go there once she improved her abilities. She was not dumb enough to go into a region above her skill level. The fact that Thunder Hollows had a good pickled dish shop was also interesting; she would have to ask one of her family members if they knew the name of it and have them bring back some food if a mission took them out that way.

 

[Sato Yuji]

Saki slipped into the back of the classroom taking one of the seats in the back. She sat down and looked around. It seemed the class was made of all different sorts. As the teacher droned on about the geography she took better stock of the room. In the front of the room, there was a boy with purple hair scribbling away in a notebook. The most interesting thing about him was that his hair color but purple was not the most unique color found in Lightning so she quickly lost interest. The person sitting next to him was slightly more interesting, in the way they were not interesting at all. They seemed normal looking like they could blend into the crowd. A good trait for this career path. There was an aura around them though, one that screamed they were a troublemaker. On the purple haired boy's opposite side, there was an older looking female. When Saki had been making her way to her seat she had thought how odd it was for someone who looked to be past the age of an academy student to be sitting in a class like that one. She had thought you no longer had to attend them after you graduated. The interesting thing about the older girl was that she was wearing a blindfold. Saki didn’t know if it was because she was actually blind or if it was one of the quirks that some older shinobi developed. It seemed the purple haired boy was the center of the room. Directly behind him was another girl who was also taking notes, though not as diligently. The last member of the class seemed to be a very neat boy. Saki honestly wondered how he kept his hoodie wrinkle free. If her memory served her right he was a member of the Nagasuro clan, which explained some of his serious demeanor.

She half listened as the teacher talked about different part of Lightning country. She had picked up some of the information from her family who liked to tell stories about the missions they went on. Most of the information wasn’t interesting to her. She understood that it was important to know where different things came from but it was boring. The most interesting thing was the swamp region the teacher had mentioned, Saki would have to go there once she improved her abilities. She was not dumb enough to go into a region above her skill level. The fact that Thunder Hollows had a good pickled dish shop was also interesting; she would have to ask one of her family members if they knew the name of it and have them bring back some food if a mission took them out that way.
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WC:460|922/1500
PC:2/5
MFT

 

[Tsuyo Oushi]

The purple haired boy hadn’t noticed that yet another girl had joined the lesson, slipping in to sit at the back. He had been more than focused in drawing out the example map in his notebook. So when he finally looked up to see that Osu-Sensei had returned to the class with his children, he hadn’t quite expected to see them all sporting doodled faces. It caught him off guard, unsure if perhaps he had just given in to the toddlers, or maybe leveled the playing ground between them. Was this how it was to have kids? Frankly, it was over his head and a little terrifying. Mind you, he was ten, so what the heck did he know?

The lesson continued, Oushi making scribbles on his map with symbols that related to the location. On the back of the page, he wrote out a legend for the symbols and labeled them with their designated location on the map. He made sure to continue making notes, finding the Arbalest trees quite fascinating. How could a tree be so springy? The Tanuki Woods were also of interest, another location where materials for more ninja implements came from. ‘Youkai bog?’ Much like the jungle, it was another dangerous place, though perhaps...even more so? He wondered what it took to stay in that sort of environment and study the wild life there. It must be pretty extreme.

The thought of pickled vegetables reminded him of back home. His mother doing just that with some of their vegetables from out in the fields. They made for a pretty tasty snack, but he wondered how the ones in Thunder Hollows stacked against them. Oushi marked another section on his map, labeling it for the sake of pickled dishes. ‘There are so many interesting places in the Cloud...I wonder if I’ll get to see any of them.’

WC: [ 313 | 1,404 | 1,500 ]
Posts: [ 3 | 5 ]

 

[Senju Shizuka]

Judging by the way the toddlers’ faces were decorated now the man must have helped them. Shizuka slyly grinned at the sight. Those kids must be a handful, she decided. There was some relief in the curl of her lips as she realized that her parents could have had more kids, but hadn’t. Otherwise she might have been forced to deal with loud, obnoxious brats who probably would always get right from her parents. Fortunately she had dodged that bullet, for now.

‘Chakra paper’ she wrote down on the side of her page, then pulled a smooth line toward the area it was supposed to be found in. Of course her map didn’t look all that amazing. She didn’t feel like drawing at the moment, and wasn’t too interested in the rice production of the Lightning country. In fact, half of the things said by the sensei had floated right past her. What hadn’t, though, was the arrival of a new classmate. Studying the girl from the corner of her eye Shizuka wondered if she had seen her before. After a couple of moment she turned to face forward once more. It was too early to break her head over any possible encounters that didn’t stand out.

Scrabbling down a quick “you seen her?” onto the corner of her sheet, she tore it off before folding it in half. Then again, and again, until it looked like tiny cube. That’s when she carefully launched it onto Oushi’s desk. It slid a bit and came to a stop on his drawing. Perfect, Shizuka grinned to herself until she thought to see the teacher look. Unsure of how to distract the man, she asked what came to mind first.

“Sensei, would it be possible to have a field trip to the river valley, I mean, it would be nice to see some of the ruins!”

Hopefully that would be enough. Besides, going on a trip was always fun.


**
[1,141|1,500 || 3/5]

 

[Osuteno]

As Osu was lecturing Karasuko had begun eating and scarfed down her packed lunch and resumed coloring. Yukiko woke up from her nap again, but as she opened her lunch her expression became stiff. Rather than the toddler and parent approved assortment of fruit slices and other snacks…. there was a small salad that was originally intended for the ‘I am going to really diet this time and stick to it, believe it’ Saeko. Yukiko, seeing her lunch was mostly green things, started becoming visibly upset and Karasuko was the first to feel the incoming danger as hers hands began pressing firmly against her ears right before Yukiko let out a very loud, devastating, and pitiful wail. Osu looked shocked and confused initially wondering what could have made the normally peaceful toddler pour tears in such a way when he saw his mistake. Ah… Osu quickly tucked the toddler into his arms and started moving out of the classroom saying, “I’ll be just a few minutes! Please stay put! We will continue in just a minute!”

However it took more than a minute to acquire sustenance for the very upset little girl. Osu looked at the time upon re-entering the classroom and grimaced slightly. They were well near the time the class was supposed to end and they had covered so little.

“If you have another class to attend or need to leave soon feel free. I won’t mark you absent if you do but I am unable to give you full credit unless you stick around for the end of the lecture. My apologies, I wish I could do more but it is academy policy. For those that are staying we will be covering the Takaki Canal next.

Normally I wouldn’t cover a man made project in geography class but the sheer scope of it makes it difficult not to. The Takaki Dam was an 11 year project following the last war aimed at connecting Port Cirrus and O’Kelmura via water route, for faster transport of soldiers and supplies. The project took advantage of the massive craters left after the war along our southern border to speed up the construction of the 900 km canal, but it was still an exceedingly costly endeavor to complete in such a short time frame in several fashions. The monetary and resource cost exceeds well… let’s just say Kumogakure could run entirely on the amount for several decades. The human cost however… official records state that 27,000 died in the project but that was only the number of people who died directly from construction related incidents. Disease, poor nutrition, dying of infection or such after initial injuries from construction incidents, incidents of terrorism, and a number of other causes… the Medical Branch of Kumogakure gave in its report to the Village Council at the time estimates of around 208,000 deaths… give or take a few thousand.

During the construction of the canal, the railroad was also further developed along the southern border to assist in bringing the necessary supplies and workers. That in combination with the ports that began developing around the craters as checkpoints of sorts has lead to an incredible jump in the urbanization of our southern border. This was actually an unforeseen benefit to the nobility who control the area but for the village we have concerns about arranging the defense of such a spread out urban area. Another problem that will likely take hold in the coming years would be the movement of all these former farmers to the cities will create a food shortage. Further development of the agricultural regions are seen poorly by the nobility due to the limited tax production of farmers and a desire to urbanize more, not to mention that claiming some of the more fertile farmlands will require dealing with more dangerous creatures, but the limited development and accessibility of farming equipment has led to a scenario where the national food production might even decline in the coming years as people move in mass to the cities. The fishing industry is expanding but as expansive as the northern seas are and as great the strength of the national navy, fish is harder to preserve than agricultural goods, and we don’t have near as much control over the marine life populations. Even though the expansion of fish farms is a good start, it will take time to really make headway.

In respect to a lot of these problems the nobility and even many of us here in Kumogakure take some aspects of our daily lives for granted. For instance, Kumogakure is the only city in the country where more than 95% of the population as access to electricity. Generally it is only the wealthiest districts in cities that have access to appliances strictly meaning that only the nobility and wealthier merchants have things like refrigeration or light that isn’t flame based, less than a percent of the total population. Even in the capital only 10% of the city is on the grid. However as a result of the canal an opportunity has come to begin making a change to this particular statistic. A brilliant scholar from the National Academy has recently brought forth plans of producing electricity on a massive scale using things called hydroelectric dams that would be strategically placed at certain areas of the canal. If accepted, we could see a real beginning to a large improvement in the lives of the middle and lower classes, in the southern part of the country at least.

You know that that I think of it we actually managed to make the country into an island. Rather amusing. Of course we are still technically a peninsula but we have managed to bring the country closer together while simultaneously cutting ourselves off from the mainland, if we want to be fanciful. In reality part of the goal was precisely to make the country far more difficult to wage a full invasion on.”

Osu looked at the time once more and sighed as the class was definitely ending late at this point.

[ooc: sorry about how long I have stretched this class on, basically if you are willing to put up with just a little bit longer stick around and we will just try to get this thing over with asap, but if you are wanting to go ahead and leave I would completely understand. No you can’t get credit and bonuses unless we get the requirements in, checked to make sure I couldn’t get them for you guys because of my issues holding the class back.]

 

[Tsuyo Oushi]

While the boy was making slight adjustments to his map, he noticed a bit of paper sliding across his neat drawing. From the the direction it came from, it could only be from the Senju girl. Hoping the instructor hadn’t seen it, Oushi moved the tiny folded up paper just below his notebook for now so that he could continue with his notes until he was sure it wouldn’t be a disruption to the class. Of course, another distraction was inevitable, as one of the toddlers began to let loose an ungodly wail throughout the classroom. It startled the purple haired boy so much, he jumped a little in his seat, immediately covering his ears afterwards to try and block out the terrible sound.

Osu-Sensei rushed the child from the room in an attempt to appease whatever ailed her, the sound leaving with him. Uncovering his ears, Oushi let out an audible sigh of relief, the distress finally over...at least for now. Now was a good a time as any to check what exactly Shizuka had tossed to him. He began to unfold the paper to see the small words of ‘you seen her?’

An eyebrow raised, not quite sure what she had meant. Taking in account when she had sent him the message, it probably had nothing to do with the toddlers...so maybe with the late arrival to the class. The most he had paid attention to her was to gage where she would be sitting. Since he was essentially covered on all sides, there would be no opening for her too close to him, so that left elsewhere and that was fine with him. After that, she was off his radar, wanting to focus on the lesson at hand. Quickly, while Osu was still out, Oushi wrote down a return message on a corner of his notebook in the back. Ripping it out, he folded it up a few times and simply placed it on Shizuka’s desk, turning back around to look over his notes so far before Osu returned. If the Senju girl opened it, the paper would read in neat print, “I saw her. Do not know her. Try and focus.”

When Osu-sensei had finally returned, the child with him appeased, he gave mention of leaving the class if they had to catch another one, but on the other hand they wouldn’t get full credit. The subject was interesting, but the credit was also what he came to the class for, so it really left the boy little to no options. Unmoving from his seat, Oushi waited for the lesson to continue, his focus solely on the young instructor’s words. He made notes here and there about the Takaki Canal, amazed by its history and all it caused. The number of deaths in making it though...was astounding. His lips thinned, hoping it had at least been worth it.

The reminder of how tough the agricultural business could be was not one he needed though. People were all about the modern life, wanting to leave the fields behind. Without those to grow and nurture food for all, where would they all be? He could only imagine how it would be when the decline in food production hit in full swing. How much of a struggle would it become? On a positive note, at least there was a possibility of electricity becoming more accessible to all.

While writing in his notebook, Oushi’s thoughts began to wander. Perhaps something he could do, when he was much stronger, was help investigate the more fertile lands of the Cloud. Then he could help prevent a food shortage from even happening...or at least, lessen the chance. He could be useful in that regard.


WC: [ 625 | 2,029 | 1,500 ]
Posts: [ 4 | 5 ]

 

[Senju Shizuka]

If it hadn’t been for the ‘fire alarm’ she might have felt somewhat cranky about the instructor ignoring her question, but as it was now she was glad that the noisy toddler was taken outside. Besides this gave them the opportunity to interact with Oushi, or would have if this reply hadn’t been so strict. Turning the little paper into a ball she threw it at the back of his head just to watch it bounce off his tail. A little piece of tongue was briefly visible between her lips in case he had turned around to see what was going on, but after that she returned to her paper and the dreamy state the sun was putting her mind into.

By the time the teacher had returned she was partly asleep, but managed to wake herself up when the many deaths were mentioned. With a stifled yawn the Senju wrote down the number in order to research more about it and the construction of said canal. The amount of lives left during its creation sounded like a number one would hear after a war. It felt unreal. And while she didn’t doubt the teacher’s knowledge about the subject she planned to look into the causes of death.

Hadn’t the Cloud helped?
If yes, then why were there so many deaths still? If not.. why?

She blinked, wondering if she had missed some of the information but didn’t dare to ask as to not drag out the already running late class. Besides, she liked reading about the things she found interesting, so reading about this wouldn’t be a burden, in fact it might turn out to be exciting.

The less exciting and equally sad part was the idea of food shortage and future famine. Should people flee to the cities there would, indeed, be a problem. Someone would have to work on the fields and take care of them. The question was who would do all the hard work. Perhaps if some of the Shinibo could help them then things would be easier, but the problem here was their lack of those with talent for molding Chakra. And here she cycled back to those taken from their homes and brought to the Academy with force.

It pained the young Senju to see these things, to think about how tough life was, and how everything seemed to intertwine for better or for worse. It also caused her to want to grow and help to change things. Knowing that that would take both time and effort she leaned back with a heavy sigh and studied the sky outside. The class was almost over.


**
[1,582/1,500 || 4/5]

 

[Sato Yuji]

Saki blinked slightly as she saw one of the people in front of her throw a note to the other. For people who wanted to be ninja she expected them to be more subtle. She flicked her eyes around the room and noticed that one of the children was about to be upset. They looked the same way that her cousins looked when they were about to throw a tantrum. She barley flinched when the child started screaming. Growing up in a large family house had made her develop the ability to ignore loud crying and screaming. She watched as the teacher ddragged the child out of the room making a face as she looked at the clock. The class was almost over and she had missed most of it. When the teacher came back in she seriously considered just leaving the class. The only problem was that if she went home she would be told to pick up the children from school, a job she did not enjoy. The children tended to look at her in one of two ways, they either were terrified of her or treated her like some exotic animal. Either way it was not something she enjoyed. She sighed and leaned back further in her seat, she might as well stick out the class.

When the teacher started talking about a Canal she kind of zoned out. She picked up the general gist. A giant project meant to create economic prosperity with the trade off being human life. 208,000 people dead was a large number but she would bet her dinner that they were poor civilians. That's what tended to happen, it is easier to replace civilians and poor civilians might as well have expandable written on their foreheads. That combined with the railroads was helpful but only for a few. She sighed as she listened to the teacher talk about the nobility, they were going to pay for not helping farmers later. Well the nobility wouldn’t pay but their people definitely would. The electricity thing was interesting, hydroelectric dams were something she should look into at a later time. Leaning forwards Saki thought about the defensibility of an island. It made a lot of sense as long as they had a better navy.

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WC: 380|1,302/1500
PC:3/5
MFT