The Nose Knows [Genin Exam]

[Hoshirei]

Hoshirei stood just outside a small wooded area she picked out specifically for young Kohaku’s exam. In her hand was a small file describing the boy and what he had demonstrated so far in his classes. She was intrigued to see how keen his and his companions senses were. If they could find their quarry and overcome the obstacles, it would certainly put them in a good place to begin their journey as a full-fledge shinobi.

Hoshirei smiled down at the boy’s file. “Come, Kohaku. Prove yourself today and press forward,” she said quietly to the air.

She sent off a message with one of her clan’s chuunin asking the young man to join her fairly early in the morning, just as the sun was meant to rise. The chuunin would give Kohaku a note, detailing her location in generalities and asking the young man to come ready for a challenge. The final sentence would tell him to arrive within two hours.
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WC: 162

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

On that very morning, Kohaku had spent several hours longer than he should have in the woods with Shiromaru, his little brother. The young Shiba dog seemed to be the only other soul who could match the boy's boundless energy. Perhaps it was unusual to consider an animal one's sibling, but Kohaku was incapable of seeing him any other way. Aomaru, Kohaku's father's ninken and Shiromaru's father was a grumpy, war-weary dog that was either training the young duo or constantly chasing after them to keep them out of trouble. Upon returning to their house, Aomaru had been rather stern with Kohaku, pouncing on him and pinning to the ground as he usually did while holding a handwritten note in his mouth, forcing the young student to read it.

"A Chuunin from the academy left this while you were out gallivanting. Get your head out of the clouds, pup," the speech-capable dog demanded, mirroring a tone that a father might take when their child failed an exam. Kohaku's usual reaction was to wave him off but he seemed pretty mad this time. To appease the old dog, he sat with Shiro and read the very vague note over many times before feeling confident enough to set out. He'd not long since passed most of his classes for the year so he had a small suspicion that he was already being conscripted for the graduation exam which had been looming over his head for a while, never quite sure of when it might come. Two hours to find his instructor on these vague instructions. From the tracking skills Aomaru used to teach him, he remembered a trick that his own father used to use. When writing a note, one leans on it with their hand. The palm and wrist can produce sweat which holds a person's scent. Even the gentlest handprint impression could hold a kind of scent on a piece of paper which Kohaku could divine if he concentrated hard enough.

About an hour and a half later, the Shiba and the Inuzuka boy finally arrived outside a small wooded area where they found a woman hanging around the trees. The trail seemed to end here.

"Sorry we're late!" Kohaku said apologetically, Shiromaru letting out a few remorseful barks at the same time.

WC: 385

 

[Hoshirei]

Just a scant few moments after the two hour deadline, the student and his young Shiba Inu appeared. Hoshirei checked her watch pointedly once the young pair stopped and apologized for lateness. She then regarded them with a flat look for another moment before a grin broke out on her face. "You made much better time than you think, Kohaku. If your file is to be believed, lateness is expected. However, I am not usually one to believe paperwork when given from someone who is biased. It is always good practice to be on time, but sometimes arriving a touch late can tell you more about whomever you are meeting than you would think."

"I, for one, have found myself avoiding traps by arriving either early or late. I did not expect you to arrive two hours after I had the chuunin deliver the note, but within two hours after you received it. Vague instructions may be all you receive in regard to missions at times and you might have to divine a way to understand what they want from you. I congratulate you on finding me."

Hoshirei tucked the boy's file away in a storage scroll in her thigh pouch and flicked her long black hair over her shoulder. She then reached into her pocket and pulled out a photo. "This young one was seen running into these woods. He has resisted all attempts by adults to retrieve him. We have been able to keep him mostly contained in this two hundred and fifty square meter area. Your task is to find the boy and convince him to come home however you believe would be best. His name is Hideiko and he generally prefers to be called Hidei. He has recently discovered a clan trait which allows him to become quite invisible to almost all senses. However, I believe you will be up to the task as he is not always in that state."

"Will you take on this mission, Kohaku?"

Spoiler: Hideiko

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

As his instructor began talking, he felt an immediate sense of relief wash over him; he wasn't going to be getting one of those war-battered teachers who criticised his every breath, rather someone who was accommodating and wise by the sound of it. He let himself loosen up a little bit and give Shiromaru a little nudge who seemed too busy with ardently paying attention to the teacher - he was always the more attentive one in class strangely enough.

"So... you want us to find this kid who can make himself unfindable? If he's invisible to the senses.... Is there really much we can do?"

The Inuzuka regarded his little brother for a moment who, to his surprise, seemed eager and excited rather than confused. Evidently, the dog had a few tricks up his sleeve which Kohaku wasn't catching onto quite so quickly. He watched his teacher's face for explanation again, wondering why all his teachers had to be this cryptic. At the same time, he took comfort from the fact that the Inuzuka were particularly knowledgeable of the woods around Konoha, being a formerly forest dwelling people, they sought to keep that connection to nature and so spent much of their time training in these very woods.

"Alright," he said, clapping his clawed hands together and heading inside the forest, the little cream coloured puppy telling after him. The forest could be dangerous so the two would have to rely heavily on their wits.

WC: 247

 

[Hoshirei]

Hoshirei bit the inside of her lip gently as she saw Kohaku and Shiromaru interact. For individuals training to be shinobi, they both could be rather adorable in their actions. The young pup paying more attention than the young human was another cause for a bit of internal laughter. Most of her experiences with Inuzuka had bee with her own peers in the academy and they had acted similar or the direct opposite of Kohaku and Shiromaru with a few notable outliers. She handed Kohaku the picture as he wondered aloud how he could find a difficult quarry. She would give him one more hint before he went on his way.

"If you notice, my scent has taken over part of this clearing and certainly your companion can detect my scent. Even if I became invisible and moved around, my scent would be here and would give you a starting point. I shall follow at a distance, using the same technique the young boy is using. He is rather emotional at the moment and his control over the ability is basically null as he just discovered it today." Hoshirei paused and finished with a short "Good luck," before turning incorporeal herself.

---

As the boy made his way into the woods, he would be able to smell all of the components that made up the typical woodsy scent. Decaying leaves, dirt, and bark made up the majority, but just underneath it all, noting the scent wasn't there long, was the scent of tears. Every now and then the leaves on the forest floor would be disturbed by a small or large foot print and they led off to different paths. One path in particular had another attached scent, a soapy, apple-y scent that had lingered in the back ground of Hoshirei's own scent.

There were three tangible foot print paths: one to the left looked to head back toward the center of the village, one to the right toward the Isaki clan home, and one in front of Kohaku headed deeper into the forest.

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

Kohaku wondered what made Hideiko decide to run away... If it was because of this clan trait, it seemed a fairly odd reason; it wasn't like Kohaku ran away from home when his fangs and claws started coming out. In fact, in his clan's branch, it was a proud day to celebrate, kind of like someone's 21st birthday - it's also usually the day when one would meet their canine partner for the first time.

At the beginning of the diverging paths leading into the forest, Kohaku took a leaf out of Shiromaru's book and lowered himself to all fours, closing his eyes and relaxing his mind. He let the different scents of the forest come to him and waited until they all started becoming distinct, until he could individually sense every single one of them as Shiromaru could. The smell of cedar and pine was fairly strong, the scent of apples, dirt, mildew... The Inuzuka thought about what Hosirei said; it was true that he could still detect her scent so he focused on looking for where the boy might have left his own scent. Before long, he and Shiro headed down the centre path, deeper into the forest, still on all fours to keep close to the ground, both to follow the scent easier and to avoid detection of the more threatening animals that lived out here.

WC: 228

 

[Hoshirei]

The noises of the forest fluttered throughout the glen. Scurrying about the floor, disturbing the undergrowth, little animals dashed from tree to tree to collect food or just muck about with other little critters. Tweeting of various birds filled rest of the air, giving a soft background, but also covering many soft noises that are not part of the general ambiance. A scuffling sound, the scrape of bark, the fluttering of leaves, and a soft cry all floated through the air. Were one of these sounds created by Kohaku's quarry?

If they focused deeply, the pair would catch a whiff of a scent that seemed to come in spurts. The scent of salty tears mixed with the Isaki clan's apple soap was attached to the sound of soft crying and broken by the source flickering in and out of the living plane. He wouldn't be far away, but a louder sound and scent was barreling through the woods.

"Hideiko, you little baby! Quit hiding in the woods," a grumpy looking boy shouted as he trounced through the woods. "Can't run forever, scaredy cat! I'mma teach you why you don't mess with me!"

A soft voice close enough for Kohaku to hear whispered, "Can't teach me a lesson if you can't find me, Kaano."

The now named Kaano stomped off to another part of the woods and the scent accompanying the second voice flickered. Perhaps Kohaku was getting closer to the young one.

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

Kohaku made sure to keep up the chase, in hot pursuit of the flickering scent. The more he focused on drowning out the ambient sounds of the forest, the more he could detect a voice. Someone shouting taunts at another voice somewhere else in the grove. Tears. If he had to venture a guess, it would probably the boy he was after anmd possibly another boy who was trying to bully him. One thought crossed Kohaku's mind and Shiromaru seemed to eagerly share that thought as the both of them pressed forward.

"He'll be no match for a shinobi!"

The Inuzuka was trailing onto several footsteps now, having been taught by Aomaru to look for the tiniest disturbances on the forest floor which could signal passing wildlife, or in this case, a passing crybaby. The scent alone could carry the pair of them the rest of the way.

"Hey," Kohaku began calling, "I'm from the village! They sent me to come look for you, Hideiko. I'll protect you from whoever's out here," he kept calling, trying his best to make his voice sound sincere and trustworthy and not like someone trying to pull a cruel trick on him and get him to let his guard down. He may not have known the kid, but he knew that no one deserved to be bullied like that.

 

[Hoshirei]

Kaano kept trouncing around the forest, creeping ever closer to Kohaku and the young boy he was searching for. Hideiko heard Kohaku's words and he hesitated a moment before moving slowly closer to the young Inuzuka. His ash blonde hair poked out from behind a tree to Kohaku's left. His brown eyes glistened slightly with the remnants of his tears. He looked to be around six or seven years old, just barely old enough to be entering the academy.

"Can you really protect me? Big brother's being mean and putting me under genjutsu again. He made me think I was stuck in a tiny, dark room," the young boy whimpered.

Nary a moment later, Kaano stomped through the undergrowth into view and caught sight of Hedeiko's back. "There you are, you little twerp!" Kaano rushed forward and snagged Hideiko by the back of his shirt. "Don't you wanna be a shinobi? Gotta learn to handle things, twerp."

Hideiko struggled in his brother's grip and flickered between visibility and invisibility. Kaano scruffed up his brother's hair and continued his teasing, "Maybe I should cast another one, eh little brother? Will you cry again, you little baby?"

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

Kohaku knew exactly where the boy was by now but didn't act on that information in order to make Hideiko feel less threatened; he would have to come to the Inuzuka. He waited for a moment, Shiro at his heels just behind him, keeping an eye out for the other boy who had made his presence known in these woods.

"Hey, hey, come here," Kohaku said gently beckoning Hideiko over to him after he came out from beside the tree... Now as long as the Inuzuka's feral appearance didn't bother him, things were easily going to be okay. The next set of events happened way too quickly for Kohaku to process. Kaano had skulked over and had now seized the little boy by his shirt. Shiromaru reacted first by essentially headbutting Kaano between the legs in an effort to make him stagger back to which point Kohaku would round on the boy, pushing him away and baring his razor-sharp fangs, letting out a low, animalistic growl, and holding that savage feral look in his golden-brown slitted eyes. Shiromaru looked more interested in pacifying Hideiko, making sure he felt safe and that he wouldn't be tempted to make another run for it, and as a fluffy Shiba puppy, he felt his chances were looking pretty good.

Kohaku was still doing his best to try to scare the other guy.

 

[Hoshirei]

Hideiko certainly didn't mind the feral look Kohaku gave off and would have gone over to him if his older brother hadn't snagged him by his shirt. He flopped to the forest floor, released from Kaano's grip after the Shiba puppy headbutted him in the lap. Kaano staggered back a few steps glaring at the puppy until he noticed Shiromaru's much bigger companion.

When Shiromaru decided to comfort Hideiko, the boy immediately went to tug the puppy into his arms. If the puppy could do that to his brother, then he'd feel safe staying near the other bigger boy and his companion. If Shiromaru decided to allow it, Hideiko would hide his face in the puppy's soft tan fur.

Kaano straightened and tried to adopt a haughty look much of the older Isaki clan members wore. His efforts were thwarted mildly by the fading pain in his groin and a touch of hesitation when he saw Kohaku's eyes. "Really? Protecting that baby? Don't you know my clan is rich? I can give you anything you want if you just leave." Hearing his brother's words, Hideiko whimpered a bit and curled tighter into a ball.

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

Kohaku let out another warning growl at the boy in front of him, not budging from the wild animal persona he was going for. It wasn't long before the boy had started trying to bribe him and find another way out of the situation but the Inuzuka wasn't going to budge; he had his mission and it was a strict tenet of his clan that loyalty to the mission objective comes before all else.

"Hey, look, I'll see it again, shove off and leave Hideiko alone! You've got me for now, but continue bugging him and you'll have the whole Inuzuka clan on your trail. We can be kinda... savage," he warned the boy, making sure his fangs were in full view. Intimidation seemed a pretty safe route to go for, but just in case the boy turned violent, Kohaku had plenty of jutsu to manage the situation with if things turned sour.

Shiromaru kept trying to pacify Hideiko, resting a paw on his chest reassuringly, letting him know that he was safe and in good company.

 

[Hoshirei]

Kaano stood there trying to keep his face impassive but a small pout escaped his limited control. His pout soon turned into an incredulous glare. How dare this upstart refuse a member of the Isaki clan!?! Didn't he know that they were the one of the most powerful clans around?! If he couldn't buy this kid, then he'd damn sure destroy him! With a growl of his own, Kaano started moving toward Kohaku as if he were going to slap the young Inuzuka.

Hoshirei decided to jump in before the stupid kid could make contact. She manifested in the physical plane just in front and to the side of Kohaku and caught Kaano's arm by the wrist. Her body was turned so that both boys could see her glowering face, though it was certainly aimed at Kaano. Kaano almost started yelling at whoever caught his wrist until he looked at Hoshirei's face fully. "Isaki-dono? Why did you stop me? I was going to teach this punk a lesson about messing with our clan!" he spat out, his voice starting off nervous and ending irate.

Without moving, Hoshirei addressed the other three. "Kohaku, you did a fine job completing your assignment. I apologize for the insult offered from this young clansman. Know that his sentiments are not shared by the majority. Hideiko, I am glad you are safe."

Kaano's face fell as Hoshirei let go of his wrist to push him backward toward another manifesting clansman. "Aasha, take Kaano home. I will be there to speak to his mother later. Kinuu, please take Hideiko to the clan healers to be looked over."

Hideiko smiled at the puppy and pet him as he got up to go with the other adults in the woods. Before he left, he walked up to Kohaku and said, "Thank you, Kohaku-san for standing up to my big brother." He looked like he was going to continue speaking, but he just blushed and rushed over to the one called Kinuu and they walked toward the Isaki Clan compound.

Once they were all gone, Hoshirei finally turned to Kohaku and Shiromaru with a soft smile on her face. "Kohaku, congratulations. You have shown that you will stick with your mission even when faced by someone offering an out. Your skill in tracking even the nigh untrackable will only get better from here. Here is your hitae-ate. Wear it with pride. Of course, should Shiromaru want his own to wear, I have one for him as well."
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OOC: Congratulations, you are now a genin! Make sure you link this post when you request your rank!
WC: 418

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

Kohaku never for a second lost his composure. The kid in front of him started getting angry and just as he figured, it looked like the little brat was about to lash out at him, motivated by some arrogant sense of pride for his clan. The Inuzuka was about to react, ready to charge the kid down and floor him but before he could take a single step, he found a familiar scent suddenly appear before him and looked up to see his instructor grasping the kid by the hand and holding him off, telling him to go back home. He would be lying if he said it didn't take the wind out of his sails a little bit but he wasn't going to mope about that; it was probably for the best anyway.

Shiromaru had come up behind Kohaku along with Hideiko after Kaano had been dealt with. The Inuzuka smiled at his little brother who offered a satisfied bark.

"Hey, it's no problem. You woulda done it for me, Hideiko," he told the young kid before letting him bound off back home at which point he gave Shiromaru a congratulatory hug, "well, we did it. We're gonna graduate," the boy beamed, seeing the sudden look of awe on his partner's face. However with Hoshirei's next words, Kohaku looked like he was being offered a pint of liquid gold; he reached his hand out to the forehead protector and grasped it eagerly, making absolutely no hesitation in tying it to his upper arm.

"Whaddya think?" He asked, looking up at his instructor, then to Shiro who eagerly barked. The Shiba puppy bounded excitedly up to Hoshirei at those last words, looking like he was trying to crawl up her legs. He obviously wanted that forehead protector for himself pretty badly. The little dog had the same sense of pride for his village and his clan instilled in him as did Kohaku it seemed. The little neckerchief he wore was a mark of his adolescence and replacing it with a hitae-ate would be a mark of maturity.

((OOC: Thank you so much!

 

[Hoshirei]

Hoshirei smiled at the look on Kohaku's face when she handed him his forehead protector. It looked good tied on his arm. A few seconds later she had a shiba puppy trying to climb her legs in excitement. She laughed and pulled out the collar with the plate. She then knelt on the ground and undid the clasp. Once Shiromaru's head was still long enough, she would put the collar around his neck and redo the clasp.

"Should you wish a different color, you will be able to pick one up at the Branch office. For now, however, go celebrate. You've earned it, Kohaku and Shiromaru."
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[Topic Left]
WC: 106

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

With this happy victory in their pockets, the Inuzuka duo headed back off to the village. Now was certainly going to be the time for some family celebrations.

Topic Left~