Starring:
Nobuo, Tsukino, Kenta, Takeo, Ikari
Date: August 23, 2014
Summary:
Kenta, Ikari, Nobuo and Tsukino run into each other at the lake. They talk and Takeo shows up after a while. Nobuo and Tsukino accepts a formal invitation to become of the third and fourth members of Team Phoenix. Thus, Team Phoenix is born with the Jinchuuriki as its head.
"Team Phoenix Assembles!"
Konohagakure Lake
The sound of humming, followed by slurping, can be heard coming down the way. Soon enough, Nobuo can be seen walking along with a giant bowl of ramen in his hands. He's quickly slurping it down, chopsticks flying away. Clearly he was a hungry shinobi today! Of course he didn't seem to be paying much attention to his surroundings, but he was still able to step around anyone that got too close to him. "Love ramen," he says between bites of delicious food. It's good stuff! Of course he has a bunch of coupons that he's saved up, which is why he's eating it. He's kind of a penny pincher so, coupons are the way to go.
Tsukino had stayed at the lake after Daisuke had left, ending up sitting on the beach on a blanket she'd brought herself in a scroll. She was still wearing the blue sundress and her hair was still in the long braid. She watched the villagers on the other side of the lake as they continued swimming and enjoying the warm day. She was quiet as she turned back to the book in her hands. She was enjoying the quiet side of the lake, though she was sure the people on the other side would have noticed both hers and Daisuke's red hair even from that far away. So when Nobuo came to the lake she was oblivious.
Sniff. Sniff. You'd think an Inuzuka and their pup was on the trail of the delicious scent of ramen, but it was only Ikari trying to keep her distance from Nobuo so she can't be picked out. Sure she already had her bento box, and a lot of the treats Daisuke originally made for him and Tsukino, but there was always room for more. 'Just have to be patient…time it just right…" She whispers quietly to herself. She would continue following as quietly as she could, making sure to avoid sticks she could step on and make noise that would alert him of her trailing him.
Kenta's heading towards he lake again at a distance behind Nobuo and Ikari. He doesn't notice either of them in front of him, at least not their identities. It's mostly Nobuo's back that he sees from time to time and he's not investigating any further than the occasional glimpses. The reason is because Kenta has a book in his hand that he's studying from intently while he walks along the path. The young medic-nin would have tripped if there had been more obstacles along the way. As it is, he has to pause every so often when his feet feels the ground group a bit more uneven or when there's a change in the elevation. Slowly, yet steadily, he approaches.
Nobuo is completely aware of the fact that Ikari is following him, but he's trying not to act like it. He doesn't turn around to confront her, he just eats his ramen. It's delicious! Anyway, he does happen to notice a certain Uzumaki sitting by the lake enjoying a good book, and being him, he starts making his way over towards her, all while eating his ramen. He's got skills sometimes! Ok, a lot of the time, but he's usually too lazy to show them, or sometimes just a bit on the slow side of bringing them to bear. Still, he's walking slowly enough for Ikari to make her move, before he could get to Tsukino. Hopefully.
Tsukino glanced up in time to see the two wandering thier way toward her, Nobuo and Kenta both. And both had something in thier hands. Shesat up and waved lightly with one hand. She placed a marker in her book and set it down. She waited for them to be closer so she did not have to shout and called out. "Nobuo-san! Kenta-san!" She wasn't really aware of Ikari yet.
Ikari gets briefly distracted when she notices Kenta walking in their direction, but she can't stray from her focus for too long. She rushes out of her hiding place and stretches her arm out in an attempt to reach out and pluck the ramen without actually trying to hurt Nobuo. "Lemme have a bite please Nobuo-san!" She grins to herself and comes to a skidding stop, letting her arms do most of the work. It was getting a lot easier to hold them up now that she was working on expanding the muscle tone rather than just the fat stored in her arms. "I promise to leave you a bite!" When Tsukino greets Nobuo and Kenta she giggles and shouts out loud enough for her to be aware of her too, "Hiya Tsukino-chan!"
Kenta's head pops up from his studies when he hears so many familiar voices, including one that's calling out directly to him. He slows down his gait and lowers the book to take a better look around. There's Tsukino by the lake shore. And… Ikari trying to steal a bowl of ramen from Nobuo? Kenta shakes his head in amazement, but doesn't interject in the latter. Nobuo can handle the little Akimichi well enough alone. Instead, Kenta jogs over to Tsukino after waving at the other too. He bows politely to her. "Tsukino-san. How nice to see you here today. Nobuo-san had recently convinced me to speak to you about a significant matter." He peers over his shoulder. "He seems to have his hands completely full right now."
Chopsticks are wiggled in Tsukino's direction as he sidles over towards her. And then… ARMS REACHING FOR HIS RAMEN! "MY ramen!" Nobuo says as he jerks it away from her hands. "This is the best stuff in the world, Ikari-chan! It's mine!" He does, however, reach into a pocket with the chopsticks and pull out a coupon which he tosses in her direction. She can't have his, but she can have some of her own. He looks over to Kenta, having heard him, and chuckles. "I already mentionined it to her. Actually, Ikari-chan already mentioned it to her, but yeah. She hasn't said yes or not yet." He moves over to where the two are.
Tsukino offered a smile to Ikari then a look of suprise crossed her face as the girl tried to use her expansion technique to steal Nobuo's ramen. It didn't work, but she was suprised the girl would try… Then again.. no she wasn't. Kenta reached her first and Tsukino moved a bit so he could sit on the blanket as well and not have to sit in the and. The blanket was plenty large.
With a tilted head she looked at Kenta, setting the book on various seals to the side. "Something important, Akiyama-san? You have my attention, please." She motioned gracefully for him to continue, slipping straight into formal mode.
Kenta turns to blink a few times at Nobuo and Ikari. "I see that the two of you work very quickly. I think this is now my cue." The young medic-nin settles down on the blanket next to Tsukino and folds his hands neatly on his lap. His features take on a grave cast that's even deeper than usual while he gazes at the Uzumaki princess. "As you probably know, Team Phoenix is currently scouting potential candidates for membership. I recently spoke to Nobuo-san regarding this and he seems to be intrigued about the idea of joining. The skills of a Nara is useful in many situations." Kenta pauses to build up a little curiosity. "So's knowledge of seals and fuuinjutsu. Nobuo-san named you as someone that would be on his list of good candidates, which he must have told you. So I would like to hear your thoughts regarding this."
Ikari grumbles when Nobuo dances his ramen away from her grasp, but she does grab the coupon as it floats down from the air. It comes back to her as her arm shrinks back down and she jogs quickly to meet the others. "Aw, I almost had you Nobuo-san. I'll get you one've these days." She plops herself down in the grass and rolls her shoulders a little bit. It was hard getting used to something as important as her muscles shifting and changing back into place. It wasn't exactly painful, but something always felt a little different. She looks up and around as she hears a male voice shouting her name. "Ikari-chan. Come here please? We have a new drill we need to go over with you and the other kids." She huffs a little bit since she just got sat down, "Comin' Papa!" She rocks herself to her feet and stands back on her feet. "I'll try again soon! Have a nice day day!" She runs off to meet her father who walks her back to the Akimichi village.
Nobuo nods at what Ikari says. "Good. Keep trying. When you're able to successfully sneak up on me, you'll know you're ready to be a truly awesome shinobi." He smiles at her and waves in her direction as she takes off with her Pop. Well, there goes the fun of a little Akimichi full of energy, but that's alright. He'll see her again later. Moving over to the other two, he takes a seat and keeps eating his ramen as he looks between the other two shinobi. Tsukino gets a wink. Kenta gets a nod from him. He's curious enough about the answer to the questioning that he decides not to speak up and break the flow of things.
Tsukino listened to Kenta and though she had not heard of Team Phoenix, she listened with all the gravity that a diplomatic meeting would have commanded. She nodded her understanding of the Nara skills being worth something in a fight and she agreed, recent enemies aside. "I agree. What I have seen of the Nara abilities seems to be quite useful." But then Kenta went on to explain that she had been named as a candidate to fill a slot in the team. She bit her lip lightly and glanced up as Nobuo sat down with his ramen. She offered a nod to him then glanced betwen them. "Are you certain that I should be on a team officially?" She was here mostly in a diplomatic position and she still wore her Uzushiogakure hitai-ate.
"There's no rule against it as far as I know," Kenta replies. He glances at Nobuo to see if the other Leaf shinobi would offer anything on that front. Considering that Nobuo was the one that mentioned Tsukino, there probably isn't any barriers to the other's knowledge either. The young medic-nin returns his attention to Tsukino. "From what I understand, you'll be working with Konoha indefinitely. You're already helping with missions and other matters. Joining a team is just another step in that direction. What's more is that working so closely with Leaf shinobi is a good way to foster good relationships." Kenta glances over at Nobuo again. "Don't you agree, Nobuo-san? The Nara clan is renowned for critical thinking and strategizing. Please tell me if my assessment is wrong."
A pause in ramen eating. "There's nothing that I know of that prohibits you being on a team, Tsukino-san. That's why I suggested that Kenta approach you to be the fourth member of the team. Your skills are extremely useful, and you're adept at using them." That and her pacifistic nature would make a good balancing factor for the team, but he doesn't say that. Nobuo slurps down some more ramen before Kenta asks him if the assessment he offers is a sound one. It gets a nod from the young Nara. "It shows solidarity, if you think about it. You're an outsider here, but you're being asked to join a team with some of villages top clans represented in it. If you accept, it shows a willingness to work closely with us, and that you're integrating into the village. This would look good from both the Konoha perspective and the Usu perspective."
Tsukino nodded as Kenta said his piece. He was correct, of course. She was helping wiht missions andhad done so willingly. Konoha was well known for it's 'teams' and she was indeed there indefinitely. She sat back a little, smoothing out her skirt as she thought and Nobuo spoke up. They had good points on thier side. She was simply suprised that her meager skills would be considered worth bringing into a team. Looking up again she thought a moment, meeting both of thier gazes head on. She might not enjoy harming others, but she wasn't truly meek either. "I have already been on a few missions with Nobuo-san and we seem to work together well. I agree with your points. It would promote solidarity and Iam sure my grandfather would encourage it."
"It seems like a good outcome for all of us. More importantly, I know that you're a very brave and dedicated individual, Tsukino-san. I treated your wounds, the wounds that you were willing to take to safeguard our village. That's one of the best ways for a medic to gain an understanding of a person. Even if Nobuo-san hasn't mentioned you to me as a good choice, I would have come to that conclusion on my own," Kenta announces in his soft, grave voice. He shifts his gaze from face to face. "I've already mentioned both of you to Takeo along with why I think you're good fits for the team. It doesn't take much persuasion to make a person understand your worth." He dips his head towards Nobuo. "You've already said yes." Then, the same head dip towards Tsukino. "And it sounds like you're willing. Should we make this official?"
Nobuo nods at what Tsukino says. They did work well together, though their first mission had been as close to disaster as they come. Though, technically, they'd still completed it successfully. The second one though? Yeah, that had been all her as far as he was concerned. He'd been the bait, and she'd made Glut pay for taking it. "It's the best outcome for the situation if she says yes," he says to no one in particular before he finishes off the last little bit of his ramen. When the bowl is empty, he stares at it forlornly, and then sets it aside as he looks back to the other two.
Tsukino flushed at the praise about her being willing to take wounds for the village. She may have been wounded badly but that had been a bad situation all around. "Part of my being here is to be a part of the village. I can't simply expect to be protected the entire time just because of my bloodline." Or her posible connection with the Hokage for that matter. Kenta seemed happy with her performance thusfar, though and Nobuo looked encourageing as well. The mention of Takeo brought back the memory of his conversation with Daisuke days before. "Ah, Takeo-san. He.. kept insisting he was Daisuke's son.. That Takeo-san?"
Kenta blinks; once, twice, thrice. "Ummm… you might be thinking of a different Takeo, Tsukino-san. The one that I know is an Inuzuka, not a Senju. He's also far too old to be anything more than a younger brother to the Hokage-sama." The young medic-nin quickly forges on. "Not that I believe that any incident could have occurred in the past to produce a half brother to Hokage-sama." Something about this line of conversation makes Kenta frown heavily. He holds his book against his chest and keeps rubbing the spine with his fingers. "Not all married individuals would walk down a path that'll produce an illegi—" Kenta suddenly coughs loudly and starts shaking his head from side to side. "Umm… sorry, my thoughts went into a tangent"
Takeo suddenly springs up from the depths of the lake, his clawed feet settling upon the surface of the water once he's all the way out. The young man's fully attired, or as much as he ever is, save for his hair being unbound and left to hang at length. "Whew. Lasted a bit longer that time. Maybe I'm getting somewhere," he says to himself. Takeo looks then to the nearby shoreline, his ears no doubt burning due to mentions made of his name.
"My real father isn't involved in my life," Takeo interjects, casually scratching at the back of his head. "Doesn't matter. Anyway. Daisuke-sensei was assigned as my guardian, so he's as close as I've had to a father. He's not my /real/ father, of course." With a faint grin baring his pronounced canines, he says, "I wouldn't mind if he were, though. He's alright. It's amusing to see him get pissed over the honor."
Looking first to Kenta, Takeo motions with a clawed hand between Nobuo and Tsukino. "Our candidates?"
Nobuo blinks at what Tsukino says, then blinks again at what Kenta says. That was some serious tangent the other shinobi got off on there. "What?" he asks, seriously and totally lost about what was going on. Was there another Takeo around or something? And what was this nonsense about illegitimate children? He was so confused. Yeah, total sweatdrop moment going on here. "Anyway, not sure if that's who it was or not since I wasn't there, but that does sound odd. Maybe it was a joke?" He's just trying to rationalize whatever it was that happened that he didn't see… And then there was Takeo. He blinks again. "Heck of an entrance."
Tsukino blinked a few times as Kenta made it explicitely clear that there was no way that she was thinking of the right Takeo. The Takeo he knew… And Nobuo seemed just as confused by the whole thing. The truth was, Tsukino was well aware of the fact he wasn't really Daisuke's son or even probably related at all. It had been explained already that Daisuke was his guardian. Which Tsukino assumed had to do with his position more than his age or anything else.
And there was Takeo, right on Cue. She watched him rise from the lake and her blue eyes narrowed a bit as she absorbed the information. She knew he had the ability to manipulate water, but still, he was under there quite a bit of time. But she smiled brightly and motioned. "Yes /that/ Takeo-san." She couldn't help chuckling softly. "I am not against it so Yes." If someone had a problem theyw ould reassign her….
The sudden (tiny) upwards explosion of water makes Kenta jump to his feet. The young medic-nin is instantly alert for trouble, although his reactions are blunted by the fact that he doesn't truly think they're in danger so deep inside Konoha. Seeing Takeo's dripping figure brings a smile to his lips. Kenta bows slightly to his friend. "Takeo, it looks like we summoned you without any fancier jutsu than just speaking your name. Yes, Nobuo-san and Tsukino-san" Kenta gestures at both shinobi when he speaks their names. "are the two that I was talking about and they've accepted." There's another of those little pauses before he continues. "And there seems to have been some kind of misunderstanding that Hokage-sama is actually your father instead of a guardian, but it looks like now we're all cleared up about it."
"Sorry, I'm learning to breathe water. I do these things," Takeo explains in response to startling the trio. He walks toward the bank of the lake as slitted eyes shift between Nobuo and Tsukino. "Nara and Uzumaki. Paired with what Kenta and I can do, that certainly satisfies the diversity I was aiming for. Konohagakure needs some new life breathed into it, see. It's time for the next generation to have its heroes, and I don't see why we can't do some good."
Takeo looks about and then informs the pair. "I'd like to get to know both of you better. Seeing as I'll be your team leader, I'll be a little more sensitive about the whole love of beautiful women thing," he offers to Tsukino, tone entirely serious. "In turn, you're going to learn some things about me which you need to know. We'll handle that later, though, in a more private place." A pause. "You're both sure? If so, I'll send word up the vine that you're with Team Phoenix now."
Nobuo just listens, and wishes that his ramen bowl wasn't empty. Seriously, that's what he got for ignoring eating while he was out actually training and then tending the herd. Now his stomach was furious with him and wanted him to eat everything that the Ramen shop had to offer! When Takeo asks if he's sure, he nods his head. "It's a pain, but I'm sure. Least I got asked this time around." What that means is up in the air. He looks over to Tsukino, waiting to see if she's sure because he wants her to be sure. The balance she will provide is, in his mind, paramount to the success of the team.
Tsukino just smiled at Takeo. She understood but hadn't been able to resist teasing. Especially as if things went the way Tobiramako and Hiro wanted that would have made Takeo her 'son' by default. She glanced between the three men and nodded. "Alright then. I agree." She glanced around and tilted her head a little, reaching into her satchel for a scroll. "Would it be completely worthless for me to say I don't need special treatment?" OPening the scroll she formed three seals and touched a symbol and poof! There was a plate of cookies before her. She motioned that they could all take as they pleased and there were several kinds to choose from.
Kenta flashes a curious glance towards Nobuo. He tries to figure out what the other shinobi means by gleaning clues from Nobuo's posture and expression, but it's too difficult to get any concrete facts from that alone. Perhaps thankfully, he gets distracted by Tsukino's display of fuuinjutsu. Kenta's won't forget the strange comment, but he'll mull over it another day. At this moment, he reaches for a cookie instead. "Thank you, Tsukino-san. That's such a useful skill that you know. I have to learn this. My basket gets so heavy when I go shopping at the market or when I bring food to friends and family." He nibbles at the cookie and tries to figure out what's in it. "Would you mind sharing the recipe too?"
Takeo presents Tsukino with an amused smirk. "You won't get any. I was just promising not to make any moves on you. Besides, I can see that you and my aforementioned guardian have a thing going on," he notes. "I only go for people who aren't taken. You can be crude without being rude!" Sounds like a motto.
Finally, his feet leave the surface of the water in favor of land. "Glad to have you both aboard. There's plenty to be done, and we're going to see to it. I'm not going to lie and say that I won't hope we get some deserved credit for the effort, but in the end, we work for the betterment and safety of Konohagakure."
Takeo sounds serious for that fleeting moment, and seems inclined to continue along his way. He briefly places a clawed hand upon Kenta's shoulder in a friendly fashion as he passes by. "I've got paperwork to do, then. The team's officially born. Things to talk about with the old man, too. Soon, we all talk privately, and then we'll get down to the business of heroism and all that."
Nobuo has a shadow snatch a cookie for him and toss it into his mouth, which he chews on as he offers Takeo a wave. Of course there was a bit of staring after the man, and a strange gleam in the young mans eye, but it disappeared when he looked back to the other two. "Well, that settles that," he says once the cookie is chewed up and swallowed. "I've got a bit of work to see to, myself. Mostly training. Again." He sounds rather disenchanted with that, but he still stands up from where he is and dusts himself off. "Alright, team. I'm off to go get ready to save all your butts with my brilliant tactical skills by training and trying not to wander off from the training grounds." He sagenods.
Tsukino smiled at Kenta as he took a cookie then laughed when he asked for the recipe. "If I'd made those you wouldn't be asking for the recipe, Kenta-san, you would be having me arrested for trying to poison you." Takeo's smirk made her eyes watch him closely. She waasn't sure she trusted him. Something was missing there, and his previous conversations before her had included specific details that meant something but she couldn't quite link them together. Yet. Still, she nodded her head diplomaticly. Takeo left and then Nobuo stood saying his goodbyes. She smiled to Nobuo and took a cookie herself, clearly prepared to remain on the shore and read.
"Oh, in that case, I'll teach you to make better cookies. Practice makes perfect, Tsukino-san." Kenta nods his head with firm resolve. Like everything else, the young medic-nin has always believed that cooking skills is essential to survival. He waves to Takeo just a little too late for the gesture to be easily seen, unless Takeo has suddenly grown eyes on his back. The gleam in Nobuo's eyes hasn't been missed, but it's something else that Kenta's storing away for later analysis. He finishes the rest of his cookie and brushes his clothing off before he gets back to his feet. "I need to head off to do some training too. I finally almost have the Mind Body Switch justu working. With some luck, I'll manage it after a few more practice sessions. I hope to talk to everyone again soon!"
