Starring:
Date: December 14, 2014
Summary:
A meeting is called to gather the current members of Team Phoenix as well as the new one to talk about the future of the team.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Team Phoenix: A new addition"
Chuunin Exams
Since returning to the village, things have been moving rather quickly for Eremi. The lack of a rank was rather annoying, but to put under the care of Atsuro only to instantly be placed on an already existing team was quite the surprise. He wasn't sure if they knew of his past or anything about him at all, which could make things interesting. The probationary chuunin had already met with one member, Kenta. An oddly peculiar medic with questions one would expect from someone a few years younger. What would the other members of the team offer?
It wasn't something Eremi would have to ponder for long as a meeting was scheduled within the Chuunin Training grounds, brought together by the team leader. Some man named, Takeo. There was little information about the others Kenta was able to share, but hopefully the seal expert Tsukino would be there as well. A princess and future wife of Daisuke. Talk about pressure.
A sigh would escape Eremi as he entered the grounds and looked about for a familiar face..Kenta's. Something that would be a little difficult considering the amount of Shinobi already gathered and using the training grounds exactly what it was intended for. Considering the clear sky and only mildly chilly temperature this afternoon day, it wasn't surprising there was already crowds.
The rest of the team won't have to look too long to find Kenta. A side path near the entrance to the Chuunin training grounds that leads to the very first, and possibly smallest, clearing in the area will also lead to the young medic-nin. After his recent near death experience, Kenta isn't supposed to do anything strenuous for the rest of the week. It's been half a week already, so he figures that he should be able to do at least some light exercise. Exercise does a recovering body good anyway… in moderation. A medic-nin should know, even though Kenta himself hadn't always been the poster boy for moderation. Luckily, taking things lightly was literally an order from Atsuro and he's not going to go against a superior's orders in a matter like this. The young medic-nin is doing a few light laps around the small clearing when Eremi wanders in, searching for familiar faces. He skips to a stop and bows at the newest Team Phoenix member. "Konichiwa, Eremi-san."
Tsukino had recieved the invitation (or summons) to meet up with everyone on the team at the chuunin training grounds. She had heard that there would be an addition to the team but that was about it. There were whispers about various nuke-nin lately but for the most part that was not spoken of to Tsukino.
The Uzumaki princess entered the training area and paused, glancing around for familiar faces. Her crimson hair was well kempt and fell down to brush the backs of her thighs. She still wore her shorts and leggings with her black and grey top, but she also had a jacket on due to the weather.
She spotted Kenta doing a bit of jogging and blinked, hadn't he been injured recently? Not that she had room to talk about doing strenuous things after behing hurt… She'd done quite a bit with busted ribs. In any case She saw Kenta stop in his movement and greet a man Tsukino had never seen before. She took a moment to consider the newcomer with her blue eyes before she made her way over with a welcoming smile to the two men. "Hello. Are you feeling better, Kenta-san?"
For his part, Takeo is /not/ using the training grounds for their intended purpose. He's seated in the shade of a tree, a small fire having been started in front of him. A rack with cups is laid overhead, each filled with water boiling the flavor out of fresh tea leaves. When things are just right, meaning ready to be taken off of the heat, he produces a bottle of sake and fills about half of each cup with it. Special recipe!
The young man doesn't look like a Genin, certainly, nor even a regular Chuunin. Actually, when one considers his attire, he almost seems to take inspiration from his legal guardian - the Hokage. Of course, all of that firey design's replaced with leaves upon waves, and the rest is claws and tattoos and skin. He's in order, mind you, but there's that mixture of primal details and slight inappropriateness.
"Oh, good. You all came," Takeo calls out. "Come, sit. We have a couple things to talk about. Sorry about my recent absence, but I had some business to settle with a magic turtle." Seemingly without thinking about it, he forms Isobu's shell into a claw upon his hand, allowing him to safely extract the hot cups of tea onto a nearby plate. When he shakes the shell off, another gesture brings forth chakra from his fingertips, which changes in turn to cool water filling a larger cup. "Help yourselves. Some water if it's a little hot, but I like it that way. I picked the tea leaves myself, so you can blame my herbwise lieutenant if I didn't quite remember the right ones." Takeo parts his lips, baring his prominent canines in a languid grin.
Emerald eyes scanning about, there was many things Eremi was noticing and taking in, his thoughts lingering for a bit until Kenta catches his attention. "Just the man I was looking for." Head would tilt slightly as he looked the other over. "Running through the pain?" Something he had done a time or two himself back in his younger days, but would honestly not suggest it for anyone.
With another approaching that greeted specifically to Kenta, Eremi could only assume this was Tsukino. Long red hair was normally a dead give away for Uzumaki, but…"Hello." A hand would raise to offer a friendly wave while the chain-links that dangled from the shackles that adorned his wrists, jingled about. "Are you…" A pause in his question with Takeo calling out. "Guess we're being summoned." If Tsukino followed, then his interrupted question would be answered.
Moving toward Takeo, Eremi lowered his head gently to the man before standing up straight and observing the others movements…A jinchuriki? "Thank you." Looking toward the others before being the first to sit down. He'd reach for the tea and bring it to his nose to smell the fumes coming out of the cup. There was a familiar scent that hit his nostrils and a broad smile took over his face.
Kenta straightens up and winces. "My head's much better now. If I just go with light exercise, I don't get dizzy anymore. A few more days of healing and I should be good as new," he tells Eremi. A energetically friendly wave is sent in Tsukino's direction. "Konichiwa, Tsukino!" She probably heard what he told Eremi, but he opens his mouth to add to the statement. The sound of Takeo's voice uttering an invitation to go over interrupts him and Kenta shrugs instead while a faint smile appears on his lips.
Kenta turns on his heels and moves towards Takeo with the rest of the team. The sight of tea widens the smile on the medic-nin's face. He's a bit thirsty after his exertion, so a drink is very welcoming. Kenta sits down on the ground across from Takeo and reaches for the tea. He starts to bring it to his lips, but smells something inside that makes his nose wrinkle up. The young man sets the tea cup back down and scuttles sideways to get the water bottle in the backpack that he left with Takeo when he started his jogging. "I think the tea leaves are fine, but the liquid base is a little… odd," Kenta mumbles.
Tsukino turned a friendly smile on Eremi. He'd tried to ask her something but Takeo had managed to interrupt him. She glanced over to where Takeo sat making tea. She moved toward Takeo's position and as Eremi sat she sank gracefully into seiza, her long hair coiling about the ground around her. She watched the jinchuuriki create a plate from a shell curiously. She didn't honestly know much about jinchuuriki or the bijuu as of yet, though that would have to change in the future, even if she didn't know it. The new ability still made her blink.
Accepting the offered tea she bowed her head in greeting to Takeo then looked over to Eremi and smiled again. "Uzumaki Tsukino. I assume you wished my name?" Of course Kenta had called her by name but she felt she should introduce herself anyway to this new person.
She watched the various reactions to the tea and simply politely and delicately sipped at the tea. She remained mostly quiet, curious what this meeting was about, perhaps the new face had something to do with it. She glanced back to Eremi curiously.
"Odd? It should be fine," Takeo says to Kenta, looking puzzled. "It's half boiled water, and once it was ready, I filled it the rest of the way with sake. Any sooner and the booze would've cooked off, right?" Perfectly logical! He picks up his own cup and tilts his head back, sipping loudly of the liquid and exhaling a refreshed sigh. "Usually, I don't bother with the tea part, but I figured I'd get classy for the meeting. It /is/ good to see all of us together."
Lowering his cup, he peers over at Eremi. "No wonder you look handsome. We could practically have come from the same mother," the Jinchuuriki notes, sounding amused. "Ah, right. Everyone, you may know, but this is Satonezu Eremi. He's our new addition, replacing Nobuo, rank probationary Chuunin. I don't know what the probationary's about, and don't particularly care. I've had to earn my way back in before, too, in my own way. Everyone on this team has a clean slate, so long as they're out for the good of Konohagakure."
"I'm Inuzuka Takeo, Tokubetsu Jounin. Takeo's fine," he says to Eremi. Then, his hand moves around the rest of the group. "This is Akiyama Kenta, our med-nin and my lieutenant. Kicks sums, takes names, then usually heals the sums because he's nice." Onward to Tsukino. "As she just said, Uzumaki Tsukino. Our expert on seals, not surprisingly. Destined to be wedded to the Hokage and become my guardian-in-law."
Looking about, Takeo simply asks, "Any questions on that part, anyone?"
A gentle blow would be given to the cup of tea before Eremi took a sip of its contents. It was delicious, though considering the mixture of sake, he was a bit biased. Probably would have even prefered a little more in his cup, but that was what the gourds at his side were for. Lowering the cup, Eremi would turn his head to Tsukino and offer a nod. The bangs that fell in front of his face bounced about. "I was, yes. It's a pleasure to meet you." It was the last words he offered for a time as Takeo started to speak.
It was suprising to hear how little Takeo knew or at least how little he was willing to share with the others. It was refreshing to know he was being given a fresh start at least. It was exactly what he wanted. Hopefully this time as a shinobi worked out better for him. "Oh?" Looking somewhat embarassed as his cheeks flush. Another sip of the sake tea would be taken to hide his expression momentarily.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all. As Takeo said, I am Satonezu Eremi. I don't use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, just Taijutsu. It's not that I can't, I just find it easier to use Taijutsu." A gentle shrug would be given, "Anyways, I'm honored to be a part of Team Phoenix, and I will do my best to not let any of you down."
Kicks sums and what? Kenta opens his mouth and then closes it again. It's probably not something that he'll be able to understand, since explanations about stuff like that usually comes out strangely from Takeo too. He rubs the back of his neck and just takes another sip of water from his bottle. The "tea" gets eyed warily when Takeo confirms his suspicions that there's something alcoholic added.
Kenta nods along to Eremi's words, even though it's stuff that he had already heard previously. "We've been needing a taijutsu user in our team for a while. Having a genjutsu specialist would also be nice, but you'll cover at least part of our weakness and make us more well rounded, Eremi-san," he says graciously. Also something that he's said before, but not in the hearing of the rest of the team members. The young medic-nin looks around to the rest of the old members and points out, "Eremi-san is a good friend of Atsuro-senpai." It's as if he thinks that statement would be a big endorsement for Eremi's character and ability as a shinobi.
Tsukino tasted the sake immediately but politely kept holding the cup. Even with her gloves on it warmed her hands at least. But she would not be finishing the cup.She knew exactly how much sake she could drink before she ran into trouble: One cup. So she was polite but did not wish to continue drinking. It did warm her up though, so there was that. She smiled to Eremi as he was introduced and bowed her head regally, a formal bow. She noted that Takeo mention everyone had a clean slate and took this to support the rumor about nuke-nin. Apparently Eremi was one of them. Tsukino did not look abhorrant or upset by the thought. She accepted that Eremi would not be here if he was a threat. There were others around that possibly posed more of a serious threat and they were allowed to remain after all.
She looked iver the ment and thought back to her own experience. What did she offer to this team? Certainly not taijutsu. "I use seals and am not very good at taijutsu." She admitted. "But I am learning to be a medic as well." She offered.
Takeo allows everyone to exchange introductions, seeming pleased with this good start. "I'm working on my own Taijutsu style, but I've had to set it aside for other things. Maybe you can work with me on it once that's settled," he offers to Eremi, perhaps attempting to give him a sense of inclusion. The announcement that their newcomer is a good friend of another Inuzuka causes him to perk up. "Oh, really? Atsuro and I are mated. If he thinks well of you, then I'm sure you'll get along just fine with us."
Inhaling a deep breath, he then gets to business. "It's unfortunate that Nobuo's gone, but Eremi's a great addition. Here's the thing: you're all better than me in your own ways. I use water ninjutsu, and I do the whole tails thing." Takeo lets that sit for a moment and then continues, "It's because you're all better than me that I depend on each of you. It's because you're all better than me that, when put together, we become exactly what I wanted from Team Phoenix: the next generation of legendary Leaf shinobi. I have respect for all of you, so despite the differences in skill, I just ask that you give me the benefit of the doubt on missions."
Takeo is silent for a moment, tilting his head back to gulp down the remainder of his tea. "Still, the configuration of the team's changed. I happen to think teams work better together when the members know each other, have a bond of some sort. So, I may throw down all of this pay I've never used to take us on a ryokan vacation. A really nice one, complete with hot springs! It'll be a good time, and a good chance to learn about one another."
"Aside from that, we do what the Land of Fire needs, when it needs it." Takeo shifts slightly upon his knees to inform Eremi, with appropriately low volume, "I'm Jinchuuriki. There may come times, because of that, when we get called up for some heavier business. Another advantage to you all being so great at your individual arts; I'll need you."
"I'd be happy to help anyone with Taijutsu if I can." Eremi would offer as he swirled the sake tea in his cup with a single hand. There wasn't much left and the thought of refilling it with his own gourd continually crossed his mind, but figured it'd be best to not get too out of hand during the first interaction with the new team. "Atsuro and I go way back, yes and Kenta had mentioned you two were close." Glancing briefly at the medic before his eyes shifted toward Takeo, "Something about a male girlfriend…"
As Takeo continued talking, Eremi leaned back in his positon, using a single hand to prop himself up. There was a lot what Takeo said that Eremi could agree with, though the part about going on vacation was a bit troubling. Daisuke had mentioned to Eremi that he was not allowed to leave the Land of Fire, at least not without special permissions. Something he'd have to talk to Takeo about later, unless the man already knew…
"When the time comes, I'll do my best. It's all I can offer." The remaining tea would be consumed before the cup is set down.
Kenta glances towards Tsukino. "I'll have to give you your next lesson soon, Tsukino. I know that you've been doing a lot of studying on your own, but you do need additional guidance before you can start handling the more difficult cases that'll come up. Let's schedule something after the meeting." With that out of the way, he turns his attention back towards the team meeting.
The young man lifts a hand to catch Takeo's attention. "Does this mean that Hokage-sama has lifted the traveling ban on you, Takeo? I remember you told Atsuro-senpai and I that you might be allowed to travel outside the Land of Fire once you've strengthened your ability to control the power that Isobu lends you." This line of thought leads to another. There's something similar to excitement in Kenta's eyes, but more subdued, when he continues. "Does this mean that we might also start going on missions outside the Land of Fire? That's one of the things that I've been hoping for. Unlike the rest of you, I don't have much experience traveling beyond these lands."
Takeo cants his head curiously at Kenta's question. "Oh, that!" He recalls the subject matter after a moment. "That ban ended after I mastered the second tail. Now that I'm a master Jinchuuriki, there's nothing to fear. Isobu's holding up his end of the agreement. Course, I don't think I need to tell you all to refrain from blabbing about him; there are people who'd love to get their hands on the turtle." This reminds him to tell Tsukino, "The seal's Uzumaki. It's on my stomach, but you can only see it when the Bijuu's chakra's being channeled. I have the key, and with Atsuro and Kenta, recently defeated the turtle in my trial for mastery. Now, part of his chakra's separated and bound within torii seals, but those are in here." Tap tap goes his finger, right against the side of his head.
Clearing his throat, Takeo extends a hand toward the fire. The wisp of chakra which begins to flow from his fingertips swiftly turns to water, extinguishing the flame used to heat their tea. "We can't leave the Land of Fire, though, for a bit. Eremi has to be released from his probationary status. That doesn't mean we can't take that vacation, though; we're in the Land of Fire! No better place to find hot springs and nice ryokan." He looks once more between the members of the team and concludes, "Alright. We've covered the important stuff, and I don't like to be long-winded. If there's nothing else, we can finish up and I'll let you all go."
Well after the fact, Takeo blinks once and looks to Eremi, enlarged canines bared as he laughs. "Male girlfriend? I'll have to tell him that one. Girlfriend." That seems to genuinely amuse him. "I like both, you know? It's just that Atsuro and I have something a little more."
