Starring:
Date: August 9, 2015
Summary:
Kaido calls his team in the early morning for their very first official team exercise and things don't quite go as planned for the team members…
"The First Exercise, Rush To Capture The Bells"
Toshiba Forest - Entrance
Kaido called his team together (now that Isamu has graduated) for their first official exercise. He asked for them to be at the entrance of the forest at Dawn, and is waiting for them, writing notes in his Codex. Bandit, Bolt and Doborou are nearby, all stretching and looking chipper, even Doborou (although he's sipping hot coffee and grumbling about being woken up at an ungodly hour).
Isamu was totally serious about being a shinobi now that he had graduated, and so he had made sure that he was the first to arrive. "Ohayou, Kaido-sensei!" he greets cheerfully with a wave, his other hand gripping the straps of his backpack securely. "How are you this morning?" He'd had a big breakfast and everything. He was ready for the day!
Shinobu shows up and looks just a bit sleepy. She was used to getting up early, but she had stayed up a bit later than she should have because she wanted to get a new move down before Hige came back from his mission. Kame is resting on top of her head, the pup equally worn out. When she sees Kaido, the girl quietly gives him a nudge before stepping back and waiting for further instructions.
Tatsuo had been rather absent the last few days though no word would have come to Kaido. As it was very few knew the reason and very few would likely ever know the truth behind it. By the time word had reached him, however roundabout it had come around, to meet with Kaido, he was already late. It wouldn't be for nearly ten minutes past the appointed time that the Nara would arrive. His dark eyes scan the team and his expression is surprisingly neutral, not at all his normal timid self. He says nothing as he walks nearer, stopping a short distance away.
Kaido isn't impressed by the early birdish attitude of Isamu, nor is he impressed by the tardiness of Tatsuo. Shinobu and Kame are given a nod and a quick pat of greeting before Tatsuo arrives. When Tatsuo finally shows up, he says dryly, "Those 10 minutes could have been the difference between life and death for your teammates… I expect you to be prompt next time." He gives the Nara a glare before he motions for the three to line up. His nin-ken all line up next to Kaido and Kaido crosses his arms, "Alright, we are now finally officially Team Kaido, thanks to Isamu who just graduated. Guys, let's give Isamu a hand and congratulate him."
Kaido, Bandit, Bolt and Doborou all clap and Isamu would get a nudge from Bandit, a lick on the cheek from Bolt and a pawshake from Doborou and a clap on the back by Kaido. Afterwards, Kaido would say, "No more practice missions from now on, from now on, it's the real thing for us, we will be on rotation just like every other team, but we will mainly be doing missions around the village here because I have work to do as the Head Instructor and I don't have enough good instructors to cover me if we have to travel beyond the Kodamai." He glances at each, "That means that I may accelerate your training and get you prepared to be Chuunin quicker than I would if I wasn't busy with the Academy and the Jounin Council. You guys get lucky on that score… the unlucky is that the missions we'll be doing are going to be boring and quick and don't carry the prestige that other teams might be able to land."
Kaido pauses and then changes subject, "But that's for the future, since we are finally an official team, I figure it's time to do our first official team building exercise. Bandit? Bolt? Doborou?" All three nin-ken step forwards and Kaido holds up two bells and says, "Two bells… and three nin-ken and three of you… Your job will be to get the bells and bring them back to me… Here's the catch… Only two people will have a bell." He gets eye contact with each of you, "The one who doesn't have a bell… gets demoted back to Student and has to go through the Academy again, because obviously that person isn't good enough to be a shinobi." He then turns holding the bells and tosses down a flash grenade, making the three of you blind, deaf and disoriented and by the time you get over it, the nin-ken are all gone and with no idea who has a bell. Kaido then says, perhaps a bit unnecessarily, "Well? What are you waiting for… go find them."
Isamu grins sheepishly when Kaido acknowledges him to the team, taking his little clamor of congratulations in stride. He was just glad to be considered an official shinobi! And while Kaido said that their missions might not be that grand, Isamu was excited for the prospect of getting supercharged training in preparation for Chuunin. It would be a lot more work, but the faster he gained skill and raised through the ranks, the better! "Osu!" he says with a grin and a salute, showing that he understood the team's priorities.
The new Genin listened carefully while Kaido then explained the training exercise. Two bells… And one of them would be sent back to the Academy?! Oh no! He glanced uncertainly to Shinobu and Tatsuo, both of which he knew had more experience and skill than he did. There was no way that Kaido would send him back to Academy!… Was there? What if he couldn't get a bell, and the others did? Isamu frowned as all of these thoughts banged around in hsi head, and he tried to think through this logically. There was little time, however, before they were all blinded and Kaido and his nin-ken were no longer anywhere in sight. Isamu chewed on his lip fretfully, before finally taking a deep breath. He couldn't get sent back to the Academy.. He just couldn't.
"Guys," he says quietly, looking to his team with a deep swallow. "… I have an idea. If we separate ourselves, then for sure one of us gets left out… But if we all three go after each bell, and claim them together instead of individually, then Kaido-sensei won't have anyone to send back… Right? Because we got them as a team?"
Shinobu listens to Kaido in a rather attentive manner, and Kame wakes up at some point during this speech. When Isamu is congratulated, Shinobu gives the Ishikawa a tiny smile, and Kame barks a quick, ~Awesome job, Isamu!~ Then it's back to some serious busines… Upon which Shinobu widens her eye at the mention of becoming a Chuunin. She was far from ready! The girl wasn't impressive at all, though she /could/ track people decently. Her nose was strong, and she could use some interesting genjutsu. But it wasn't like how Hige could do anything. She just mastered the Gatsuga, one of the Inuzuka's most basic techiques.
The show must go on, and her mind flickers to the next topic: missions. She was fine with whatever type of mission she would have to go on. She didn't mind, so long as she could help Konoha, Hige, and other people she loved. At the mention of a new Team Exam, the girl perks up to listen thoroughly, and Kame hops out of the hood, giving herself a shake. Yip! ~This sounds simple enough~ she barks, genjutsu allowing others to understand her. But then… only two bells? One of them would get left behind? ~I don't like the sound of that…~ Kame grumbles.
*BANG* Shinobu squeaks in surprise when the flash bang goes of, the girl ducking her head and squeezing her eye shut for a bit. When she opens her eye, the ninken that so often accompany Kaido are gone… Huh… The girl looks at Isamu when he starts planning and tilts her head, considering. Then she nods, and Genjutsu touches the two. 'I… can sniff them out…?' she offers. 'And then … umm… Tatsuo-kun… can trap… And Isamu-kun can take the bell,' she plans out, thinking that was a good plan. Kame yips in agreement, adding, ~I can help with all that! So just let me know if you need help!~
Yet again, quite surprisingly, Tatsuo seems rather unaffected and even somewhat uncaring by the chiding that Kaido gives him. Whatever sheepishness he's had in the past has, for now at least, vanished. Just as he wasn't disturbed by Kaido mentioning being upset, he doesn't seem excited at all at the mention of quickened training of a sort. All in all, he's just…indifferent. He does, however, take a moment to applaud Isamu's graduation. That was something that was earned and deserving, even if his facial expression failed to change in any way.
The flash bang causes a hand to come up to shade his eyes as they close, all of it far too belated to be of any real use but…natural reaction and all that. When his senses return and he realizes the three are gone he frowns ever so slightly before looking to the other two and listening to what they have to say…and 'say'. "There are still only two bells, but it'll be easier to find them as a group than seperate," he agrees, looking to Shinobu and nodding slightly. "That sounds like a good plan Shinobu-chan." Even his voice sounds a little different. The hesitance and shyness is gone. Instead it's replaced with…exhaustion, tiredness, and even sadness. "See if you can find the first one, whichever is strongest for you to find." Who was the one who hadn't bathed in the longest time?!
Kaido then pulls out his watch and says, "Oh… one more minor detail… you only have an hour… if none of you have a bell by that point. You will all be expelled from the ranks." He pulls out a book and starts to read (Moby Dick for those interested). The trails are confusing, and you ARE tracking two of the smartest nin-ken in the village, both of whom regularily can take Kaido on in a game of chess or go and beat him. All you know is they split up and are somewhere in the forest and one of them doesn't have a bell. A tall order, especially given that you only have an hour and only two can pass, or no one at all.
"An hour," Isamu repeats with a nod, looking to the others. "Okay. Then we better get going. I'll follow you, Shinobu-chan. Your nose is more valuable than mine. Tatsuo-san, you should come too. So you can figure out how we should make our traps, once we know where they're hiding. We can figure out how to lure them in, then.." Isamu nods, and true to his word, he would then stick close to Shinobu's trail, moving as quietly as possible. The good thing was, they were traveling downwind, so while SHinobu should be able to pick up the ninken's scent, it would be harder for the dogs to notice them. If they weren't too loud.
Shinobu wrinkles her nose and doesn't like the sound of that… But she nods and starts sniffing around, the girl's nose at work. Kame, too. The pup sniffs around the area as she tries to pick up a scent trail. She's planning to follow it as best she can, her nose to the ground and her tail sticking up. The pup probably is going to have better luck, here. Shinobu frowns a bit, thinking the scent trails are confusing… But she will continue to track them. In the meantime… 'Umm… This might be a while…. So maybe… we should set up a trap?' She isn't sure what /kind/ of trap, but they should do that. What would draw them out… 'If… Tatsuo-kun transformed… into someone good-looking?' she suggests hesitantly, hoping that the Nara was okay with such. That might draw out Doborou!
"I have a way to trap them, but it'll probably only work on the first one. I haven't shown anyone the ability yet and I've never seen it used before." Tatsuo can do that much at least. "But if the other two see it they'll know what to expect." So it /might/ only work once. It might not work at all with the skilled ninkin. When Shinobu makes his suggestion the young Nara frowns faintly and shakes his head. "I don't think that'll help. I wouldn't know what they would expect or want." As they move he glances back to where Kaido was, but then dismisses the man as they keep moving. "They're trying to make us split up, but we'll be more effective this way. Once we find them be ready to move Isamu-kun. If I can catch them I don't know how long it'll be for." He's not nearly as strong as the ninkin either, so…yeah.
Kaido just looks up from his book and checks his watch and says, "Better hurry up… time's a wastin'… To make it fair, Bandit is the best at hiding, Bolt is the fastest and Doborou will be easy to spot and easy to catch… relatively…" He goes back to reading Moby Dick.
Isamu nods, looking to Shinobu. "You got a trail?" he asks, wanting to get down to business. "Don't worry, I'll take care of wrestling them, Tatsuo-san," he says with a small smirk in the older boy's direction. He had been training his strength for years, and now was comparitevely as strong as someone who was already Chuunin-rank.
Shinobu pauses for a second. Of course, it's the one scent she's least familiar with: Doborou. The girl points a bit to where the Tanuki is… lounging with a magazine in hand. The kind that fills guns, of course. Looks like he's refilling one! 'There…' she says through the genjutsu. Kame itches to take after the Tanuki, but that'd be bad…
Tatsuo follows silently after Shinobu until she points out the Tanuki. The boy gives a small nods then looks to Isamu to make sure he's ready. Once that's done he makes a single hand seal causing water to appear around the summon in thin strips, much like a chain. Multiple appear to try and wrap up the creature, going so far as to surround and chase him in necessary.
Like Kaido says, Doborou blinks and tries to run, but without too much trouble, ends up getting caught… the problem? He doesn't have a bell, and you just wasted about 20 minutes capturing him. Doborou stalls but eventually tells you that Bolt and Bandit both have the bells and Bolt likes to move around a lot and it's best to flush him out and grab him because he's too fast otherwise. He tells you nothing about Bandit though, obviously you'll have to catch Bolt to get that info.
Isamu had managed to run and wrap his arms around the Tanuki, holding him still long enough for him to tell the group that he didn't have a bell. The boy sighs. "Great," he grumbles, releasing Doborou and looking to Shinobu. "We need Bolt's scent, then. Can you find it?"
Shinobu stares a bit at Isamu and frowns. She isn't sure that she can actually track them down in time… But the girl nods and starts sniffing around more. Kame starts running around, and Shinobu pauses to at least think. 'Could… we send him into a trap?' she asks her teammates while Kame sniffs out Bolt. 'If… he runs into it… And we drive him at it…?' Maybe. The girl knows that she isn't fast enough to catch Bolt…
Tatsuo considers a bit after he hears what the Tanuki has to say. "I can try and flush him out, but we need something to send him into." He looks ahead and considers for a few moments before he says, "Try and find him Shinobu-chan. I'll make him run in our direction and we'll have to try and catch him. I don't think we have time to build a real trap."
Regardless of what your plan is, it's harder to track Bolt, but the trail is there and as told, Bolt can eventually be seen moving quickly. As you try and cut off his escape routes, it gets harder and hard for him to avoid you. Eventually you manage to catch him and it took just a bit longer than finding Doborou, leaving you with only 10 minutes to grab Bandit… and both bells, as Bolt doesn't have any either? Obviously Bolt and Doborou were meant to be distractions and Bandit all along was your real target. You only have 10 minutes to catch him, but Doborou and Bolt help you by letting you know the area he's hiding in and tells you that he's weak to misdirection, as in, trick him and tell him that you've ran out of time and he might come out of his own accord.
Isamu hangs his head with a groan. All that trouble, and still no bells! And now they were down to ten minutes! He looks to the other two a bit helplessly, before shaking his head with a hot sigh. "Man!" he says, pinching his chin and thinking hard. "Okay, so we gotta trick him… And FAST. I think I know just the one." Running ahead, Isamu stops just short of where they were told Bandit was hiding, cupping his hands to his mouth and shouting so he was sure Bandit could hear him.
"Hey! Bandit! We're all outta time! Kaido said come get you! It's CHOW TIME!!!" That was really about the best he could do. He just hoped it worked.
Shinobu is glad that the other two ninken give them hints. She looks a bit tired, as puzzling out all the scent trails was mentally exhausting. Kame yips, hunting around for Bandit. ~Too smart!~ she pouts, sitting down and watching Isamu call out. There was no way Shinobu or Kame would get that loud.
Tatsuo nods to Isamu to let him do what he's going to do, then nudges Shinobu lightly. "Look sad, it'll help." Tatsuo's face stays the same neutral expression he's had the entire time, seeming entirely uncaring about the whole affair. On the off chance that Bandit does come out and the bells are accessible, Tatsuo will use some quick water to try and snag them and send one each to the other two.
Well… strangely, it works… he comes out with about 5 minutes to spare, and glares at you all for tricking him… the problem again is… he has no bells. Yep, you are screwed, KAIDO has both bells, and you just wasted almost all your time on a fruitless chase. When you get back to Kaido, time is just about up and he says, "You all failed…" He holds the bells up as Bandit, Bolt and Doborou line up on each side of him and he says, "You also passed, you worked as a team to try and accomplish your mission… here's your lesson for next time: Don't believe everything you hear, and question everything…" He tosses a bell to each of you and says, "C'mon, let's go get some lunch, you guys must be hungry, it's on me." With that, he and his nin-ken turn and head back into the village.
