The First Meeting

Time was certainly proceeding to fly by relatively quick. Even though it hadn’t felt like it, 2 weeks had already passed since a monumental moment for a man, walking through the mountainous slopes which the village of Kumogakure was perched atop of. Adorned in red ronin robes, there was 3 individual ninja packs strapped to various places on the outer portion of the robes; making them visible to any ordinary person. One was strapped to the belted area, placed closer to the small of his back. The other two were strapped to his right and left thighs respectively. During the occasional blasts of a moving zephyr, these robes would sometimes move about in a sense to also reveal underneath this traditional garb was a katana; meant to be hidden when not moving to and from a location. Now, one may ask, who was this guy? What was so important?

The lone wolf, the Raiju of Kumo, Hiroki Shimada; and he had been newly promoted to Chunin and given the very delicate task of leading a team of Genin. No small feat certainly, but it was given by the Kage no less. This meant two things; the first and starting with the more optimistic view of the situation, he wouldn’t have done so if he didn’t feel as if Roki was ready. There was no way that being given the highly detailed work such as not only teaching the youth and future of the glorious village, but also being their guard in worst case scenarios, would have just been given out on a simple whim or feeling. If that were the case, then the future might be a bit iffy. The second and not necessarily entirely pessimistic, but it didn’t have the same flair of joy, was how could the black and white haired young adult have said no? Doing so could’ve resulted in the potential for a demotion on the spot as it could’ve been seen as weakness. Everyone knew that was something in which the Lord 11th didn’t want.

So, the Shimadan brother had made his way to the advanced training facility, specifically picking out a room that was designed to resemble a forest. Surrounding the perimeter, a circle of trees which would go inwards on all sides 10 meters. There was a clearing out past these artificially made masses of oak, spanning a diameter of 70 meters. Some more trees had then been placed here and there throughout this inner circle, but much of it was all out in the open. The only other thing which had stuck out like a sore thumb was the biggest thing in the room; a massive 40 meter tall, 10 meter wide tree which stood at the exact center point of the room. There is where Roki had decided to put himself; standing with his back against the wood with his left leg propped up; waiting for his wards to arrive to their first meeting.

WC: 493

Rizuke was a newly appointed Genin, he didn't have much in the sense of experience or exposure when it came down to being a shinobi. He was a good student while he was in the academy, but after he had no guidance, Rizuke was just anxious about his next moves, so someone stepped in and put him in a squad. That would alleviate his anxiety and give the young Genin some focus. Rizuke was excited to head to the advanced training facility, even though he hadn't had time to get ready in the sense of any Jutsu. He would still give his all. 

Rizuke was aged sixteen about five foot nine inches tall and was dressed in everyday clothes and combat boots.  He was serious until he started trusting the people or person he would be associating with. He got out of bed that morning and got a summons to go to the advanced training facility to meet his new squad. He would talk to his mom and dad about how his morning was and give him advice on what to expect in a squad and squad leader. Rizuke would eat his breakfast and make his way to meet up with his newly appointed squad and squad leader.

Rizuke arrived at the advanced training facility and wandered around for a moment not quite sure if he had arrived first, or if he was late, he couldn't figure out which room he was supposed to be in. He checked a few that were indeed not the room he was looking for. He then noticed a door with his name outside the door, figures, as he approached he noticed a man leaning against the biggest tree in the center of the room, was this his new squad leader, or was someone in the squad just that suave? Rizuke would walk in and slowly approach the man in the middle of the room the man would stand a few inches shorter than Rizuke, but you could tell he at least had money, as he approached he would be sure the shinobi standing in front of him was Hiroki Shimada, the squad leader of his new squad, but he wasn't quite sure yet.

"Hello, my name is Uchiha Rizuke, what's your name? I'm glad to make your acquaintance." Rizuke would say keeping about five meters between himself and his fellow shinobi, he didn't like to just walk up on people, but he didn't want to make his new comrade have to yell across the room to have a conversation. He would look the shinobi over and notice red robes and three ninja packs strapped to him in different spots. Rizuke wouldn't mind if the person didn't speak right away, or at all, but he was hoping the stranger would reveal who he was.

WC: 469

As all the members enter the room, the ceiling begins to giggle. After a few moments of quiet laughter, which was more than enough time for the group of shinobi to look upwards, a board from the ceiling falls and flips mid-air, revealing none other than Goro Chinoike himself, complete with balloons and confetti yelling "Tokusentai!" as he comes crashing into the floor! Without skipping a beat, the overly hyper boy introduces himself. "The name's Goro Chinoike, and you better remember it well, because this squad is the only group that can refer to me like that when I become the next Raikage!" Goro finishes his sentence and poses dynamically, and before anyone can ask a question, he continues "I'm so excited that I have been waiting here all morning to meet you!" Goro looks to Saturn, and waves, stating "I already know this one..." and draws his finger out and points it across the room "But who are all of you?!" He states with a warm smile and awaits the first person to reply.

WC: 175

It wouldn’t be too long of a wait. Slowly, one by one, each of the three chosen genin would file into the room designated to them; some in more outlandish fashions than others.

The first to arrive would be a teen with black hair, not that of the familiar face from the names on the team roster. As he would slowly enter the room, that’s when Hiroki would begin to peel himself out of the slanted position that he was currently in. Starting at the base of the spine, each section would slowly curve outwards and away from the 5 meter wide, 20 meter tall tree. Until this arc would reach his neck, where the head would be pulled away with the rest of his body, so he was fully standing upright upon the young lad reaching the center of the room. Once he spoke, a name was revealed immediately. ”Starting off introductions right away are we? Someone’s eager to be apart of the team it would seem. That’s good. It’s a pleasure to meet you Rizuke, the name’s Hiroki Shimada, and I will be your team leader. The other 2 should be joining shortly, so do make yourself comfortable.”

The second one to join was the familiar face that the Shimadan had known previously. Saturn Sentobi. The salt and peppered haired Chunin’s hands would cross, interlocking and weaving with one another across his chest. A smirk would appear as the man he met at the bar would also walk over in the same style as the first. The pace, somewhat slow and hesitant at first, but it would pick up once there was the realization that this had been the training room he was looking for. A small wave of his hand would be motioned towards the incoming student, welcoming his arrival. ”Hello Saturn, I trust you’ve been well. And please, allow me to introduce myself once we’re all here, but thank you for telling one of your fellow team members one of my monikers.” And a chuckle would be let out after speaking the statement.

Lastly, the final member would enter in the most garish way. It was rather amazing that they hadn’t taken a tumble upon falling from the ceiling moments after the faint laughter would be heard. It was awfully high up after all to simulate more of an open space, rather than the tight confines of just any ordinary training room. The ceiling must have at least been 40 meters up off from the ground, and that wasn’t even a fall that Hiroki would be able to land successfully without it resulting in some kind of injury. Regardless, an eye would have to be kept on this one seeing as they were the most hyper in the trio it would seem. There was a little portion of Roki as a child that he saw within the redhead posing before him. ”That’s quite the…entrance, Goro Chinoike. And also, quite the goal, but aim for it anyways. Don’t let anyone’s ramblings get in the way of your dreams.” The words would be offered towards the Chinoike dude, the cadence lacking an overabundance of enthusiasm, but not uninterested; think the opposite of if someone was trying to passive aggressively tell you off. It was a passive happ(il)y comment.

The blue eyes would look outwards towards all three now standing before him, present and on time thankfully. They had succeeded in that portion of the first impression, meaning things were so far so good. ”Good morning everyone, and welcome to your first day of team training. We shall start with introductions before moving on to what I have planned for today.” The Kumo nin would begin to say, clearing his throat at the end of the sentence. After the momentary pause, the Raiju would continue on uttering ”I’ll start. The name is Hiroki Shimada, and I will be your squad leader. I am currently a Chunin here within the village, so I have taken you three on to be my subordinates. As for specialties and elements, I possess Lightning and Water, as well as an extremely unique advanced element called Equilibrium Release; and I’m a Ninjutsu, Fuinjutsu, and Iryojutsu specialist. My goal is simple and the same of our ginger friend it would seem; I too am aiming for Kage one day. Now. Onto the next person; state your name, any specialities and elements, and a future goal of yours.” Hiroki’s hand would have a lone index finger pointed in the direction of the Uchiha.

WC: 756
TWC: 1251

Rizuke would watch as the shinobi would lift himself off of the massive tree vertebra by vertebra, it was a pretty cool visual effect Rizuke was glad he got to see. He would listen to his new squad leader introduce himself and remark on his eagerness, it made Rizuke blush a little bit as he realized he might have appeared a little too eager. He was told to make himself comfortable, he would ponder what the rest of his team would be like, but before he could put too much stock into it, a third person would join the duo nearest the tree.
Saturn Sentobi a shinobi Rizuke hadn’t seen before, but he realized Shimada-San did know this guy, so Rizuke took a step to allow this newcomer room to talk. They exchanged pleasantries the way two people who have worked together and didn’t mind each other’s company would. The man was the same height as Rizuke, and the first thing Rizuke noticed about the shinobi was his horns, no, hair sticking out of the white knit cap with purple five-point stars and a horse rearing its head in the middle of a horseshoe. His appearance confused the younger shinobi, but he didn’t want to be rude, so he looked into the older shinobi’s light blue eyes. “Yo, I don’t believe we’ve met.” Rizuke would hear the raspy aspects over the deepness of Saturn’s voice. There was definitely a weird, well, a different foreign accent in how Saturn talked as well. Rizuke would nod quickly as the shinobi would continue, "I'm Saturn... And you're in the presence of..." He glanced at Hiroki to allude to him, and Rizuke would follow his gaze to his leader, "The Dragon Slayer!" Rizuke didn’t understand what that meant, but it might be important for later, so Rizuke would make a mental note about Hiroki being called “The dragon slayer”. Rizuke would turn his gaze back to Saturn and would reach out his own arm to meet Saturn’s extended arm. “I’m Uchiha Rizuke, it’s a pleasure to meet you Saturn.” Rizuke would say flashing a genuine smile to his new teammate. Now that Rizuke could get a better view of his new teammate he would realize this shinobi’s style was something out of this world. He was covered in whites and blues and pinks, stars and hearts, and so many wristbands. Rizuke liked this style but didn’t think he could pull it off. “I like the horse on your hat.” Rizuke would say nodding in the direction of Saturn’s hat.
“So, we’re all met up, where’s our third member?” Rizuke would say as the ceiling started giggling. Rizuke was taken aback as another shinobi would materialize out of a board and then drop and flip himself over forty feet in the air covered in balloons and confetti screaming about some special battle squad, but Rizuke wasn’t too sure, as he landed with the grace of a bull in a China shop and on his face. He would jump up as if nothing happened and catch Rizuke’s eye as he proclaimed his name, “Goro Chinoike” and then go off in the same breath, “And you better remember it well, because this squad is the only group that can refer to me like that when I become the next Raikage!" He would finish eagerly in a pose Rizuke would describe as cartoonish, but Rizuke would respect the boy shinobi’s goals. This shinobi looked shorter and younger than Rizuke and didn’t seem ashamed of his eagerness. Rizuke was about to humor the younger shinobi when he thought against it, his squad leader and other new teammate were right there, he would divulge his curiosity at a different time more appropriate Rizuke would think to himself as the younger shinobi would continue. “I'm so excited that I have been waiting here all morning to meet you!" Goro looked at Saturn with remembrance, and waved, stating loudly "I already know this one..." and then drew his finger out and points it across the room at Rizuke and Hiroki "But who are all of you?!" He stated with a warm smile that showed Rizuke just how young this shinobi was. Rizuke would notice his squad leader was about to talk so he would step back and await his senior’s instruction. “That’s quite the…entrance, Goro Chinoike. And also, quite the goal, but aim for it anyways. Don’t let anyone’s ramblings get in the way of your dreams.” He would say to the young shinobi in a “follow your heart” kind of way.
Hiroki’s blue eyes would scan over the three of his new subordinates, and he would introduce himself, ”Good morning, everyone, and welcome to your first day of team training. We shall start with introductions before moving on to what I have planned for today.” The team’s squad leader would start with a clearing of his throat. He would then pause, probably for dramatic effect, and then continue. “I’ll start. The name is Hiroki Shimada, and I will be your squad leader. I am currently a Chunin here within the village, so I have taken you three on to be my subordinates. As for specialties and elements, I possess Lightning and Water, as well as an extremely unique advanced element called Equilibrium Release; and I’m a Ninjutsu, Fuinjutsu, and Iryojutsu specialist. My goal is simple and the same of our ginger friend it would seem; I too am aiming for Kage one day. Now. Onto the next person; state your name, any specialties and elements, and a future goal of yours.” He would finish as his index finger would rest itself on Rizuke. Rizuke would take this as a cue that his squad leader wanted him to go next, so Rizuke would oblige his superior. He would consider his next few words wisely, he hadn’t really thought about future goals besides the basic, become powerful in my own way, and what had he wanted to be done by the time he was chuunin? Rizuke would pause to think and then take a deep breath in.
“My name is, Uchiha Rizuke, my specialties are ninjutsu and my clan’s genjutsu, my element is fire, and I have a few goals actually, my first goal is a short-term goal, I want to awaken my Sharingan, I would also like to learn a new chakra element, I don’t know which one yet, but I would like to learn one, and as for a long-term goal I would like to run this village’s Anbu, be the sword in the dark for my Raikage.” Rizuke would finish looking around the group to gauge their reaction. Maybe telling them he couldn’t use Sharingan was a mistake, but they would need to know if they ever ran into a situation where they expected him to use it, also his goals weren’t as ambitious, but were still relatively ambitious, but would his squad mates look at him differently because he has different and could be viewed as lesser aspirations? That is what he would look for in his teammate’s eyes, any sign of approval or disapproval.

WC:1186
Total WC: 1655

Goro patiently waits until the rest of his team make's their introductions, and at the end of each one, shakes hands with them. He would soon respond to Hiroki with "My specialties are medicine and my element is surprise!... Water. As far as I know, I'm the last surviving member of the Chinoike clan, buuuuuuuuuuut, I dunno what's special about them! And of course, I can keep up with sensei, did you even see me take on that bear the other day?!"

WC: 82
TWC: 257

Each of the 3 students would subsequently proceed to speak aloud and answer; or at least most of them did, all of the questions that had been asked of them.

As the first one, Rizuke Uchiha would begin to speak, the two’s eyes would make contact for only a sheer sliver of a moment as the young genin went on to explain his things. All relatively simple stuff, yet keeping things informative. ”Good.” Roki would say with an encouraging tone towards the Uchiha clansman. The salt and peppered haired Chunin would continue on by saying ”Short term goals are a necessity to get anywhere in this life, and awakening your Sharingan is an excellent point to start at. ANBU is also one of the more relatively easy goals to achieve throughout the village, so long as you have the guts and the skill it requires of you in order to actually achieve.” Above all else, the Shimadan knew of the importance about chasing one’s dreams, for that’s what he was doing at this very moment; reaching for the stars by leading the youth of the village.

What Saturn had to say though was a bit more interesting. Rather, it was what he had done, not said. After a certain point within his time as a shinobi, Roki had picked up the skill to be able to sense chakra; a useful little trick which was often utilized in situations like the one that was playing out. Even just passively, the 18 year old misfit had been able to pick up the use of a chakra based technique coming from the direction of where Saturn was now seen shaking hands with Rizuke. No seals had been performed, but there was already the basis of information that a technique didn’t necessarily require the utilization of performing hand acrobatics to get to that point. So, doing a similar thing, in a flash Hiroki’s sword would be drawn from it’s sheath underneath the red armor in which he had on. But, no limbs or appendages were attached to it, no handseal had been formed or created before doing this, but that was because this particular technique was mastered to the point of not having to do so. In mid air, the blade would switch over to the opposite side of it’s actual blade, so that way it wouldn’t cause any damage. Also, to further ensure of this, it would come out extremely fast, but slow down immensely as it would swing around to hit the bottom of the Sentobi’s wrist; specifically the wrist of the hand which was currently shaking Rizuke’s own hand. Once there, the blade would slowly proceed to push upwards with the flat edge to stop them for intertwining.

Looking around at the youth he’d promptly say ”Saturn. We may know each other from a meeting before this, but don’t think you get a pass because of it. Please save off on casting techniques, especially those done in secret, until we’d get to a portion of training that would require it.” His face would shift to a somewhat stern energy, balancing out the light hearted and extremely jovial nature that was seen earlier. His next comment would be directed at all of them at once, and not just specifically Saturn. ”This is also a great moment to inform you all; any act of insubordination, desertion, or anything that could be considered a crime against the village and those living in it, I must report to the Lord Raikage. He will then in turn most likely have me being the one to hunt you down if that would be your choice, since I am your teacher after all. And a similar instance happened to the Lord 11th himself if I’m not mistaken. Do I make myself clear?” He’d then proceed to inquire from the trio. After asking this, his grimace would turn to a smirk, and the blade would levitate back into it’s sheath once Saturn would remove his hand from his fellow teammate. ”But anyways…that too is a relatively nice goal, but remember; without hatred, there would be no feelings of love for we wouldn’t know what it would feel like. Opposites are needed so we know how to properly dictate what exactly it is we’re feeling. With that being said, too much hate in the world, would also be counterintuitive. As the one of the Seven Sages of the Seven Scales, as one of the self-proclaimed protectors of the world’s natural balance, this much I am certain.”

As for the last student, Goro, a man of few words but at the same time, a man who could very well turn out to be really outspoken, told the group more about him. While it wasn’t entirely clear as to whether the mention of him not knowing much about the Chinoike was him meaning to convey that was his goal, to find out about the mysterious clan itself, was entirely unbeknownst and as mysterious as the clan was to the genin. Regardless, a solemn nod of the head would be offered to the young Kumo lad as a condolence to taking a bit longer with speaking to Saturn. But, that part of the conversation needed to be had, he couldn’t just have the 3 running around acting as if there were no rules. Regardless though, the Raiju would then respond, his voice carrying the words ”Finding out about your clan would be an excellent start. Might I recommend the Thunderpeak Campus? You might be able to find some information there, or if I’m not mistaken one of the former Kage I believe was a Chinoike. The Kazekage if my memory serves me correct, or maybe, they’re the current one? Either way, I’m rambling now. The point; have to start somewhere, and starting small can often be times the path of least stress.”

By this point, Roki had moved his way back so that way his back was flat up against the tree that was behind him. ”And we have, 2 Ninjutsu Specialists, 1 Med Specialist, and then some more specialties lying within Sensory and Genjutsu respectively.” Whilst saying the very end of this short speech, his hand would gesture towards Saturn then Rizuke. He’d go on then, to further elaborate as to what all this had to do with anything, and why it was being brought up now instead of the comments made to each individual. ”Today’s focus, being the first meeting, is all about teamwork. One of the first few things required that everyone would be on the same page for, or else you run major risks of injury, possibly even death. So, can any of you three inform me as to how your individual specialties or elements for that matter, can be used to work with one another, and not against the grain.”

WC: 1142
TWC: 2397

Calcs:

Rizuke would wonder why his squad leader would cause the two shinobi’s hands to separate, Rizuke was sure he hadn’t done anything to harm or upset his fellow shinobi. Then he became suspicious of his teammate and his superior would reinforce his suspicions. And would inform his charge that those types of actions wouldn’t be tolerated in this kind of setting, that if he needed to, he would spare the village any grief and would do his own team members in himself. Rizuke would swallow a lump that didn’t exist. He told Rizuke that he had some achievable goals, this made Rizuke proud of himself. “No guts no glory, am I right?” Rizuke would ask his team leader in a serious tone. “We all knew what we were signing up for when we put on this headband.”
 
 His team lead would then ask how his specialties could help the team rather than be a hindrance. Rizuke was always made to go first, but first, he wanted to clear the air himself. “Look, guys, I know we want to goof around and test limits…” He would say stealing a glance at Saturn, “But this is important, we’re going to be on a team with each other and for that, to work we need to trust one another and know that we have each other’s backs. I’ll work hard to bring you guys home after every mission, I’d like to know you’re working hard to make sure I do the same.” Rizuke would finish his little rant, “With that, I apologize, sir, I didn’t want to derail your time, I just had to get that off my chest. I use fire ninjutsu right now, I can use jutsu from range and or bring them in close, I also use genjutsu so I can either pacify and detain a few threats at a time, or I can interrogate and get answers through genjutsu. I use the fire element so if there’s someone in the way it could be detrimental to them, but I’m also willing to consider new ways to use my jutsu to help better the team.” Rizuke would say with a nod to his team members.
 
Rizuke was sure of his squad leader’s abilities, and it could go without saying that Saturn had a few jutsus up his sleeve. Rizuke wasn’t too sure about Goro though, he was pretty confident in himself, and had goals set, but it seemed the lack of experience and how young he was could be a potential issue, it would be nice to have a healer in the group he would just need to avoid direct conflict. You could say the same thing about Rizuke, but he had been working on jutsu to help him fight an opponent if they got in close, he could either try to trap them in genjutsu or use a ninjutsu to get them away from him. This was a harder assessment than he thought and would listen closely to his peer’s assessments closely.

WC: 503
TWC: 2158