Summary: A look at Mitsume's first meeting with her genin squad.
Nouga had always dreamed of becoming a kunoichi. Ever since she first saw her father training his own genin squad, she had known that being a ninja was the only thing she would ever want to do with her life. She studied night and day from every last bit of material she could get her hands on - reference scrolls, advanced texts from the Academy, her father's advice - anything and everything she soaked up like a sponge in the hopes of being the best. Being Hokage seemed a bit boring, in her opinion, as the job seemed to be little more than sitting around filling out paperwork, but becoming a renowned ninja feared and respected the world over, like Namikaze-Hokage had been, that was exciting. She wanted to be the top of the list, the one the Hokage would turn to above anyone else, the go to for tasks no one else could complete.
Her hard work seemed to have paid off, too. She was near the top of her grade, edged out only by the notorious Uchiha Sasuke, but she wasn't particularly upset by that. The Uchiha were notoriously gifted when it came to the ways of shinobi, and the fact that she could consistently remain only one or two points behind one of them left her feeling confident. She may not be able to compete with Sasuke then and there, but she was close - closer than anyone else by a long shot. Not even Haruno Sakura, with her impeccable chakra control, could get close to Sasuke's level of skill, and the fact Nouga could put her leagues above everyone else. She was confident if she practiced hard enough, and studied long enough, she could claw her way up to Sasuke's level, and even surpass him.
Her teammates she wasn't too sure about.
Saburo wasn't anything special. Neither of his parents or grandparents had been shinobi, which meant the fact he made it into the Academy at all was a bit of a surprise, since he would have had no training before applying to enter, and the entrance exams would have been that much tougher. He applied himself to his studies enough to maintain a perfectly average grade, poised just so to squeak by without drawing attention from Iruka-sensei, good or bad. She'd never talked to him before, but from what she had observed in class, he was perfectly content to be exactly average, though she suspected he would be able to give some of the better students, like Aburame or Haruno, a run for their money if he could work up the motivation.
Ohaku was a bit of a different story. He wasn't exactly a failure, but he barely stood above complete slackers like Uzumaki Naruto and Nara Shikamaru in his grades. Unlike them, however, he obviously struggled - his chakra control was far from what would be expected from graduates, he couldn't seem to remember material for tests, and he seemed to be constantly working himself to the limit just to understand the basics. She might have expected that from someone like Saburo, who had no training to speak of before the Academy, but she knew Ohaku came from a long line of respected shinobi, who had no doubt been training him since he could walk. He obviously wanted to do well, but it seemed obvious, at least to Nouga, that being a shinobi just wasn't the path for him. He had no natural aptitude whatsoever, and while that didn't preclude someone from becoming a shinobi, it drastically cut their chances, and she was a bit surprised he made it to graduation. It wouldn't shock her at all if he was one of the unlucky ones who remained an eternal genin, like Might Dai - and unfortunately for him, he didn't have anything that set him apart like the taijutsu expert.
She wasn't as upset as Naruto had been about the team assignments. She wasn't happy, but she wasn't upset. Their squad leader should be able to whip them into shape enough that they could get into the Chunin Exams, and once they hit the one-to-one fights in the later rounds, she was confident she'd be able to pass and leave them behind.
If their jonin ever showed up, that was.
Almost everyone else in the class had split off and disappeared with their squad leaders nearly an hour ago, with the exception of Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto, who's sensei also seemed to be running late. Nouga hoped it was because they'd been given some sort of last minute task by the Hokage, or at the very least were running late because they had gotten involved in a practice match or were exhausted from a tough mission and over slept, but as the clock ticked ever onward, she began to get the feeling that wasn't the case. Saburo had long ago fallen asleep in his chair, head tipped back and feet kicked up while he snored loudly, and Ohaku had taken the opportunity to study, though he was obviously becoming agitated with sitting still, twitching his foot in a rapid, irritating tempo against the floor. She had taken out a book written by a monk from the Land of Earth, which had been particularly difficult to get her hands on, about a difficult sort of meditation he had perfected, while Sakura stuttered her way through a one sided conversation with Sasuke and Naruto slowly went insane.
Then, just after Naruto placed a dirty eraser in the doorway, nearly two hours after their teachers were supposed to arrive, they finally made an appearance, with the sort of timing usually only seen in movies. The chalk-dust filled eraser made a direct hit on the uneven gray hair of the famed Hatake Kakashi, who either legitimately hadn't noticed it there or, more likely, had and just didn't care to put forward the effort to avoid it. From behind him in the hall, someone snorted out a laugh, meaning, to everyone's relief, both jonin had finally arrived. She was a bit disappointed Kakashi was the instructor for Sasuke's squad, but her own instructor was no one to shake a stick at, either.
Kedamonoshu Mitsume had made a name for herself over the years - according to her entry in Nouga's bingo book, she had become the Rampaging Beast of the Leaf after demonstrating an awesome combination of taijutsu and her clan hiden that allowed her to not only decimate large groups in the span of a few moments, but hunt down those who tried to escape across any sort of terrain. With the peace that had fallen over the village after the war, however, there hadn't been many opportunities to display her combat prowess, and she was known largely for her tracking abilities rather than her sheer brutality in combat. Compared to Kakashi, having her as a sensei was a bit of a let down, but she was no slouch, and most sensible people would be rightfully terrified to go toe to toe with her or have her on their trail.
"Arara, Shicchi, looks like you got the fun group."
At the sound of her drawl, laced with laughter, Kakashi twitched slightly, and it was obvious by the tone of his response he was seriously considering taking a swing at her, probably for using such a cutesy nickname in front of his students. It wouldn't surprise Nouga in the least if Kedamonoshu-sensei was only late because she'd spent the day annoying him.
She just snorted, still smiling to herself, and finally turned to face her students. Nouga decided, after looking her over, that she had absolutely nothing noteworthy about her appearance. She was reasonably attractive, but her general disheveled appearance kept her from being stunning or beautiful - her pretty face and curves were offset by her incredibly choppy hair and severely worn out clothes. The only remotely distinctive feature she had was the intricate black tattoo that ran down her right arm, but as far as Nouga could tell, it was a clan marking of some sort, as other members of the Kedamonoshu clan she had seen in the village had tattoos that were very similar, if not the same. Her strength was readily apparent - although not burly or masculine, she looked solid, especially standing next to someone like Kakashi, who was far more lean, with the muscles in her arms distinct in spite of her hands simply being shoved into her pants pockets.
"Nah." She replied simply. "That blonde is way too much of a headache."
Ignoring Naruto's squawks of disapproval, she gave all three of her students a once over, still smiling slightly to herself.
"Alright you three, let's get a move on. I've got a date at six, and if you make me late, I'll break your legs."
Although it was said with the same, lazy tone she'd been mocking Kakashi with, and the same lazy smile she'd had since she arrived, Nouga felt a chill travel down her spine. It felt like the air had shifted, suddenly going cold - Nouga jumped up immediately, before she even realized she was moving, filled with an overwhelming sense of anxiety. Saburo, who had opened one eye when the duo entered, smoothly got up from his spot, and out of the corner of her eye, Nouga saw Ohaku snap his pencil before scrambling to shove everything into his bag.
Nouga knew logically her new sensei wouldn't cripple them, but she got the distinct feeling it was best not to test that theory.
The four of them didn't go far. Just a short walk from the academy, Kedamonoshu-sensei decided a stone wall was the perfect place to sit down, and settled on it with her legs stretched out in front of her, crossed at the ankles. No one dared sit next to her - instead, Saburo flopped down and leaned against a sign post on the opposite side of the path, while Nouga settled into a proper kneeling position just off to one side and Ohaku scrambled to sit cross-legged off to the other. Again, Kedamonoshu-sensei appraised them briefly, before nodding to herself.
"Since we're going to be a team, we should probably get to know one another, so let's all tell each other a little bit about ourselves."
"What do you want to know?" Ohaku asked, his face screwed up the same way it was whenever he took a test.
"Whatever seems important, I guess. If you have any specialties or things you want to focus on, what your hobbies are, things like that." She shrugged casually.
There was a beat of silence, after which, she sighed through her nose in a way that clearly said she thought dealing with them was the most tedious thing in the world. Nouga had a dozen things to say on the tip of her tongue, but found that she had forgotten how to speak, remaining silent as she began to panic for fear she'd upset her sensei. Saburo, for his part, just grunted, and Ohaku looked like his head might explode as her wracked his brain for a response.
"Arara, I'll go first, then. My name is Kedamonoshu Mitsume, and my specialty is tracking. I like red bean ice cream, and I don't like miso unless it's in broth. My hobbies are fishing and listening to radio dramas."
As she finished, Saburo decided it was easier to just answer her and get it over with, instead of try and ignore her. Shifting so he sat up a little higher, although he still looked half asleep, he cleared his throat and began to speak.
"I'm Hanakawa Saburo. I don't have a specialty that I'm interested in. I like dango and I don't like spicy food. My hobby is cooking."
Finding her nerve, Naguo finally managed to reply.
"My name is Yamata Nouga. I have a lot of areas of interest, but I especially like genjutsu. I like curry but I dislike barbecue pork. My hobbies are reading and meditation."
Then, after a few more beats of silence, Ohaku spoke up.
"I'm, uh, I'm Kokusekigaki Ohaku. Um, I guess my favorite specialty is, mm, ninjutsu. M-my favorite food is okonomiyaki, and, ah, and I don't have a food that, uh, I hate. Ummm, I guess my h-hobby is st-studying, but I, ah, I also like gardening."
To the relief of Ohaku's obviously frazzled nerves, Kedamonoshu-sensei smiled peacefully when he finished, obviously not upset he had floundered his way through the introduction.
"Now that we've all gotten to know one another, we can talk about training. Tomorrow, I'm going to test your skill so I know where to start, so meet me at the river down the road at seven am sharp. Be sure to come prepared like you were leaving for a mission."
Without waiting for a response, she pushed off the wall, immediately walking away from the academy and the trio sitting on the path. Nouga started to stand to follow, before she realized Kedamonoshu-sensei was waving back at them over her shoulder in an obvious show of dismissal.
"Good talk. See you tomorrow."
Unsurprisingly, Kedamonoshu-sensei was late. Not by nearly the two hours she had been the day before, but late nonetheless - probably, Nouga guessed, because there were snails that moved faster than she walked. That worked in Saburo's benefit, since he had shown up five minutes late himself, trying to eat a bento laden with way too much food and walk at the same time. As with the day prior, their sensei had a small smile on her face, hands crammed into her pockets, although notably, her chunin vest seemed to have shrunk a couple sizes, fitting her far better at the cost of gaining a few off-shade patches. Nouga wondered what happened to the other one, and why her sensei owned one three sizes too large to begin with, but there wasn't really time for questions about her wardrobe.
"Good, you're all here." She smiled brightly, producing a kitchen timer from her pocket, winding it as she talked. "The four of us are going to play a sort of game, like hide and seek meets tag. All you three need to do is avoid being tagged for one hour. If one of you does get tagged, then all three of you become it. If you're still it when the hour is up, then we'll do it again, and again, until you win."
It seemed simple enough, if a bit juvenile, though Nouga could see the purpose behind it. The supposed game would let Kedamonoshu-sensei see them in both defensive and offensive roles, and give her a solid idea of where to start with their training. Saburo either caught on to the purpose right away, or more likely didn't care, while Ohaku opened his mouth, obviously confused.
Without warning, the ground below their feet split apart as if rocked by hidden explosives. Nouga leaped backwards, away from the flying chunks of dirt and grass, desperately trying to get a look at what had blown apart the very earth, only for Kedamonoshu-sensei to appear not more than a few inches from her face, arm pulled back in what would certainly be a bone-shattering punch. Her smile remained in place, but instead of seeming peaceful and calm, it felt like the maniacal grin of a murderer about to take their next victim.
Nouga would swear, for the rest of her days, that her life flashed before her eyes in that moment, as she squeezed them shut in terror.
Kedamonoshu-sensei's fist never connected - instead, she had stopped short, to gently poke Nouga in the forehead with the tip of one finger, though the air around them seemed as slow to understand as Nouga herself. It whipped wildly around from the force, feeling like knives on her skin, roaring so loudly in her ears she thought they might pop.
Then she was gone. A massive crater remained where the three of them once stood, and the timer still sat on the rock where she had placed it, but all other signs Kedamonoshu-sensei even existed had vanished. There wasn't a footprint, a rustle of leaves or disturbed blade of grass to tell them where she had gone. Ohaku claimed she had gone left, while Saburo immediately snapped that no, she had gone right.
It was going to be a very long day, Nouga thought, rubbing her forehead as the two began to squabble. A very, very long day.
