A Sensei and her Students

[Mitsuko Subeki]

Mitsuko grinned. Finally, some real action. Time to make an impression and really show his sensei what he could do. He watched her pull a kunai and he got a bit defensive in his head for a second, but soon relaxed as he watched the knife fly straight up into the air and land next to her. Her words along with the kunai throw had Mitsuko guessing, trying to anticipate just what was going to happen. The explanation soon came though. "Simple enough." He said, allowing his confident eyes to meet his sensei's. He smirked and got ready to make a dash for the kunai as soon as she yelled go. While a quick strike may not have been wise, he needed to test the waters.

But the familiar words that announced her use of the Hidden Mist Jutsu rung through his ears, and he now understood that the game wouldn't be as straightforward as he figured. The whole idea of being encased in mist was becoming a trend it seemed, as it was the second day in a row an older ninja used that jutsu on him. The key differences were that he knew who was using it, and this time around, his enemy was planning to hit him. When she spoke up, Mitsuko listened intently, trying to find where exactly she was, but to no avail. A voice trick, yet again. "Sounds good. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Quickly, he ran through his options. While this mist was thick, he already knew where the kunai was in relation to him, and he knew where Hayashi-sensei was before the mist had gathered. Knowledge of her position was pivotal to his success, he figured. But Mitsuko still was uncertain of where she was at that point, and he would need to make a move in order to find out. "Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu." He spoke quietly. If his teacher was unable to see him, then he didn't want her to hear him either. But again, he was unsure if she could. The water clone dashed forward to seize the kunai, and Mitsuko watched to see if he could find the jounin within the mist.

[meress]

From under the cover of the mist Hanako moved around quietly listening for her student. She could hear some movement, but not much. He was being a good little ninja. Minimizing movement in a sightless environment to avoid being found. Hanako was already proud of her student, but she still stayed focused. She stopped moving for a moment and took in a deep breath. "Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu." She formed the seals while she spoke silently and within a few seconds a clone was formed. It was then she heard movement.

Hanako's clone moved to stop Mitsuko's. It appeared in front of it kicking toward the cut to push back the young genin's clone. While the clones started their thing the real Hanako took another deep breath. She was searching for the boy's scent. With her eyes closed she breathed through her nose slowly taking in every scent. After a few times she found him. There you are.

Hanako pulled out another kunai and again threw it away. It pinged off a rock near by making a noise. A distraction.

[Mitsuko Subeki]

Mitsuko was pretty much in tunnel-vision mode at the time. The most valuable thing in the battle was the kunai, and so his sensei would have to protect it first and foremost. So his idea to send a clone straight at it was a good one. He waited and watched, until suddenly, he felt his clone disappear. Which could only mean one thing: that's where Hayashi-sensei was. It was at that moment he felt very proud of himself, executing his strategy to perfection and quickly determining one of the most important facets of their little exercise. Perhaps he'd be that hero his father so desired. Certainly, this was a step in the right direction.

But the 'ping' of metal hitting a rock threw a wrench into an otherwise fool-proof plan of action. What the hell? Now he was panicking. She's right in front of me, by the kunai... Could she have thrown it from there? Or had she changed position again? Regardless, if I don't make a move soon the variables keep increasing. He decided to ignore the ping and chase after where he thought his master was. Mitsuko darted forward to the kunai, and soon enough the form of his sensei, or rather what he thought was his sensei, became apparent. Smriking, he pulled a kunai and slashed forward at the figure in the mist. "Gotcha."

[meress]

Before the figure could come into full view it seemed to sink into the ground. Really what happened was that the jutsu was dispelled. "Got who?" Hanako asked as her balled fist and arm swung at the boy from the right. She was stand behind him swinging her arm straight out to strike the side of Mitsuko's temple. Of Course she wasn't using full strength in it, but it would still hurt a great deal and most likely push him away. That is unless he dodged on time.

He was confused about the noise, but went after the kunai regardless of the possibility it could be a trap. This is both a bad and good thing to see. He is bold and sure, but his tactical thinking needs work. Hanako pushed aside her thoughts for now. Better to focus on the moment rather then knock her only student into the next year without meaning to. Then again he might be able to take it....maybe.

[Mitsuko Subeki]

As Mitsuko closed in on his opponent, he found that she disappeared, seemingly into thin air. While it was a possibility that his sensei was that fast, the way the figure disappeared made him question what exactly was going on. As his mind scrolled through the possibilities, Hayashi-sensei's voice called out. Shit! She'd caught him rushing into the situation rashly, and he was left wide open for an attack. From the corner of his eye, he caught the fist rocketing towards his face. There wasn't much he could do in respect to avoiding the blow, but he gave it a shot anyway. The genin planted his feet and quickly pushed off to the left, but his sensei's punch still connected, sending the boy tumbling in the opposite direction.

As he skidded sideways on the ground, he dug his kunai into the earth to stop his skidding. Mitsuko had still been sent quite a ways however, and that hit let him know that the jounin wasn't messing around. She wasn't kidding about not taking it easy. So that only meant he would have to turn it up a notch to. He got to his feet, his sight a little shaky and his head a little wobbly from the blow. That was unimportant however, as he did in fact accomplish the goal of finding where his sensei was. If he acted quickly, perhaps he could land a hit on her. The young genin jumped high into the air and performed hand signs as fast as possible, while quietly speaking the name of his attack. "Suiton: Mizurappa!" In an instant, water began gushing from his mouth in high volume, as he aimed the Violent Water Wave at where his teacher had been the last time he'd seen her.

[meress]

Hanako hit the mark or her student in this case. She jumped away to change position. Listening her heard the name of a jutsu uttered by the boy. As the water smashed into she was in Hanako thought about using a jutsu of her own, but quickly changed her mind. The kid was good, but he wasn't worth a jutsu other then maybe the Mizu Bunshin. To bad she never bothered to learn genjutsu or she would try playing with his head. Oh well maybe it's time she started doing more training on her own time.

In the main time however Hanako would have to play with her student as is. Using the body flicker she moved from spot to spot throwing a single kunai up each time she appeared. It wasn't aimed at him or at anything for that matter. She seemed to just be throwing them straight up. It was a strange, but Hanako knew what she was up to. She was hoping Mitsuko would figure it out before she was finished to.

[Mitsuko Subeki]

Did he hit her? Mitsuko hadn't realized that he would never be able to tell whether or not his jutsu had connected with his sensei. That was a problem. So much of this exercise had become a guessing game for him, and it was rather unnerving. For sure, he would have to figure out a way to counter Kirigakure no Jutsu. It was a move that had already handled him twice in two days, and that was unacceptable. He would definitely ask Hayashi-sensei how to counter it afterwards, assuming he accomplished his goal.

Assuming? No, he was going to win, no doubt about it. At any rate, the wave had taken quite a bit of room up, and especially near where the target had been. So, in that case, she was definitely not near the target anymore, which meant he had yet another opportunity to grab the kunai and win. And then he heard a sound to his left, then the same on the right. It was...kunai knives digging into the ground. He remembered the sound from when his sensei had thrown the first into the ground, before the mist had taken effect.

Shit...what is she doing? He thought, as he heard more knives hit the ground. They seem fairly random...so, why? I can't possibly check out all of those spots...and she's way too fast. Maybe she's just messing with me. I don't see any other logic.. The question was then, where his sensei was. There was no way for him to know that, Mitsuko was just too inexperienced. Maybe he was being rash again, but he decided to dash for that first kunai. Not without back up though.

"Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu." He said as quietly as possible, and two identical clones of the genin appeared beside him. All three dashed forward towards the target kunai. The two bunshin held one kunai each, and their job was to protect Mitsuko as he went for the target. Well it was yet another bold move, the genin had taken precautions this time around. Hopefully, he'd be able to get to the kunai in time.

[meress]

As Hanako finished throwing up the last of her kunai she closed her eyes to listen for the moment of the boy. Sure enough she heard something, but it was the boy. It came from just outside the mist. Figuring that it would take the boy a minute to guess what was happening she went to take a look. Sure enough it was another person standing just outside the mist with a piece of paper.

Before she could ask why he was here the man handed her a small piece of paper. Blinking at the straight forwardness Hanako looked at the paper to see it was an updated team list. She finally had another genin. About time. Now I can really trai--- Oh crap. Hanako looked back to the mist as she remembered she was already training the boy...well sort of. "The kid might have reached the kunai by now. I'll give him this one. After all he'll see some real training once we meet this new member."

((Sorry for taking so long))

[Mitsuko Subeki]

Almost there... Mitsuko was getting anxious as the distance between himself and his goal shortened. He kept his ears alert, trying to pick up any sound that might indicate Hayashi-sensei's attack. The genin's eyes remained plastered to the ground however, making sure that he wouldn't simply run on by and miss it completely. Finally, as he and his two clones scoured the mist, the target came into Mitsuko's field of vision. With a burst of energy, he sprinted to it and dislodged the knife from the ground, staring at it contentedly. He slipped his finger through the loop and spun it around, obviously happy that he had met the challenge and beat his sensei.

Something was off though. Why hadn't she even tried to stop him? Perhaps Mitsuko actually outsmarted the jounin. Unlikely, as much as he would like to believe it. Either way, he got the kunai, and there was nothing that could be disputed about that. The two clones beside him shrunk into mere puddles, and Mitsuko called out from within the mist. "Hey, Sensei! I got it!" He spoke loudly enough for her to hear, and tried his best not to seem too excited at completed the task she had given him. Maybe now she would be able to see just how talented he was, and perhaps the boy had earned a bit of respect from her.

-(Not a problem at all.)-

[meress]

The mist cleared away and Hanako saw that Mitsusko had got the kunai. She always saw that the field was covered in other kunai. It was like a battle had happened here other missing the jutsu damage. "I see that. We're done for today. Tomorrow you meet your teammates." As she finished saying her short goodbye, if it can be called that, she disappeared along with the messenger. She was off to filling out the paper work for the team and read up on some files. The life of a jounin sensei is full of paper.

Luckily it wasn't much and she managed to finish everything within a few hours. Today was simple and quiet. Not really that entertaining even for her. She may have gotten a full team by the end of the day, but it took to long in her book. Guess it could have been worse. It could have taken a year.

[Exit - Thread Ends on Mitsuko's exit]

[Mitsuko Subeki]

As the mist cleared, Mitsuko listened to his sensei call it a day. She had promised him lunch afterward, but it seemed she had either forgotten or simply decided against it. Whatever her reason, the boy was not about to demand such a thing from her, even if he was a bit hungry. Going to a restaurant would also run him the risk of seeing his classmates, which wasn't one he really wanted to chance. So perhaps it was for the better. Although, Hayashi-sensei didn't praise him much for his victory either. Or, at all, really. To be honest, the boy was kinda disappointed at that. Additionally, there was another ninja beside here, which made the genin think that maybe he had not actually defeated his sensei. But he decided that he wasn't going to think too much about that. He'd take the confidence boost instead of some chance victory.

"Alright." The boy said, bowing a bit. "Thanks, Hayashi-sensei." He watched his teacher disappear along with the other ninja, and he took a big sigh. As it turned out, the fight had taken a lot out of Mitsuko, and he needed to gather himself a bit before being the trek back home. Maybe now he could give his old man something to be proud about. It could potentially make up for the disaster that was his fight with Rai. But probably not. It seemed honor was much easier to lose than to gain. The boy began to walk home slowly, still twirling the kunai he had retrieved. Not a bad start, he figured. He would have to try to be less open with his sensei though. She wasn't a psychiatrist, she was a ninja, and they needed a student teacher relationship, and nothing more.

-(Thread finished and ready for review.)-

[Admin]

Mitsuko Subeki:

• Make sure to proofread a bit. You skip over or merge words sometimes.
  
• Cocky little freak isn't he?
  

Hanako Hayashi:

• I'd work on extending your posts just a bit. Get some meatier responses in there.
  
• You would do well to proofread as well.
  
• Interesting spin on the typical Jounin test. A larger object than a bell, but no team mates to divert attention away from you.