First Encounter

Felix continued to watch them without saying anything else. He let them fall in for another two hours and then decided to step in. "Alright, that's enough. I don't need complaints about your excessive exposure to over heated water." Felix looked at the three. "Tomrrow you will be facing off with Squad 19. They are 2nd year Genin, so I expect failure. With that being said, if you slack off, I will work you until you can't work any more. Do not screw this up."

Tamero flinched when Felix said he expected failure. Did the guy not have any confidence in them? Tamero gave a small sniffle and then looked to Renji and Kana. "We can beat them," he said somberly, casting a small glance in Felix's direction. He really wanted to know why his sensei was so mad at them all of a sudden.

Kana looked down when he finally told them enough, then explained what they'd be doing tomorrow. He didn't sound very confident in their abilities. What was he even mad at them for. They didn't do anything! Sighing lightly, Kana nodded. And then she realized. Earlier, he'd called her by last name again. Was their old sensei starting to resurface? She hadn't really cared much for their 'old sensei', but he at least had been real about the things they'd be facing. "We will beat them," she corrected with a nod.

Renji had been doing fairly well about not falling in, but every time a distraction came along, he always did. He couldn't get the hang of concentrating on focusing his chakra and his surroundings at one. "Understood," was all Renji said when their sensei finished with don't screw up. He was still thinking on that whole becoming squad leader thing. He hadn't brought it up to his brother yet. And if they'd be fighting another squad tomorrow, Renji figured it would be a good time to see if he had the right stuff.

Felix turned away from the three. "Dismissed." With that he was gone. He wondered how hard they would take his sudden turn in attitude. It was only to give them a bit of a shove and to show them that they were letting his change get to them. In terms of him being nice and then suddenly snapping. Felix shook his head and placed his hands in his pockets. "At least I didn't 'torture' them today," he mumbled.

Once their sensei was gone, Tamero slowly headed home. He honestly didn't want to come back tomorrow, maybe he'd just take a day off, but he knew that was a horrible idea.

Renji also headed home, mumbling a goodbye to Kana and Tamero as he went. His brother was out on a mission, as of that morning, so he couldn't really talk to the guy about it. Not that he'd been all that keen on it anyways. The likelihood of it was, his brother probably would've told him to suck it up, that surprises and harsh realities were what being a ninja was really about.

Kana watched as her two teammates headed off in what looked a lot like melancholy. She wasn't too brought down though. Things like this could easily be fixed, with a change in attitude, right? Deciding first to go get something to eat (now that she had money from their last mission!), before returning to the now mostly cooled down lake. On the bright side, now it was just warm instead of scorching. Kana wouldn't mind falling in now, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to try and stay afloat. By the next day, she'd be a master at walking on water, even with distractions! For the moment, she wasn't even worried about the fight the next day. She'd probably buy some rice balls on the way home too, if the shops weren't all closed, that was.

The next morning, Felix stood with the sensei from Squad 19. Felix had made sure to get there ahead of his students, just to throw them off. His blue eyes were visible as he was engaged in conversation with Allan. "I don't want your students to go easy on them," he said. "In fact, I want them to act as though my students were their enemies in a real mission." Allan gave a small frown. "Why do you train them like this," he asked. "I mean, they're just first years." Felix turned his gaze to the side. "Because, I want them to see what they're going into before they get too far in." Allan nodded. "Why don't you tell that to Izua when he asks you?" Felix grinned. "Because I can't be soft around that guy." Both of them gave a small laugh.

Tamero walked up not looking all that thrilled. Yesterday's training had left him tired and sad. He was an optimist to the fullest, but yesterday had put him in a depressed state. When he saw Felix with another jonin, he figured the guy was the sensei of Squad 19, but where was his students? "Morning sensei," Tamero said respectfully. "Morning sir," he said to Allan.

While Kana was a bit tired, she'd managed to get some riceballs before returning home the day before, so she ate them on her walk to the training grounds. She was in a really good mood. The night before, she'd done really well in walking on the water. She'd even tried running, and had done really well at that too. "Mornin Tamero. Morning sensei." She paused and looked at the green haired man, and stopped walking when she was next to Tamero. She seemed to be debating over what to say when finally she decided with "Good morning mister." Her first instinct had been to ask him who he was, but she guessed they'd be told that when Renji arrived. Speaking of Renji...

The red eyed boy walked up to the group, giving a good morning to everyone, including the green haired guy with the glasses who was probably the other sensei. He guessed he was ready for this. Ready as he'd ever be. He was all set up in terms of weapons and jutsu, so he felt pretty well prepared.

Tenshin Ryce waited on the edge of the forest with his two teammates, watching each of the other team walk in. At least, he guessed they were from the other team. Each of them was about a year younger looking. The black haired boy gave a grin to each of his companions. "You two ready for this?"

Serina was sitting on a rock watching a beetle crawl by when Tenshin asked if they were ready. "Absolutely," she said cheerfully as she stood up. She looked to Risa who gave a slight nod before adding, "Let's show these first years what it's like to be a real shinobi." Both girls took their places beside Tenshin without another word.

Felix looked at the three as they showed up. He said nothing in reply to their good morning, instead he got right to the point. "I hope you're all ready for today. Oujinshu, you look like you don't want to be here. How about you go to the Academy and turn in that headband. I don't need you wasting my time with your less than appropriate demeanor." He looked to Renji and Kana. "How about being more like your teammates for once. They at least look like they want to be here."

Tamero wanted to cry. He slowly straightened up and instead of looking to Renji and Kana like he normally did for support, he looked straight ahead. "I'm sorry," he apologized. His purple eyes were still sad though. He really didn't want to be here.

Renji gave a small glance to Tamero after their sensei scolded him for looking down. "Hey, we're gonna do great, kay?" he whispered, trying to be encouraging. Encouraging wasn't really his thing. And apparently it wasn't Kana's either, for she'd stayed silent, though she looked off to the side a bit, feeling almost embarrassed at what had happened. Not for herself though, but for Tamero. She felt kinda bad for him, and wondered why he was looking so depressed.

Tenshin grinned at his teammates and started forward. "That's what it's all about, ainnit?" he chuckled. When the three arrived on the scene, Tenshin looked to his teacher. "Morning sensei." He looked to the three younger students. "Mornin' shrimps." Of course he was just teasing, but he wasn't gonna show it for now. If they were gonna be fighting the three of them, it was no holds barred. Except maybe killing. Tenshin was hardcore, sure, but he wasn't about to kill a bunch of newbies.

Tamero looked at Tenshin as the older boy called them shrimps. He frowned lightly, but said nothing about it. He hoped Kana wouldn't go all crazy. He didn't want to get in any more trouble because she was fast to act and slow...scratch that, very slow to think. He did not that the three of them walking in like that was pretty cool, they looked like a real team. Tamero wanted Squad 3 to be like that.

Allan looked at his students. "Looks like we're all here," he said. "I guess I should introduce myself and my team." He looked at Felix who nodded. "I am Allan Nosek," he said. "This here is Squad 19. Tenshin Ryce, the Squad leader. Serina Tacata," he said with a nod to the blue haired girl. "And Risa Luethe. Today we'll be having a scrimmage between the two squads. I've been informed by Felix that he wants you three," he glanced at his team. "To go all out, no holding back. I think that's all I have to say."

Felix stepped forward. "I am Felix Kuriyama, sensei to squad 8. From left to right, Kana Kianashi, Renji Kader, and Tamero Oujinshu," he introduced. "Now, as your sensei told you, I want you to give it all you've got. If they can't handle a second year genin, then they'll never be able to handle a higher ranked ninja. There are no rules." A slight pause when Allan cleared his throat. "And no killing each other," Felix added with a sigh. "Any questions, suggestions, or concerns?"

Serina gave a slight giggle when Felix introduced Kana. "You're the runaway. All the 2nd year Genin say you'll never make it to Chuunin because you've got an attitude like a small chihuahua." Risa gave a small laugh at Serina's statement. She looked to Felix and then to her sensei. "Is he the Silver Death," she asked curiously.

Kana looked at the team of three as they arrived. They didn't look so tough. It was only when they started talking that Kana almost immediately got annoyed with them. That black haired kid thought he was tough stuff, didn't he? She tried to listen as their sensei's introduced everyone, but she really couldn't care for names. She wanted to beat the living snot outta them. When the blue haired girl mentioned how she was the runaway, Kana blushed, but her hands clenched at her later statement about her not becoming a Chuunin because of her attitude. It was taking all she had not to jump them right then and there. When their sensei asked if there were any questions or concerns, Kana slowly raised her hand, glaring at Serina. "Sensei. Are you sure we can't kill them?" She'd hardly even paid attention to Serina's last statement.

Renji didn't like this bunch. First off, they acted like they knew what they were doing, which was unnerving. And second off, they were already taunting the three of them, and it was obviously getting to Kana. Renji was worried he'd have to hold her back before they even started. And then she asked her question, making Renji look at her, really hoping that she was actually joking. At Serina's last statement, the red eyed boy looked to their sensei. The Silver Death? That was a cool nickname. And...a horrifying one.

Tenshin grinned at his blue haired teammates observation. "Hey, you're right, she is that girl." He didn't even give her the courtesy of calling her by name. He chuckled at Kana's reaction. "Heh, I think you pissed the little kid off," he snickered. "She sure is confident though," he said, before he started cracking his knuckles. "All right. I'm ready when you all are."

"In the flesh," Allan said, answering Serina with a light smile. Felix then looked to Kana. "Cut it out," he snapped. "They're not far from the truth." His blue eyes looked at the group. "Since there are no questions, let's began. You'll have thirty minutes to take down the other team. Begin." Both Allan and Felix walked away, finding their seats on a downed log. "Kianashi must be a handful," Allan commented. Felix's reply was very dry, "You don't know the half of it."

Tamero looked at his teammates when Felix said they could start. This would have been a great time to have an actual squad leader. They needed structure. Tamero tried to look on the bright side, maybe this was going to be a great learning experience.

Serina and Risa pulled kunai's. "Hmm, what's the plan Tenshin," Risa asked. "Do we take them down one by one, or do we take one for each of us. Either way they're not going to make it out of here unharmed." Serina nodded in agreement.

Kana visibly cringed when Felix snapped at her, but her anger didn't even fade. She only dropped her hand, and glared off to the side, gritting her teeth until he told them to begin. While the less rational half of her was telling her to run ahead and rip the three to shreds, she knew that she couldn't take the three on alone. So she took a step back to level herself with Tamero and Renji, not having noticed that she'd stepped forward to begin with. She glanced at her teammates questioningly.

Renji pulled out something palm sized the moment their sensei said start, but he kept it hidden. He looked at his teammates and said quietly "We scatter. We don't know what these guys are capable of. So we attack from a distance, and keep moving. He held the smoke bomb in an open palm behind his back to show them. "Ready?"

Tenshin looked at his teammates, shuriken in between each of his fingers. "One by one. It's already too obvious that they don't work well as a team, so each of us taking on one opponent would be a waste of time," he told them. He grinned at Risa's last statement. "Damn right they won't." He paused when smoke filled the area, almost immediately obscuring their vision. He blinked. "They made the first move?" He couldn't say he wasn't surprised. "Cocky bunch, aren't they?" He looked to his teammates. "Stay within hearing range. We go after the first one that comes near," he told them, taking a step back. Yes, his plan was to wait for the enemy to come to them. "For now, we're moving out of this spot. Chances are they're going to try and attack it first, come on," he said, starting to a different spot in the smoke. They could use it to their advantage, to get each kid alone at a time without the others seeing until the smoke faded.

Tamero's purple eyes were scanning over the three older genin. As Renji said, they knew nothing about these three, so they should stick to defense. When he saw the smoke bomb he held back a smirk. Renji clearly knew what he was doing and by using smoke tags, they could obscure the enemies vision and move in without notice, too bad the enemy didn't know they were taking them on from a distance. When Renji let go of the tag, Tamero moved away quickly, a kunai in hand.

Serina nodded at Tenshin's orders. "Whatever you say," she said as she moved away from the spot. Her blue eyes shinning happily as she pulled two kunai out. Risa on the other hand was looking through the smoke. "Cocky gets ya killed," she said. "Too bad they're not real enemies." She gave a tiny smile and twirled a kunai on her finger.

Felix was watching his team carefully. He was going to critique their work and fix errors when it was all over with. Renji's use of an explosive tag was well planned. Felix nodded lightly, which got to the attention of Allan. "Is that a sign that they're doing something right," he asked. Felix smirked. "I wouldn't go that far."

Kana moved away immediately when the smoke started filling the area, but tried to stay with her teammates. She was sure getting separated would be bad, no matter how much she wanted to pound those second years into the ground. The young blond shinobi pulled out several shuriken, though her training from a couple days earlier hadn't registered in her head. She knew they weren't supposed to kill them, but still, her aim was best when throwing hard. "We should try not to separate too much," she told her two teammates.

Renji nodded. "I was thinking the same thing." The red eyed boy's first thought was to move to where their opponents had been standing, but then he remembered long ranged attacks. "Make sure you know where they are before throwing," he told them. A moment after, he heard Kana's voice again, but it was clear she was trying to be quiet. "I'm on it." Renji was surprised that she hadn't just charged in already.

Just as Kana had mentioned, Shadowshifter was already out and scouting the area in the form of a black squirrel, looking around for his master's targets.

Tenshin led his team further away from the other team. He could hear them mumbling something in the distance. They really had to work on communicating quietly. He shook his head. "What a bunch of amateurs. We're gonna wait for them to come to us," he told his team, but stopped when he heard movement. Looking down, he blinked at the sight of a squirrel that was running around. "Do we get black squirrels around here?" he asked. There was no way a bunch of first year genin had a summoner on their team, right? He was writing this off as an anomaly.

(Oh Tenshin, if you only knew. And Kana, you should be ashamed of yourself, Felix took the time to help you throw better and you're still talking about that killer throw, smh.)

Serina looked at Tenshin when he asked about black squirrels. "You sound like one of them," she mumbled. Her blue eyes unblinking as she looked through the smoke. "This has to clear up eventually, they should be attacking soon." She pulled a kunai and looked to Risa. "See anything?" Risa shook her head. She was focusing on any signs of movement. Where were the brats?

Tamero nodded. Separation was a bad idea, they would probably end up hitting each other. As he moved slowly through the smoke, he looked up into the sky. "Hey, I've got a plan," he whispered. He pointed upwards. "They won't expect an aerial attack and they'll never know where it comes from," he said with a shrug. "What do you think?"

(She'll learn eventually.)

Tenshin nearly shot a glare at Serina for saying he sounded like one of them. "Hey, we gotta notice every detail, right?" Maybe he'd been seeing things, and the squirrel had actually been grey. Or maybe he'd been imagining things, because the squirrel was already gone. He shook his head lightly. "Nothing. I don't get why they didn't attack yet," he scoffed lightly. "They can't be that stupid as to use a smoke bomb and then do nothing under it's cover." He held the shuriken between his fingers. The kids couldn't be that stupid, but they couldn't be smart enough to use this waiting as a form of scare tactics, could they?

Renji nodded to Tamero. "Good idea. But can you move quietly through the trees?" He wasn't so sure he could pull it off. Training or no training, heights still made him nervous. He felt better when Kana answered, surprisingly enough.

"We can do it. How can we know, if we don't try, anyways?" She said, keeping her voice low. When the squirrel came back, she gave a light grin. "Alright, up we go. I know where they are." She wasn't entirely sure just how they were going to get up, but she was sure they could help each other along. Going over to a tree, she pulled a kunai. "We don't have much time til the smoke clears, we gotta go now if we're gonna," she told them quietly.

Risa gave a small chuckle at the conversation between her two teammates. "Those kids are getting to the two of you, trying to break us up. That squirrel was probably just an illusion Captain." She looked around once more. "I think they're trying to figure out how to use the smoke to their advantage. We should keep moving, just to be on the safe side."

Felix was watching closely. It seemed that Kana was on to something. He couldn't here the conversation, but that was fine. His blue eyes turned to Allan. "Your students, when are they taking the Chuunin Exams?" He asked. Allan looked surprised. "We haven't discussed it, but I think during the upcoming one." Felix smirked. "Really now?" Allan looked at the silver haired shinobi. "Yes really. You think it's too early," Allan asked curiously. Felix shook his head. "No, it's not that, I was just curious. Maybe my team will be going at the same time as yours." Allan raised a brow. "Did you just say you weren't impressed with them." Felix only grinned.

Tamero looked at Kana. How did she know where they were? He didn't question it as he followed her to the trees. "Renji, if you're not comfortable getting up in the trees, you can stay on the ground and attack from there," he said kindly.

Tenshin nearly rolled his eyes at Risa as she mentioned how the kids were getting the better of the two of them. "Yeah right." He did nod at her suggestion though. "Alright, let's go." Of course he was going to agree with a good plan. "Once the smoke clears though, we pick'em off one by one. I wanna see if these kids are gonna actually do anything before we make our move," he told them as he started moving again.

Renji looked to Kana when she said that they had to go up now or never. And then to Tamero when the white haired genin said he could stay on the ground. "N-no, I can do it," he said with a nod. At least, he hoped he could.

Kana wasn't so sure either. "Think of the battle rather than where it's taking place," she told him as she used two kunai to start climbing up the tree. She was trying to use her chakra in her feet in order to help her climb, and so far it was working. They had to work fast though, if they were gonna get to the other team before the smoke cleared. Once on a sturdy branch, Kana watched as the other two came.

Tamero climbed carefully. He didn't want to fall down and die. Giving a small chuckle he got to a sturdy branch and sat down. "So, where are they," he asked Kana as he fetched two kunai from his pocket. "Maybe the first assault should be kunai followed by a fake explosive tag," he said. "Just to scare them. We should really take into account sensei's training. He used that one open space to make us think we were going to be attacked from all sides, but nothing came. A bluff will throw them off," he spoke quietly.

Renji climbed up, finding his way onto a branch as well, trying to ignore that he was so high up. He blinked at Tamero's suggestion. He hadn't thought of that. "I like it," he said with a nod. He waited for Kana to move before following her.

"This way," she beckoned them, waving to them as she jumped into the next tree, surprisingly silent for someone who'd never been in an actual battle like this. After going through a few trees, she stopped, holding her hand up to the two behind her. She could've sword she heard whispering and footsteps. Wait, she did! The other guys were practically right underneath them!

Tenshin moved forward with his team, keeping an eye out for movement, and an ear out for rustling. He hadn't yet thought of looking up, though he did every now and then just in case. He was sure he was seriously underestimating the three younger genin. With the smoke thinning, however, the shrimps wouldn't be able to play around for long.

Serina and Risa looked around quietly. "What is going on, where are they," Risa asked. "I'm not seeing any movement. The fog is thinning, but there's no one out here. Do you think that they ditched?" Serina laughed at that. "Cowards." Tamero looked at his teammates with a grin. These older genins were underestimating them. What was wrong with them, just because they were new genin didn't mean they weren't capable of making a good plan and carrying it out. He looked to Kana, just to make sure she wasn't about to drop down on their opponents head.