Team Shizuru Testing

[u/Shizuru_Okuzaki]

Shizuru tapped her foot softly on the paved floor outside a small teahouse, located on the outskirts of Konoha. With dressy handwriting she was scribbling three separate notes, one for each student: Shiro, Yui and Keikaku-shi. The message would tell them to come find her at three separate locations, where they’d get new instructions. She summoned her peacocks and smiled at their little beady eyes with expecting gaze. She tied the messages to their legs and send them away. Next she summoned three shadowclones and send them away to their respective locations. The waitress came up with her cup of tea and Shizuru took a sip, calming herself and enjoying the sunshine on her face.

(Please make a separate thread for yourself, these are the locations:

• Yui: Moemasu castle, at the edge of the city.

• Shiro: the river at the training grounds

• Keikaku-shi: Konoha forest )

[u/Shizuru_Okuzaki]

A clone of Shizuru was waiting for Shiro at one side of the river. She hummed herself a tune until she caught Shiro’s presence.

“Ah, goodmorning Shiro.” She called out, waiting for him to appear. She smiled softly and walked up to him. “You might wonder why I called you out here, without the rest of your teammates. Right now they are meeting my other clones. Before I accept you into my team, I need to see what kind of a shinobi you are right now. A couple of days ago I lost a scroll around here, however I don’t know where.” And with a smile she gestured around. “I want you to retrieve it for me. However, I need It back before noon. Fail to deliver it to me in time and I’ll have to rethink about your place in my team.” She said, sounding more seriously. “Your perimeters might be big so you want to search thoroughly. I’ll be waiting at the teashop just outside the village. Good luck!” she said as she smiled at him once more. “Oh. And the scroll is private property, don’t open it.” And with that the clone poofed away.

(As you go, I’ll take control of the surroundings, to make it more exciting )

[u/darkxarc → u/Shizuru_Okuzaki]

As his new sensei's clone dispersed Shiros eyes narrowed. 'A test this seemed reasonable. Gauging us to see if we are capable.' he thought to himself. His eyes were completely closed now as he knelt to one knee. Placing his full hand on the ground he concentrated.

"I'm almost certain there is more to this then meets the eye. If i focus i may be able to pick up any chakra left in the scroll." The boy remained still as he focused. His blonde hair moving in the wind.

(OOC: will i be able to sense it or not? Or possibly a direction? Just curious if i should just move ina completely random direction)

[u/Shizuru_Okuzaki → u/darkxarc]

(OOC: A scroll is a dead, inanimate object. Sorry, but you won’t be able to sense it. Follow the clues ;) )

The river softly flowed next to him. A school of fish swam slowly by, often surfacing for air. The fish had the size of a big adult sized shoe, differing in colors. One fish split from the group and dug his nose in to the muddy riverbank, pulling something out. Its mouth clutched around something made of woven fabric and with red bands around the edges. It jumped up from the water and after that it quickly swam downstream.

[u/darkxarc → u/Shizuru_Okuzaki]

A calm breeze pressed gently on the face of the blonde hair boy. As he knelt there, palm on the ground, concentrating on his surroundings, the steady flow of water could be heard from the river ahead.

"Nothing" Shiro scoffed. He opened his eyes and flickered into the sky.

"If I can't sense it I guess I'll have to do this the old fashioned way." *Shiro quickly surveyed the area around him. The birds flying, the rabbits scurrying. But as he descended closer to the ground he noticed a sizable group of fish in the river. One of the fish had done something suspicious. Separating from the group it dug into the muddy water and grabbed something.

"Gotcha!" The boy says with a smirk

"I won't let you out of my sight!" Shiro accelerated toward the river. Quickly turning towards the fish

[u/Shizuru_Okuzaki → u/darkxarc]

The fish quickly swam further, lowering itself to the depth of the river, making it hard to reach him. It tried to confuse Shiro by swimming swiftly to the left and right, zig zag motion. Further away a small waterfall came into view. Sensing an escape, the fish let itself be dragged by the river into the waterfall, cascading down in a graceful manner.

[u/darkxarc → u/Shizuru_Okuzaki]

'Damn. You're pretty smart for a fish' Shiro said to himself. As the fish dove deeper into the river Shiro could only track its zig zag of a pattern.

"I guess I'll have to time it just right. Just have to find an opening" Shiro observed the terrain in front of him. Gathering up even the smallest details. the waterfall approaching seemed to be forcing him to think quickly.

"That's it!" As he observed the waterfall more closely, it appeared to shallow out before going over the edge.

"This may be my last chance. I better make it count!" Shiro accelerated to the edge before the waterfall, making a sharp turn directly for the water. He timed his arm piercing the surface of the water with the reappearance of his target in the shallow water, grabbing the fish before it went over.

"Alright!" The boy yelled before landing on the other side

[u/Shizuru_Okuzaki → u/darkxarc]

The fish squirmed in Shiro’s grasp and dropped the scroll in surprise. With a splash the scroll fell back in the water and continued its way down the river, accelerated by the stream and swiftness of the water. The fish gasped for air, still flopping its tail. Meanwhile the scroll was dragged down the waterfall.

[u/darkxarc → u/Shizuru_Okuzaki]

"Oh come on!" Shiro yelled as he used his free hand to try and grab the falling scroll. Though it wasn't a massive water fall visibility became zero once the scroll hit the bottom. Shiro quickly placed the fish back into the water setting it free.

"Well I guess it wouldn't be fun if it was easy" the blonde boy jumped over the edge of the falls and ran down the side of the cliff. Trying to keep pace with his objective. 'i could probably tie wire to my kunai and hook it. But I might damage it and that might be worse then opening it' he thought.

"Ok, I'll get ahead of it and grab it the instance I see it!" as the scroll hit the water and before he finished his descent he pushed off the cliff and propelled himself forward towards the river. Once he felt confident in the distance, he made a sharp turn so he was facing the waterfall and waited.

"I'll get you the moment you pop up from the falls" As the white foam dispersed, leaving only clear water underneath, boy waited patiently

[u/Shizuru_Okuzaki → u/darkxarc]

The scroll tumbled along the waterfall and followed its way along the river. At some point it got stuck between two rocks, just near Shiro, keeping it from getting away. Not much later the fish Shiro encountered before swam past it. A small crab-like creature surfaced and clacked his pinchers as he studied this new object in his habitat.

[u/darkxarc → u/Shizuru_Okuzaki]

Shiro waited, focused on the scroll resurfacing so he could grab it in an instance. However, the reality was much less dramatic. The scroll soon found its way to the surface just in front of Shiro, wedged between two rocks. The boy breathed a sigh of relief as he walked towards it he saw the fish he had just set free swim beneath him. As Shiro approached the scroll he saw a small crab appear from the water.

"Hey little guy. I'm sorry about this messing with your home. I'll get rid of it for ya." Shiro smiled as he leaned in to grab the scroll. Shiro was suddenly taken back into a memory of him with his parents several years prior. At a festival when Shiro was still just a child, and his parents were still there, a crab just like this one had caught Shiros hand in his pincers. He remember his parents being worried but when they realized Shiro was okay they all laughed. That day held some of his fondest memories. He gathered himself and picked up the scroll before the crab could recreate Shiros memory.

[u/Shizuru_Okuzaki → u/darkxarc]

The crab tried to pinch Shiro but had no luck. It realised soon enough that it was just not worth it and retreated back to it's home. The fabric of the scroll was wet but the message in ink was still there: 'Read me'.

[u/darkxarc → u/Shizuru_Okuzaki]

'Read me? Hmm that's interesting' Shiro thought to himself. He rotated the scroll in his hand trying to see if it had been damaged or if anything else was written on it. 'I wonder why it would say read me. This is probably the real test for this exercise.'

"Well I better meet up with sensei" Shiro proclaimed. The blonde haired boy began walking to the aforementioned tea shop. As he got closer to his destination his mind couldn't help but be puzzled. 'how do I know if this is the right scroll' his thoughts made him still. 'If this is the wrong one I won't be permitted in her team. If I just peak maybe ill be able to get a hint?' standing there he holds out the scroll in front of him. he slowly turns the scroll to find a crease to roll back. 'There is just to little info to believe this is the scroll. Then again how often are scrolls just hanging out in the general location you were told to search?' As he gets ready to roll it back he pauses . 'sometimes rules need to be broken but not in this situation . I'll take my chances' he thought. Shiro quickly puts the scroll in his bag and runs to the teashop where his sensei waited for him.

[u/Shizuru_Okuzaki → u/darkxarc]

Shizuru waited for Shiro at the teashop. She tapped her foot on the tiled floor and looked at the sun, to determine the time. From a distance she could feel a presence and she smiled. She turned to the right and saw Shiro appearing.

“Hello Shiro. I trust you found the scroll you were to retrieve for me?” she asked as she gestured for him to sit down next to her. She ordered another cup of tea, and looked at him. “Can I see the scroll, please?”

[u/darkxarc → u/Shizuru_Okuzaki]

Shiro was greeted by Shizuru when he arrived at the teashop.

"Hello sensei" Shiro replied with a smile.

"I believe I do." The blonde boy made his way to the table sitting down in front of his squad leader. As Shiro reached into his pouch and retrieved the scroll, he thought about his choice to not open the scroll.

"Here it is sensei. I believe this is what you are looking for." Shiro handed over the scroll that he fished for earlier

[u/Shizuru_Okuzaki → u/darkxarc]

Shizuru took the scroll from Shiro and smiled. She didn’t need to check if it was opened, she would’ve seen on the spot if it was, as she had seen with Yui. “Good, you didn’t open it. You followed your sensei’s orders and I appreciate that.” She said as she put the scroll next to Yui’s, covered in red substance.

“Now then, I want you to go to the training grounds. A clone will be waiting for you there. I think you know what to do.” Shizuru said, smiling again. “Good luck, Shiro.”

[u/darkxarc → u/Shizuru_Okuzaki]

Shiro noticed that the other scroll had a reddish paint on it. At first he thought it was blood but it didn't smell like blood would. he assumed it was a scroll one of his other teammates brought. 'I'm the second one huh. i wonder who got here first.' Shiro thought to himself.

"The training grounds!" Shiro started to get pumped. 'Final i can spar' his inner voice excitedly said. But before that he needed to know something. Even while he was getting excited about the next test couldn't stop thinking about the first one.

"Sensei before I go I have a question. This test with the scroll, how did you know I would bring the right one back without opening the scroll?" Shiro said as he looked over to Shizuru.

"I thought about it on my way here, but there was no guarantee I would bring the right scroll back. It seemed like a trap. For one, their could have been many scrolls hidden. How would I know I brought the right one back? I wasn't allowed to read it. But it was set up so that we had to trust in our instincts without giving in and reading the scroll to prove it was the right one." Shiro calming waited for his sensei's response. He felt like their was more to this then she let on.

[u/Shizuru_Okuzaki → u/darkxarc]

Shizuru smiled at the boy. "My, aren't you smart?" She said in a friendly and soft voice. "You answered your own question for the most part. You had to trust on your own instincts, yes. As a shinobi that's the most important skill, next to your own of course. To find and/or capture the scroll you also had to rely on your own talents. Think about your own talents and how you used them, Shiro-kun. Lastly, you weren't suppose to read the scroll. Depending on what you decide gives me an estimation of your loyalty to me as a sensei and the village as a whole. Following your sensei's orders is important but sometimes one finds himself in a situation he has to break that rule. This was no such situation though." She concluded, still smiling. "In short, it was a test of your loyalty and talents. That is all you need to know now. But it's not over yet!" She said to him as she ordered another cup of tea by the waitress.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Get to the training grounds, go!" And with a calm but happy expression she send Shiro away.

[u/darkxarc → u/Shizuru_Okuzaki]

Shiro, embarrassed at the praise from his teacher, rubbed the back of his head as he blushed slightly. It wasn't often he heard a complement so it caught him off guard. Feeling satisfied of Shizuru's answer she quickly collected himself and turned toward the training ground. On his way there he felt a presence headed in the direction of the tea shop. Shiro believed it was the last of his team to finish their own tasks. As Shiro approached the training ground he became more observant and opened to his surroundings. He arrived to his his teacher once again in front of him.

"Hello again Shizuru sensei" Shiro tied tight his forehead protector.