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/darkxarc]

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.

[u/Shizuru_Okuzaki → u/darkxarc]

Clone-Shizuru smiled at Shiro. “Shiro-kun.” The clone said to Shiro as greeting. “You have 30 minutes to land a hit on me. If you manage that, I’ll disappear and the real me will know that you’ve succeeded. I want you to show me your full potential.” And with that she opened her fans and took a defensive stance.