Heavy on the Cream, Heavy on the Cheese [Team 1 Training]

Appearance:

Luna was good at what she did. She trained kids for a living. Genin wound up in her program and graduated ahead of schedule. Jounin sought her for advice, and she gladly spread her wisdom to her peers. It was because of that, Konoha's military grew with not only numbers, but strength. Of course she couldn't take the credit all for herself, as there were a number of exceptional masters with their own methods, but Luna was among them. Today she started her sixteenth Genin squad, with a current record of fifteen to zero in terms of teams that have graduated and teams she had to fail. In her bedroom she sat at the edge of her bed, all dressed up for work. She stared intently at the floor between her boots catching a reflection of her face off the hardwood floor. Her hands clasped her bedside with a fairly strong grip. She had been like this for five minutes.

No matter how many times I do this, the anxiety never goes away.

A nine year veteran there was no doubt that Luna knew what she was doing, and what she did was effective. The the potential of failure clawed at her internally. The more success she had the harder her 'empire' would fall given failure. The milestones she set along the way didn't help. At first she planned to take it easy after five teams of success. But eventually that number turn to ten, then fifteen, and now twenty. She was among the top marks for the Jounin instructors in her village, yet the fear of failure and shame progressively grew worse.

Rinsing her face off in the bathroom she wiped herself dry with a towel. Peering into the mirror she breathed deeply through her nose and let the air escape softly between her lips. As the towel wiped her face, so did the pressures of failure. Confidence returned as the tightening feel in her belly had its tension release. She felt warm.

Trotting downstairs Luna made a break for the kitchen already running short on time. Opening her fridge she scanned over the contents briefly. The refrigerator was very clean or organized, much like the rest of her house. Fresh produce, eggs, a package of two whole mackerel, milk, and other condiments and cooking essentials. There was only one bento left, which was better saved for emergencies. Skipping a meal was never an option. She needed to make a quick stop by a vendor on her way to the training field.

Luna left her home after triple checking her clothing and gear were in order. She'd leave the residential district and visited a street vendor she frequently fairly often. The onigiri sold were larger than standard, meant to be eaten as meals rather than snacks. She would order two: one with a salted piece of salmon at the center and the other filled with a kelp sesame mixture. Luna also couldn't pass up on two pickled plums on the side. The sour and salty treats had many benefits aside from just tasting good. Luna found herself hands full as she scarfed down one rice balls to make the rest of the walk a little less cumbersome. She was running late. Forty-five minutes late to be precise. Normally she would make-do with her situation in an environment where her punctuality was vital, but given the status between a Jounin mentor and a Genin, she could take the liberty of being a lot more lax with her own standards.

She finished her breakfast just as she entered the training grounds. Konoha's training grounds were apart of a large section of woods within the village walls, which included the infamous forty-fourth training ground. But today they were going to use training ground twelve, only being a short walk from the densely populated parts of Konoha. As such, Ninjutsu was limited. The training area was more of a field than anything. After breaking through a light forest by following the path the training area would make itself obvious to any newcomers. Five training dummies stood upright in a row, and not too far off the side was a small shack in fairly good condition with an outdoor bench-and-table arrangement. It almost looked like a picnic area, and more often than not, that's what it was used for by teams. Luna expected her students to already be present and hoped none of them got the spooks and left in fear that they were at the wrong place. She'd give a quick scan of the field to try and spot any stray children about.

It was hard to adjust to living in a home that wasn’t yours. When Chiaki had developed her Sharingan the Uchiha Clan had insisted she come to live in the clan compound. Just like all the other Uchiha. The justification being that they would be better able to ‘see to her training’ that way. Ironic. Ever since moving in it seemed more than anything that the others wanted nothing to do with here. Any training she had was assigned through scrolls that were thrown at her which she was then expected to master alone, all while the constant droning of how inadequate she was compared to those naturally born to the clan drilled into her head. As a member of a branch family the training she had received as a child had been mostly just superficial, enough to give her the status of a shinobi and little else. If she hadn’t awoken the first stage of her Sharingan that would have been enough. She would have been destined to a short career as a shinobi that would ultimately lead into a political marriage with some main branch Uchiha. Maybe it would have been better that way. Much simpler, at least.

Getting away from the compound to a Genin team then gave her an uneasy feeling in her chest, one that persisted throughout the entire morning of preparation. A background buzzing in her chest that wouldn’t go away even as she tried to ignore it. Without being suffocated by the atmosphere of the Uchiha, what would this team mean? Stretching her socks up to her mid-thighs, maybe a bit tighter than was necessary, the young girl would let out a small huff. All those thoughts had collected into a haze inside her mind, to the point she could barely think about anything else. Here she had been putting on her socks for the last five minutes, engrossed in thoughts about the future and other nonsense like that. Wasting this much time thinking wasn’t good for you, it couldn’t be. She would hop up from her bed with a small jump, skating across the bare wood of her room on her socks until she reached her shoes.

She would arrive on the Konoha training grounds fifteen minutes before the assigned meeting time. Just in case. Arriving late would reflect poorly on her - And what if her sensei here was one of those people who thought that arriving on time was actually arriving late? The sort who if you came even a minute late would chastise you… She wanted to be careful, even though it was unlikely. Reaching the training grounds before anyone else, she would be content to wait with a smile on her face. Even if she didn’t know what today would hold, Chiaki wanted to be optimistic. The future would be faced with a smile!

About half an hour after she first arrived that smile would begin to fade. Still nobody had arrived… Did she get the time wrong? Nobody else was here… Looking around anxiously, Chiaki would inspect behind a training dummy just in case. As if someone was hiding behind it. Was this some sort of prank that was being played on her?

It was only an hour after she initially arrived, and forty-five minutes after their assigned meeting time that Chiaki would eventually see another face. The joy at seeing another person after an hour of waiting was enough to perk her up, even though she had just waited an hour in silence.

“A-Ah! Hello! I’m Chiaki Y-Y-Uchiha--” She was still getting used to the new last name, clearly. “Are you here for Team 1? I was assigned to it and I was just waiting here for someone to show up, I don’t know if I got the wrong place or something-” Speaking at the speed of a sound as a result of her nervousness wasn’t something she could help in the moment.

Hiroji dreaded the training that is today, to meet his squadmates. He had a special one-on-one training with their already established sensei and she was... a lot to handle, that's about as politely as he could put it if one were to ask him. After that training, it wasn't long that he received the letter from Luna of what she wanted him to say to the squad when he arrived, that, and the added embarrassment of having his clothes backwards. He only nodded to the requests to get out of her lock at the time, but is he actually doing it? in a way, yes.

He had a clever way to get back at her, and that was to fix some of the wording of her speech. That, and actually wearing his clothes the correct way. He wore a blue jacket with white fur covering around his neck area, with white shorts, blue sandals and the Konoha headband tied in around his forehead, making his white spiky hair go slightly upwards. He lied to his father about the squadmates he had, he would've been absolutely livid if he found out that he's paired with an Uchiha and a Hyuuga. That was an explosive tag waiting to pop at a later time, but that's something he had to worry about at another point. For now, getting to this training at the right time is most important.

If the Hyuuga girl had worried about being late, then that embarrassment might've been doubled for Hiroji. The lateness on his part was horrendous, he'd like to take credit to say that was intentional to get back at Luna, but really, it was just plain disorganisation and lack of direction to getting to the training grounds. When he arrived, it didn't take long for him to piece together where his potential squad is, as Luna stood out among two other girls.

He walked up, a devious smile clear as day on his face. He imagined that as he walked up, he would've grabbed their attention and as soon as he saw that moment, he wasted no time reading word for word from the piece of paper. "I am Hiroji Senju and our sensei, Luna wanted me to read this. I am eager, ready-to-learn pupil of the shit Yama-sensei. In our previous interaction in my remedial training exercise she has proven to me that she is a vixen who likes children who abuses her power as a Jounin, Yama-sensei has a wide array of knowledge to not only abuse me, but all of us. I hope you both stay away from the program because I would very much love to keep you all safe." assuming that he got away with all that, he instantly glanced upon his squad for reactions.

OOC: original note Luna wanted Hiroji to say:

There they were, all patiently waiting just out of her sight. She wasn't surprised given how long it took for her to arrive. There was a good sign with her current back they had the necessary soft skills for a ninja. Discipline, honesty, and perseverance. If the group she had already had those skills down there was no doubt they could grow and perhaps even reach the prestigious rank of Jounin much like herself. There was Chiaki, the short-haired Uchiha who was seemingly too eager to introduce herself. But she had spirit, and with that Luna could mold her into an exceptional ninja. There was the Hyuuga as well, her status as one of the main branch clans in Konoha shining brightly with her clean, combed white hair, pale skin, and eyes. And of course Hiroji, a Senju. He was apart of the most prominent clans in the village possessing the incredible powers of Wood release and having supernatural strength and durability.

Silently Luna assessed her group. Tsuyu was a close-quarters specialist without a doubt. Chiaki possessed the Sharingan. The Uchiha were also known to be exceptional users of the Fire element. These skills meant Chiaki was suitable for any field of combat, though Uchiha generally preferred mid-to-close range combat above all else given the elemental properties of Fire, Taijutsu, and Bukijutsu focus many of the clan members have. Hiroji served best as long range given his Wood release which was fabled to have carved out the landscape for the Land of Fire entirely. The Senju were no pushovers, either, as their hearty bodies made them exceptional for close quarters. Then of course Luna was capable of all fields of combat making her an exceptional instructor given her wide birth of knowledge of the ninja arts, but as a squad leader too.

Among the other group members Hiroji was the most eager baring a wide grin on his face. Luna smirked softly at his enthusiasm. I guess I finally got to him. I should probably take it easy on him now that we are officially starting. She thought with the goodest of wills. A reformed student showed promise. Hiroji held a familiar slip of paper before him and started his introduction. But only a few statements in did Luna actually realize what was going on. Luna would see a massive dip in respect and progress she initially saw in the boy as well as a deep feeling of regret for not snapping his arm back when she successfully bound him in their training session. His insults were plentiful, perhaps a little overdone for her personal tastes, but it didn't matter. He only made himself look like a fool.

Luna would slow clap the moment Hiroji finished, a still-standing smirk on her face, though it meaning something entirely different than it did before. She knew he had finished when he removed his eyes from the slip of paper that served no purpose seeing as he constructed his own unique introduction. This spoke volumes about his ability to recall his own thoughts or even make new ones on the go. Disappointing. "Well, in other words, I believe Hiroji meant to convey his nervousness when meeting you all." Luna said in a pleasant tone giving a warmer smile, though to Hiroji it may come off as condescending. She'd approach the boy with a raised hand to be placed gingerly upon his forehead. Using her fingers she'd strum the large, blackish lump which served as a reminder for his previous blunder during their training exercise. "The poor thing lost track of his surroundings when we first met and fell face first on the academy floor." Taking her hand off his head she'd turn to face all three of her students and address them all direct.

"This is why Hiroji needs your help. All of ours. So that he can one day become an exceptional Chuunin. So, I would prefer we work on introductions while we get ready for the program. Names are important, so share them with your squadmates. Also include your skills, strengths, weaknesses, and some of your hobbies. Everyone you see here today will be apart of your life from now on, so it is important that you all get along starting today. As you may know, I am Luna Yamamoto. I am talented in the base elements Lightning, Water, and Earth, and proficient in the three basic ninja arts. My strengths are persuasion. insight, flexibility, and great tastes. My weaknesses are getting too comfortable,
physical activity, and failing to meet deadlines. Some of my hobbies include gardening, cooking, fishing, and social gatherings, just to name a few. Now, if you two ladies can share a bit about yourself we can begin." Luna stood before her three students, hands clasped together eager to learn more about her team.

Tsuyu… A familiar face. An awkward smile broke out across Chiaki’s face. It was reassuring to see someone you knew, even if it was only vaguely. They had only met that one time at the boba stand, but… Well, it was still nice. A little bit of familiarity made it easier to get to know people, and presumably she would be spending a lot of time with these people in the near future. 

Then the other. A boy around their age… Why did it have to be a boy? For a moment she was going to be happy that they could have an all girl team, but then this guy had to come along and ruin everything. How was she supposed to relax around a boy? It just made no sense to her why they made teams mixed genders like this. Girls always got along better with each other, and boys got along better with each other. It only made sense that you’d put them together for teams, but apparently the person who was deciding these things back in Konoha decided they enjoyed making things difficult for no reason. 

Of course, maybe he wasn’t as bad as that disgusting Kaguya boy who had opened those bottles with his nipples…And then he started talking and all of Chiaki’s suspicions and fears were confirmed. A disgusted sneer crossed across her face for a second.

“... Boys are gross.” She whispered it under her breath, unable to help herself.

Somehow their Sensei had reacted to the situation in a way that didn’t involve castration, which would have been Chiaki’s first idea. Very generous. Maybe too generous. Alright she was right in that Hiroji clearly needed some help. 

“U-Uh…” She had been caught unprepared. The disgust had been the only thing she could think of, so that transition to introducing themselves in a more detailed manner had been a shift that left her unprepared. "My name is Chiaki Uchiha. I… Uh. I guess I’m skilled in the normal stuff. I mean, I passed the Academy exam like everyone else did. Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and… I guess I can do Taijutsu okay too, but I’d rather not if I had the choice. Fire Ninjutsu too… Basically, normal Uchiha stuff. I’m not really special.” Already putting herself down, Chiaki would present an apologetic smile to her team. 


“For hobbies, I used to like to go…” Did window shopping count as a hobby? Really, her only hobby had been spending time with other people, latching onto them and doing whatever it was that the ‘group’ was doing. “Uh, I used to like to travel around Konoha’s shopping district a lot. Just for fun. But, well… Ever since I started training with the Uchiha Clan after getting my Sharingan I really haven’t had time to do that anymore. That, or much of anything else. Plus, it isn’t fun to do it by myself, and I’ve barely been able to talk to anyone I used to know at the Academy… I guess I mostly just read in my spare time, or write in my diary. That sounds pretty sad now that I'm saying it out loud.” She was struggling to produce a good answer, so the truth more or less just came out. 

“My weaknesses? I don’t think I have any, really. Just that I’m inexperienced and need to learn more.” She said that all after a moment of thought, in a stunning lack of self awareness. Expecting these younger children to be aware of their weaknesses was perhaps asking a bit much for their self awareness and capability for introspection. Clearly Chiaki hadn’t reached that point yet.