Yuhi no Kuni

(Thanks I thought I saw something about a rose)


Shijun turned to see what she assumed was the barn manager. It pained her to leave the dirty work of untacking and putting away to someone else it felt so...Kokohorashi-ish. "I feel terrible leaving you with all this work but it is getting late, how can I repay you?" she asked knowing that it was the only way she was going to feel as if she did not owe him anything. Kuro was her responsibility and she prided herself on take of her property and animals. The mare was listening to the conversation and with a soft nicker told her to go nudging her shoulder softly. Shijun quickly unclipped he saddle bags and slipping out of the stable, “Thank you again and I’ll be sure to pay you back,” she called. As she made her way towards the building decorated with cherry blossoms she noticed what looked to be two other ninjas. She didn’t immediately walk up to them she did not always get a warm reception from those in her tribe, it all depended on their family.
 
When Hatsumomo entered her room she was instantly bored. She didn't want to sleep. She stayed up, practicing with her sai. She wanted to go to the training grounds but knew she probably couldn't. She sat and meditated but couldn't. She was troubled about the people she had met that day and especially her appearance. She shook her head as if to shake it all out. She fell into a deep sleep.
 
(The Kokorohashi have the rose and the Ibarabara have the lily.)


Naota gave a confused look though it was hard to see because his bangs covered most of his face. "It is my job. I don't need any payment." He shook his head before going back to tend to the animals.


Natsu spotted a girl behind them and waved. She seemed to be a ninja as well. "Hi there."
 
As soon as he felt the women's body tense up, Jack jerked to a stop and straightened up in a scared attempt to shield himself. When he was sure she had no ill intentions towards him he slowly slumped back to a more comfortable position. "Um yeah...OK." He started to walk passed her but he had no idea where to go. it was already dark out and the moon was too covered by the clouds to use as a light. Afraid he'd be imposing he turned his head anyways and sighed "i have no idea where i'm supposed to go." With a forced smile and a bow to the young lady he nervously asked. "Where are the ibarabara rooms?" He stood back up to get a better look at who he was talking to. but it was too dark. Jack always hated the night. Unable to see and all the attacks that the Hanatsuki used to make on his dojo. His past raced in his mind for a split second and he shivered at all the bloodshed he remembered so vividly. His friends, family all in that fire engulfing everything, Killing. His whole entire life gone in an instant. He could smell the blood on his hands as he remembered and the faint glint of armor bearing the Hanatsuki crest... A Cherry blossom. He snapped out of his memory's and saw the girl, shook his feelings off and awaited a reply. He no longer had the luxury of friends or friendship. He was on a mission based solely on revenge. he would find the Hanatsuki responsible for everything he had lost.
 
Shira turned back to look at the boy and then continued walking to the Ibarabara dorms, expecting him to follow. They soon reached a building bearing the Ibarabara lily crest. "Left door leads to the boys' side. Find yourself an empty room and it's yours." And without a single word of good bye, she went into the door on the right and up to her room.
 
"thank y..." Before he could finish his sentence, the girl had already walked away into the women's dorm. He quickly found an empty room at the end of the hallway on the right. He jumped right in bed and immediately dozed off, dreaming of his past... His nightmares.
 
(Moving on . . . Next day . . . Just continue from your last post to here if your character didn't go to bed yet. For now, everyone is in the same class.)


The sun was high in the sky as the day slowly reached ten. Students hurried to their appropriate classrooms, decided at random. Class A was a bustle of voices. The clans seemed to have decided to sit together. Ikuto sat in a seat near the front with his back straight and his eyes glued to the front. He was prepared to learn. Natsu sat at the edge of the Hanatsuki group. He looked at the floor, unsure of how to talk to the people next to him. Shira sat in the back corner. There was an aura about her that said "Stay away."


The doors of the classroom opened as a man walked in. He was tall with dark hair and eyes. It was clear by the crest on his shirt that he was of the Ibarabara clan. There were some snickers coming from the students. A monk couldn't teach them how to fight. This man was probably going to tell them to embrace peace and hugs.


CRACK!


The laughing stopped when the man split his desk in half with his bare fist. He glared at the students. Ikuto looked at the monk in surprise. Natsu was still trembling in his seat. Shira looked at him with interest.


He then addressed the class, his voice roared across the room. "You will address me as Chen. I am here to teach you the skills necessary to survive a war. Look around the classroom. Remember these faces. Because in my class, they are your enemy. They are your rivals. Because in the end only a few will qualify to become an agent for the emperor himself. And to get there, you will have to surpass your classmates."
 
Hatsumomo rose with a smile on her face. "I gotta get ready!" She jumped out of bed and ran to the closet. She pull out her suit. It was black and skin tight. Her shoes were odd. The curved upward at the front and back, making it extremely hard to walk in them. She however does fine. She let her hair down. She thought about her makeup. "No. I don't need it." She sat with her clan, next to Ikuto. She crossed her legs and laughed hysterically at the teacher. "So they can chop through wood. Woopdie do!"
 
Shijun acknowledged the greeting of the other Hanatsuki Ninja as she walked towards her dorm. “Hello,” she called softly but left it at that. She was too weary to strike a conversation with anyone, even those of her own tribe. She made her way to her room which was small but well furnished. The rich creams and pinks of the cherry blossom flower could be seen everywhere and she wondered if the boy’s rooms were decorated similarly. It seemed a bit feminine. After unpacking her bags she fell asleep dreaming of those horrendous nights before her Sensei had discovered the truth.


The next day Shijun arrived early to her attack class. She had with her a few extra weapons which she had purchased under her Sensei’s orders. She was to donate them to the Academy but based on the Ibarabara Monk’s harsh entrance and greeting she thought better of it. In the end she decided to just leave them in the commons of the Hanatsuki dorm house available for the taking.


The instructor’s severe speech was confusing to Shijun, how could such a quiet wimpy tribe have such a boisterous loud arrogant representative. He was rude similar to the Kokohorashi tribe but his steps had been silent before he entered the room even to her trained ears. Shijun however had told her Master she would listen to her instructors no matter their tribe however it did not change her confused and mottled thoughts.
 
(Funny thing, I never did attribute beauty to the Kokorohashi stereotype . . . too late to fix now but I found it funny.)


Ikuto also smirked at Hatsumomo's comment. But it wasn't Chen's strength that surprised him, but the aggression that the monk displayed. The Ibarabara were famous for being spineless weaklings but so far, he's met two violent monks.


Ning (Chen) glared at the Kokorhashi group as they had begun laughing again. He threw a chakram in their direction and it lodged itself in a desk in front of Hatsumoto. "Hubris is the leading cause of death on the battlefield." He turned to the class. "The biggest mistake you can make is to underestimate your enemy's ability while overestimating your own. There is no way you can measure a man's strength, determine his level of experience, or know his abilities with the naked eye."


He walked over to the window and opened it. He then seemed to have grabbed something from outside. He walked up the the front row of seats and opened his hand. On the center of his palm was a Black Widow Spider. The red hourglass shape was clearly visible against its jet black shell. "Remember. Even the most harmless looking enemies can be the most deadly." He then threw the spider into the crowd. (Fun, isn't he?) He walked to the front of the room. "That will be all for today. Tomorrow, come to the training grounds for class. There will be a test. Come prepared."
 
Hatsumomo's laughter was cut short by the weapon in front of her. Her face became red with embarrassment. She sank in her seat and watched and listened to what the teacher said. He obviously deserved respect. She rested her head on her palm and thought about her previous battles. They had all been with others of the Kokorohashi. She realized that, had they not been, then she would of underestimated her opponent and could of lose. Maybe he was right. She quickly exited the room when he threw the spider.
 
Kaii smiled in reply to the younger Ninja. “And you may call me Sin.” He replied in turn, nodding towards a door not far from them. “I’m going to retire for the night; I shall see you in class tomorrow?” Without waiting for a reply, he made his way into his own room and locked the door shut.


Morning came quickly and so did class, after the initial show of strength Kaii made no reaction, nor did he for the second. And as for the spider, he wondered if it would be rude to keep it, to experiment for a poison in the future. Noticing Natsu’s shaking, he looked back at him, hoping to get his attention, smiling so that he could reassure him if possible.


Class ended and Kaii was quickly out of the room, excited for tomorrow’s lesson of training.
 
Jack woke up in a frenzy. His alarm had beeped for the millionth time, Going off every nine minutes that he pressed the snooze button. He was really terrible when it came to mornings and had just remembered that it was his first day of classes. He ransacked his closet for a change of clothes and quickly wrapped his gloves on. Running out of his room and darting through the hallways he swung his scroll around his back.


Crashing through the door, he huffed and saw the monk sitting at his desk. "​Sorry i'm late." he said bowing in respect "it wont happen again" But as he scanned the rest of the room, he saw that the place was already empty. His cheeks got red in embarrassment. "Damn it!! You idiot!!" He said to himself while slapping his forehead in complete shame. "Father would beat me if he was still here." Angry he turned to leave.
 
She sat among the Hanatsuki tribe members and there Shijun was just another listening head. It was obvious to her that almost everyone, except for those of Ibarabara tribe, were skeptical of this teacher but they all handled it differently. Among her tribe, silent powerful looks were given but not a word was spoken. It was a respectful surprise and skepticism in comparison to the Kokohorashi's brash laughter. The pure arrogance of those living off of Mommy and Daddy's paycheck should not be surprising to her. And the pansy Ibarabara tribe do not even step in to defend a member of their tribe. Shijun just shook her head until the Monk reacted.


Oh the look on that prissy Kokohorashi girl's face was priceless. She wished for a painting of it and for it to be hung in her room like a trophy. And for that moment she liked her Monk teacher, then she remembered their differences and the wall came back but it seemed weakened. She did not like that, Shijun fought the feelings of like for the Monk but he did not make it easy. Especially when he threw that spider into the class, a smile slipped across her lips as many of the students slipped from the class room in a hurry. She however took her time following the spider with her eyes as it crawled across the room.
 
Ikuto raised an eyebrow as Hatsumomo left the room in a hurry. She seemed a bit . . . off since Chen threw that chakram at her. What kind of teacher threws weapons at their students? He followed Matsumomo and tapped her shoulder. "Are you okay?"





Natsu calmed down when Sin smiled. He listened attentively at Chen-sensei and left class when it was over. He ran up to Sin. "What do you think the test will be like?" As he was walking, he bumped into a person carrying a huge stack of books and scrolls. Everything scattered on the floor. Natsu scrambled to help pick up everything. "I-I'm so sorry." (Shijun can join in as well.)


The person they bumped into was a woman with strawberry blonde curls, brown eyes and small glasses. She was small and petite with a round baby face. And on her green dress was the Hanatsuki cherry blossom. "Oh it's no problem at all." Her voice was rather high. "I was daydreaming as usual when I should've been watching where I was going."


Natsu handed her the last scroll. "So are you in another class?"


She looked at him with confusion and shook her head. "Oh, heavens no. I'm the librarian here." The look on Natsu's face was priceless.


The entire class, Shira had a huge smile on her face. It seemed like an evil smile but it was a smile. She liked how this teacher handled the class. Because if he needed help to stop a few kids from laughing, he shouldn't be teaching. She stood up and walked out of the class just like the rest of the class. And as she passed Ning, she looked at him as if sizing him up. This man was now on her list.
 
Hatsumomo jerked around and stared at Ikuto with tears in her eyes. "I'm fine." She said angry and obviously lying. "Its just that he threw that thing at me! What if it hit me? I hate looking like a fool! Its even worse because he was right!" She walked shuffled in anger before she came to a stop and hugged Ikuto. "Thank you." She was about to go to the training grounds when she turned back to Ikuto. "Do you want to come train with me. You know, spar. Plus I could use a lot of help?" She smiled and hoped he would say yes.
 
Kaii looked down as Natsu caught up, answering his question quickly. “I don’t know, I doubt anyone does though, don’t worry.” He was about to walk off but offered one more tip to Natsu, the obviously struggling Ninja. “Just remember; always be ready for whatever it is you’re not ready for.” Winking at Natsu, he walked off and ignored the cluttered noise from behind.


He made his way to the training grounds slowly.
 
Shijun finally decided to exit the class, only a few seconds behind the other students, yet it felt like she had watched the spider for an eternity. It's precise movements were hypnotizing and she wondered if she could maybe draw a fighting technique from this spider. Sighing she stood and made her way out of the classroom, she noticed what looked to be an Ibarabara stood rushing down the hallway to the class he had already missed and ahead of him were a few Hanatsuki members. Shijun quickened her pace figuring she might as well get to know these people even if they were going to be competing against each other.





Just as she reached the two ninja's one left and the other one bumped into a librarian. Quietly she helped them pick up the scrolls while one eye remained on the ninja who had left. He seemed very quiet, not a very uncommon trait they were ninjas, but she had always seen a kind of comradery among members of the Hanatsuki tribe and he seemed even more aloof than she.
 
As Jack walked back out, he saw Two ninja's form the Hanatsuki clan and what looked to be a member of the staff. He saw that she had fallen and wondered if she had fallen on her knees, Scraping the skin. He wanted to make sure she was ok but the presence of the two ninjas clouded his judgement. "Those bastards." he thought. He cursed every-single one of them murdering ninjas. Killing his family. But the women was his top priority and being taught to heal the sick and politeness is the best course of action towards a women, he decided her health and well being was more important... for now.


He walked over to them watching the two ninjas picking up the books laying on the floor. He walked over to the librarian and asked with a smile. "Are you hurt anywhere?"
 
(Yeah . . . she is . . . )


Ikuto took the hug in surprise but he agreed with her opinion of Chen's teaching method. The Kokorohashi was a noble clan that deserved respect. And he wasn't going to let a monk humiliate them. "Sure, some training would do us some good." He walked over to the training grounds and saw Nanako there already. She speared a dummy with her naginata and then proceeded to slice in in half. Her eyes spotted the two samurai and she waved.


"Momo! Hi."


Niu, the librarian, looked up at the monk and smiled. "Yeah, I'm okay." It was a monk so he was bound to be kind. So she felt a bit safer than she would've if it was a samurai. "Thank you," she said to Shijun and Natsu. "My name is Niu by the way."
 
Momo's face lit up when she saw Nana. "Hello!" She waved energetically. She was going to tell her about her day but would just let her train and tell her later. She took out her fan although this one was larger and had a floral print. The blades were all curved.she fanned held it close to her body and then attacked the training dummy. She closed it up, stabbing and opened it up slashing. She did a back walk over to distance her self and turned to the others. "If we have a free period, how do they know were all not out needing around?"
 
(What's "Needing around"?)


Nana thought about Momo's question. "I guess they don't. The entire concept for this school is still pretty new so I guess they haven't worked out all the kinks yet. So, did you two enjoy your first day of class?"


Ikuto originally planned on taking out his katana but decided to train his secondary weapon instead. He drew what seemed to be an ordinary broadsword. He distanced himself from the training dummy and then swung the sword. The blade separated into segments, connected by a thick wire. The sharp segments then move toward the dummy and cuts its head off. He swore under his breath. "I'm still not getting this."
 
(Lol. I meant to say messing)


Momo took out her sai and sighed. "Well it wasn't the best. Lets see, I got weapon thrown at me, a spider thrown at me indirectly, and that's pretty much it." She plopped down and fliped her fan around. "Another reason I hate other clans." She looked up at Ikuto. "Getting what?" She slashed a dummy while talking.
 
Nana surprised to hear that a teacher did those things, and even more that he did it to a Kokorohashi. "How could he do that to a samurai of all people? Don't they realize that most of the funding for this place probably comes from the Kokorohashi?" She stamped her spear on the ground. "Seriously, those other clans have no respect." The nurse sat down next to Momo. "Don't worry. That stupid man will eat his own words once you become one of the first agents for the emperor."


Ikuto tried attacking the dummy again, but the attacks all ended up like the first. He plopped onto the ground and turned to Hatsumomo. "My master wielded this very whip sword. He was able to make it swerve left and right, and move like a snake. So far, I haven't even been able to begin being on the same level as him." He threw the hilt down in frustration.


Nana took a look at the blade. "You know, weapons that are flexible are the ones that can adapt easier to various situations than stiff ones. But most people don't use the because they are also the hardest to control. A whip sword reacts to even the tiniest movements in your wrists. Your master must've learned how to make only the movements he needed and none of the ones he didn't." She then turned back to Momo. "If your teacher ever messes with you again, tell me and I'll teach him a lesson."


Then a pigeon landed near her feet with a tiny scroll. Nana unraveled it and read. "I have to go. It seems a ninja and samurai were fighting. Both seem to have sustained a lot of injuries." She then stood up. "Unless you want to come as well, I'm afraid this is where we part ways."
 
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