First Encounters

[Rinmi]

Rinmi shifted slightly under the Sensei's gaze, midnight blue eyes never leaving his orange ones as they analysed each genin. The shortest team member glanced to either side of her and concluded without much difficulty that both young men were NOT happy. She realised finally at how true the Sensei's words had been; she had her work as a said peacekeeper cut out for her. She had barely been able to stop the two testosterone pumped males from pounding each other yesterday night in the ramen house.

Her attention was redirected when Zell introduced himself and Rinmi nodded respectfully in response, even though her respect for this apparently authoritive figure was uncertain. Something about herself? The others seemed as confused as she about such a broad and open question from a Sensei. Rinmi sat next to Sejiriku with a sheepish smile as he spoke and looked over at Zell with the same unsure expression.

"What would you like to know Sensei Zell? About our ambitions, families, skills?"

[Sagara Suoh]

"--So before I start rambling, why not tell me about yourselves?"

Suoh visibly grimaced as Zell spoke those seemingly harmless words.
" What am I supposed to say? That I was raised by a maid because mommy and daddy didn't love me? That I know I'm a bastard but can't help it because I have issues with controlling my anger? Hardly." Suoh's voice was dripping with sarcasm as he thought to himself, determinedly not saying a word as he waited for the others to join into the little "ice-breaker" first. He sneered at the own pathetic nature of his story and absently rubbed at the bare flesh of his arm with a gloved hand.

The tall, young man eyed Seji carefully as the boy spoke. He felt a level of smugness to learn that the redhead, too, was at a loss of what to say. Maybe they were more similar than he first thought. Suoh scoffed at that idea and shook his head. No freaking way.

Rinmi's voice grabbed his attention and Suoh watched her from his peripheral vision, pleased that she was a good communicator. At least they wouldn't have to stand around in awkward silence for too long a time. Suoh breathed out a small sigh and waited for Zell to respond.

For some reason he didn't think they'd get along, and Zell would probably make good on that threat to tie him to a tree.

[Kosetsu Akina]

Zell tilted his head to the side like a cat before turning her eyes to the lake beside them. He seemed lost in thought for a moment, eyes silently moving as he seemed to be counting something off in the distance of the mist. As the wind kicked up and stirred some to the mist, he drew a conclusion about something and turned back as Seji and Rinmi asked questions.

He tugged on the metal guarded glooves that were on his hands, flexing his one hand to adjust them. Zell gave a half shrug before leaning back against his tree with that stupid smile on his face still. "Whatever you would like really." He said before sighing "But if my little mice here are too afraid to break the ice..." He continued, glancing at the quiet Suoh "..you could start off with your skills. Not that I won't be examining them later but it's nice to know. Throw in some of your interests and ambitions in there too if you wish."

Zell glanced back at all three of them. Not a roudy bunch of kids for which he was somewhat thankful for. Not that a little humor or smile now and then will kill him and he studied their faces. Such a serious group he sighed mentally. It'll liven up soon enough.. he reassured himself and waited for their replies.

[Sejiriku]

Watching their new sensei silently while the others shifted positions along with him, Sejiriuku sighed inwardly. That smile on the man's face was a little disconcerting, especially with the way it remained unwavering upon his features. What sort of things was he thinking to bring that sort of look upon his face? Sejiriku wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know...

"About ourselves then?" The young man paused a moment, laying his hands upon his knees as he sat cross legged upon the ground. His skills... Well... He did better in things that dealt with chakra than he did anything else, though his hand to hand abilities weren't exactly below par either. His illusion techniques, while enough for him to pass, were not as strong as he would have liked them to be... Well, that was a start, anyway.

"As far as... uh... skills go... I guess most of mine are focused on the ninjutsu portion of our teachings..." The fact that he still remained wanting in the other two styles was left unvoiced. If Zell really wanted to know that, he could watch, and decide on his own how far along Seji had come. The boy's pride would not let him admit yet that he wasn't the best he could be...

And his ambitions... There were several, now that he took the time to think about it, and some were terribly outlandish. "And I've always wondered what it'd be like to be Mizukage." Like that one, for example, he noted with a small smirk at the thought. That would never come to pass. "But on a more realistic note, I've considered trying to go further... Become a Chuunin, or maybe if I'm lucky, a Jounin. Make something useful of myself..."

Those were just basic things... probably a little generic too. Sejiriku was fairly certain that nearly everyone who ever had to voice their ambitions to their senseis had said that... or something of such a nature. But whatever else he wanted to do with his life remained his business until he was willing to tell... The fact that he still had a payment to make to a long-time friend in return for a irrevocable favor would remain unsaid as well, until the time came for it to be explained, if that time ever came at all.

Realizing he'd fallen silent and spaced off, Seji just barely managed to keep himself from giving a start when he came back to reality. Shrugging his shoulders thoughtfully, the boy struggled to find something else to offer as far as information went. Nothing came directly to mind, so he gave a small, uncertain nod. "And... well... That's it I guess..."

[Rinmi]

Their new sensei was vague with what he wanted to hear from them and this partly frustrated Rinmi. She was used to having a firm authorative figure, with a plan and more of a dominating presence. The long-haired Genin was used to being instructed; not poke and prod for teachings. Needless to say the girl listened to Sejiriku with a silly dazed expression that she unconsciously wore at times when watching him. The crush was getting out of hand some might say, but no matter how obvious the girls affections were, the young man never seemed to notice.

Rinmi took note of Seji's breif mention of his goal; the slight pause as he mulled this thought over and his awkward conclusion, passing the torch to the girl to his side it seemed. The shortest team member blinked in silent question at her friend for one moment, trying to communicate through her eyes that were probably in the shape of love hearts at the moment, that she could tell their was something bothering him.

"...Well...I'm not the strongest fighter," she was surprised that the fact that had been making her paranoid about becoming a Genin came out so quickly, "But I learn quickly from texts about jutsus and techniques...and I'm not that bad with a bow staff."
She gave a nervous smile and chuckle while looking up at her sensei, hoping she hadn't sounded arrogant while answering his question.

"And my ambitions, well," she paused, wondering how much she wanted to say. Certain details didn't need to be delved into; they just made her appear vulnerable; unstable; unreliable; weak.
"I just want to be strong to help my family...,"she paused and tried her best to smile off the subject, "They don't exactly live in the friendliest neighbourhood..."

Her shy deep blue eyes swiftly looked to Suoh, in desperation that he would pick up the spot light quickly from her.

[Sagara Suoh]

Suoh may have not acted the part, but he was a damned good listener. He absently fiddled with his gloves as Sejiriku and Rinmi spoke, each giving some enlightening information about themselves. The tall fist-fighter eyed his redheaded teammate, a scowl forming on his lips.

"Seji wonders what it'd be like to be Mizukage, neh? That guy thinks too damn highly of himself." Suoh smothered the urge to roll his eyes and instead shifted them to somewhere safer-- the ground. He wasn't sure why it bothered him so much that Seji thought about being Mizukage; most ninja's in training had probably given it a thought. Maybe it was because Suoh had no ambitions to aspire to a position of such honor and high esteem, and thus envied Seji for his drive to succeed.

Suoh had easily caught the way Rinmi had looked at Seji, and his lips twitched at the blatant adoration shining in her deep blue eyes. It never ceased to amaze the young man how blind Seji could be. Seriously, how could he miss something that obvious? Well, there was always the possibility Seji just ignored her affections and chose to act oblivious to avoid confrontation, but Suoh wasn't prepared to give the boy that kind of credit.

He would have laughed, if such an action wouldn't result in drawing attention to him. Suoh scoffed quietly. The others actually might've thought he'd gone insane if they heard him laugh. Suoh hadn't exactly built the nicest reputation, which was exactly what he wanted. If people thought you were a jerk; they'd stay away and that was good because relationships just made the boy nervous.

Suoh perked when he felt Rinmi's gaze on him; that was his cue to speak. Clearing his throat, Suoh straightened his posture and met Zell's gaze.

"I specialize in taijutsu," Why? Because Suoh liked the sensation of hand-to-hand combat, to him there was no better rush. He paused and tried to think of something else to say, something along the lines of ambitions. Suoh shrugged, he really didn't have any, save one.

"I just want to pass, simple as that." He didn't share with the rest that he dreamed of traveling the country because he wasn't comfortable with sharing something he felt was rather...silly. Nope, the teen had an impression to keep up so he would.

[Kosetsu Akina]

((sorry this is late guys, we have finals this week and some family problems. We will began the test after this to start rping missions and such =3))

His eager orange eyes wandered over the trio as they looked confused at the information he requested. Not that he really wanted to be specific, the jounin just wanted simple details at the least, to give him somewhat of an idea of their goals and what he would be in store for. The jounin flexed his gloved hand in a rather bored expression before Seji spoke.

Zell glanced up from his hand towards the genin. He was a bold one now, first to talk before anyone else. Shoulders rolled slightly to releive the stiffness from sitting in the tree for so long. A brow was raised at Seji's ambitions and talents. It wasn't the ninjutsu part that interested him. No, most of the genin now knew the basic forms of it. But the remark of interest in the Mizukage made him chuckle. He held up one finger in a taunting wave.
"I'm glad to here we have some skills in that. But I'll give you advice, Mizukage isn't all the glory and fame it's cracked up to be. Stick with the other ranks for now, that is..." He grinned and pulled his hand back. "if you can pass my test."

Zell leaned back against his tree as he watched the torch be handed off to the next genin. His eyes rested on Rinmi as she gave Seji the most lovesick of looks. Just his lucky he thought with an exhuasted sigh. There was always one in every class of graduates. She was no doubt one of the smartess genin here, but these little lovesick looks would be the death of him. Zell ignored his thought for the time being and listened to her. "Never heard of a shinobi requiring skill for such a weapon. When its time to test your skills, would you perhaps show off a bit?" He smirked, trying to remember the last time he had seen a shinobi weild a bowstaff. "By the time I'm done with your lot, your family will be more then pleased to see you."

The last of the group again. The jounin tilted his head and allowed his lazy vision to lock with the taller genin. He couldn't help but twitch everytime he spoke. Yes, his little nickname did seem to fit him. Though he could classify him as a rebel dog. Zell had seen his share of students who were cold and closed off to much social things. But he was queit and had yet to truly piss him off. For now, the jounin kept his better impression. As he spoke, Zell shifted his shoulders once more. He wasn't surprised by the lack of words, nor what he was skilled in. Taijutsu was interesting to the jounin, considering he didn't have much of a build to pull off such demanding attacks required. He would stay with ninjutsu instead.
"That's enough for me, I'm sure I'll rangle more out of you later. No need to press it but I hope to see your skill as well."

Zell finall closed his eyes for a moment, gathering up all the skills they had mentioned. It seemed well balanced. The scale didn't tip in total favor of ninjutsu or taijutsu. But their personalites were the ones that clashed. Either this was a joke among the chuunin or I'm just damn lucky.. he sighed and reopened his eyes. It was still early in the day with the normal busy schedules of the villagers. He nodded mentally and looked back to the trio.

"Well, seeing as how we got some information out of my little mice, I guess I'll explain the schedule for today. Sadly, you'll have to miss my company untill dusk. As most of you know, all genins are required to pass a test to become official genins. Mind you that about 60% of the teams do fail. I recommend you spend the day training or resting.

When the sun is almost down, I expect all of you here at this exact spot. No exceptions, if your one minute late I will throw you right back into the academy. Bring whatever tools or weapons you think will be needed. All the details of the test will be given then. Untill that time, enjoy your day."
He grinned at the last part. Straightening up, he pushed one hand through his snowy white hair. They seemed mismatched now but maybe there was some hope for teamwork. Untill then, he would keep his opinions the same. With a simple nodd, he jumped back into the mist and dissapeard from sight.

((i'll continue the test in another thread tommorow))