A random idea I had last night that wouldn't let go. Please don't kill me.







"Okay, okay...settle down, class. I SAID SETTLE DOWN!"

The milling students gradually lapsed into silence as the master spoke. The
elderly man looked around, nodded, and consulted a clipboard. "Very
well...you have all passed the qualification tests and are now official
rookie ninja. You will be assigned to three-member squads for further
training. These--" he indicated a row of teachers with a wave of his hand-- 
"are the jounin to whom you will be assigned. One jounin will manage each
squad of genin. As twenty-one students passed the qualification, there will
be seven squads. The squad assignments are as follows..."

Five minutes later, the students had been dismissed, and the older ninja
were chatting amongst themselves. One in particular, a twentysomething
kunoichi with wavy brown hair, was complaining to a cheerful blue-haired
woman who appeared to be trying hard not to laugh.

"Mou, Nyamo, why'd YOU get both the star athletes...?"

o----->>>>>>>>>>

AZUNINJA DAIOH

<<<<<<<<<<-----o

Two teenage girls and one younger girl milled about in an empty classroom.
"We're lucky," commented one of them. "We get the genius cadet Chiyo-chan on
our squad."

"Yeah, we'll be better ninja with her around."

"Not only that, but we can outdo her in just about everything except
studying!"

The younger girl glared at the boastful teen, and quickly formed a series of
seals. The older girl suddenly seized up, eyes wide, and began coughing.
Tears streamed down her face as she doubled over. Smirking, the smaller
student perched herself atop a desk, kicking her legs idly.

The door slammed open, and their instructor walked in. She was dressed in a
blue suit which neatly complemented the dark blue headband which held back
her wavy brown hair. The metal plate centred squarely on her forehead bore
an engraved crest: a wide, creepy pair of catlike eyes, topped by squat,
tapered ears. Her high heels clicked as she stepped to the podium.

"Okay, I'm Tanizaki Yukari, jounin, and from today I will be your sensei.
You are squad three." She glared at the girls. "I'm glad to have the genius
Chiyo in my squad, but you other two have bad reputations. Piss me off and
you'll die, understand?"

"HAAAI!" the more ebullient of the two cheered. The other simply began
looking serious and chanting to herself, "Shikkari...shikkari...shikkari..."

Yukari suddenly did a double-take, looking at her most enthusiastic charge.
"Takino, what the hell is that on your forehead protector?!"

Takino Tomo leapt onto her desk, a smug expression on her face. Unlike the
others, she was dressed in what could only be described as stereotypical
ninja garb, but in tones of maroon and salmon pink, covering everything
except her head, where she wore the same headband as her teammate and
sensei. The metal plate on her headband was decked out in garish
refrigerator magnets. "It's metal, so I figured it'd be cool."

Yukari sighed. "Get rid of them. And Chiyo-chan, where's your--"

Chiyo blushed, and lifted the hem of her skirt. The forehead protector was
tied around her left thigh, and two kunai were tucked securely behind the
metal plate. "It kept falling off when I tried to wear it on my head," she
said sheepishly.

Yukari shrugged. "That's okay, nobody's going to try to kill anyone as cute
as you anyway." She clapped her hands together. "Okay! It's time to begin. I
expect great things from you, because you're my hope for beating my greatest
rival!"

o----->>>>>>>>>>

Kurosawa Minamo sneezed.

"Are you okay, sensei?" one of the genin in her squad asked.

"I'm fine, Kagura." She looked at her three wards: Kagura, a tanned, toned
girl with sharp eyes and short hair, who wore a long tan coat over a blue
swimsuit, and used her forehead protector to belt the coat around her waist;
Sakaki, the tall, quiet girl who held her long raven hair back with her
headband, a look which matched the open-jacketed boys' school uniform she
wore nicely; lastly, there was Yomi, a tall, chestnut-haired girl with
glasses, dressed in an old-style Japanese army uniform of the style worn in
World War II, with her forehead protector tied around her left arm. A
sheathed katana hung at her side.

"Right, then. You'll be squad five starting today. I expect you to work
hard, and learn the value of teamwork. You're all very hard workers, which
is why I selected you for my squad. I must warn you: I don't put up with the
kind of nonsense some of my colleagues do. So no screwing around." She
paused. "Don't mess up, either."

Kagura and Yomi snickered. Sakaki reddened slightly.

"Alright, this is what we'll be doing first..."

o----->>>>>>>>>>

A girl with short, dark hair sat morosely in the corner, crying. Like a few
others, she opted to wear the summer uniform: light blue top and dark blue
skirt, with a dark nylon body stocking and dark blue knee and elbow braces.
She was presently using her forehead protector as a handkerchief.

"It's not that bad," her auburn-haired friend offered, patting her on the
arm. The girl was similarly attired, as was the third member of their squad,
a short-haired, pretty girl of average height, who simply sat at a desk
awkwardly; she had come from another village and finished her preliminary
qualification with their group, but still considered herself an outsider,
thus having difficulty making friends.

"It's HELL!" the sobbing girl shrieked, bawling into her headband.

"What's she so upset about?" the outsider girl asked, curiosity and empathy
overcoming her aloofness.

"She wanted to be in Sakaki-san's squad," the other girl replied sadly.
"She's been Sakaki-san's biggest fan forever, and was looking forward to
being partnered with her. Her dreams have been crushed forever." She patted
the crying girl on the shoulder.

"It's...it's not that," the hunched-over figure said with a shudder,
sniffling.

"No?" the other girl replied, blinking. "Then what--"

The door slid open, and a chill washed over the room. A foul presence filled
the air, like a pervasive stench. The auburn-haired girl and the newcomer
both shuddered, reflexively hugging themselves for warmth, while the crying
girl merely gave another shrieking sob and buried her face in her headband.

The door slid closed again.

"What...was that...?"

And then, out of thin air, he appeared.

Tall, gaunt, dressed all in black, with the exception of the dark grey,
pocketed vest he wore, and the green camo backpack slung over his shoulder.
A black kerchief tied under his nose masked his breathing, and his mirrored
black glasses obscured his eyes entirely. His forehead protector had been
sewn onto the kerchief, which also concealed most of his unkempt black hair.
He wore no mask over his face, leaving his slack-jawed, gaping expression
bare to the world.

"Kimura," he said. "Fourth squad teacher." He then disappeared, and suddenly
reappeared squatting on the desk of the crying girl. "I'm going to enjoy
teaching you, Kaorin-chan."

You could HEAR the heart at the end of his words.

The girl cried harder.

The outsider shuddered. "I'm beginning to wish I'd never come to this
place..."

o----->>>>>>>>>>

to be continued?



Disclaimers: I disclaim everything, including this disclaimer.



--------------------------------------
The Eternal Lost Lurker
www.lurkerdrome.com




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