The Student Becomes the Teacher? [Squad 2 or Invite]

He had no idea how exactly this was supposed to work, be he wasn't really going to complain about it. Apparently, he'd be tapped to be the newest squad captain in the village; he knew it would happen eventually, but he'd assumed that when it would, he'd be taken off Temaki's squad. Apparently, she was going to keep him as a 'student' while letting him have a squad of his own. Strange, but not a bad arraignment. He wasn't about to be happy about being taken away from her anyway, so this was the best possible solution he could think of, really.

He knew jack and all about the genin he'd been assigned, he was several years out of the academy now, so anyone coming out of it would have barely been in a prep-school or still in civilian classes when he graduated. What he did know came in the form of their admin files; and they where the sparse ones you'd expect for fresh meat. Or, not so fresh, what the hell?

Kinzoku was 17? Shit, that was either going to be a major issue, or go over without a hitch. Special Jounin or not, Karukaya was only 16, and not a lot of people would listen to, or want to learn from, someone younger than they where. Otherwise, they would be a decent match, skill wise. Both where Taijutsu users, so there was that. Elements didn't match, but Steel was as perfect for Taijutsu as Fire, so they'd at least be able to work with that.

Artemis was 15? Not unheard of to have newish Genin that old. He'd been a Genin at 15. Shit, when he thought about it, he'd ranked from Genin to Special Jounin in less than 6 months, so if anything, he was the odd man out here. Another Taijutsu user, with Raiton? Not bad. Raiton and Fire had some overlaps in theory and the like, so they'd be able to learn a lot from each other.

That was how he was looking at this. They where roughly the same ages, and they had similar skill sets; but they'd use them different. It was a learning experience for all of them, and one he'd be happy to partake in, so long as they came into this is the right attitudes. He didn't take shit from people, nor did he expect unrealistic goals and efforts. He'd push them, but he wasn't the 'break them' type. He didn't need to spend the next half a year destroying and rebuilding little copies of himself; no, he'd give them room to be what they wanted, while guiding them with what knowledge he had. And if he grew along the way, all the better.

He'd sent out a message to both of them that morning when he'd be alerted to the situation; if they where going to meet, it would have to be today, because he was about to spend the next several out at base camp before they started tagging the big bison herds coming down from the high plains. They needed all the spotters and wrestlers they could get, and he was one of the best because of his ninja skills and abilities. They couldn't afford not to have all hands on deck for this.

He'd called them to meet him at the same training ground that Temaki had summoned him to months prior; out of the way and plenty of room to safely work. He had an idea for a first test, one that would put a smile on her face when she found out about it. For the moment though, he was leaning against the trunk of the old tree in the middle of the grounds, Coen was hopping around chasing dragonflies and enjoying the warm, sunny day. At Karu's feet was his pack, inside was his spare gear, stored in scrolls and waiting to be used if needed; in his hips and leg pouches where his kunai, shuriken, field medic kit, and both sets of his gloves; neither was being worn at the moment. He'd put them on later if needed, but he was going for as non-threatening as possible for their initial meeting.

It was getting close to noon, maybe half an hour 'til, and he'd called them to show up by noon. If they came early, they could chit-chat a bit, if they came right at noon, they'd get right to work; and he hoped they weren't late because he didn't do late without a damn fine excuse.

Oh, this was going to be fun. It had been a little while since Artemis had been put on a squad. The last squad Artemis on had been an interesting one: in the beginning she had had a strong dislike for both of her teammates – one had acted like a complete moron while the other had been an anti social asshole with a superiority complex. Or, that's how she had thought about it then. Of course they had grown to like each other, even become friends. But, eventually they had learned all there was to learn anymore from each other, and none of them could take their skills further with the arrangement, so the squad was separated.

While Artemis did prefer to work alone she wasn't going to jump to conclusions about the squad before she really got to know everyone; and so it was with as clear a mind as she could get that she left the house. She knew they were supposed to meet at noon, but Artemis liked to be on time or even early really: it tended to set a better example, and it was definitely better then showing up late.

Artemis was dressed as she often was: bandages covering from her knuckles to her elbows, a reddish white top that clung to her while offering enough give to ensure she could move freely, and black pants that were slightly baggy and stopped right below her knees. While she preferred to be barefoot she had decided today to wear her black open toed sandals: there was no telling after all what they might be doing for their first meeting. Her village hitai-ate was around her left arm, and her weapons pouch containing her shuriken and kunai were around her right leg, easily accessible. Her Celtic style black tattoo's showed clearly across her arms; disappearing underneath of her shirt. Long black hair was back in a messy bun; free and out of the way in case they ended up having a more hands on first squad meeting.

It was with haste that she moved, running through the streets and taking to higher ground when needed; she preferred it really, the parkor way to travel was the best way in her mind. Besides, running was just something she loved to do. She headed straight for the training ground they were supposed to meet at, making it with plenty of time to spare. She slowed upon her arrival, looking around with eyes the color of molten silver: she saw a male leaning against a tree trunk and.. was that a kangaroo? Chasing dragonflies. She flicked her gaze back to the male, really taking the time to take in his appearance: she had heard rumors around the village – even when things were supposed to be quiet they weren't often kept that way – and easily assumed that this had to be Karukaya Kaname the Rakuenkage's personal student – and that meant that he was likely their sensei.

She offered up the appropriate bow of respect as a greeting. ”Sensei, I presume.” Artemis wasn't an ass kisser by far, but she would offer respect unless given a reason not to. Upon straightening she stood with a slightly side stance, weight leaning more on one leg then the other as her arms folded across her chest: comfortable for her.

Someone knocked at the door to his 1 bedroom apartment. Shuffling out of bed, Kinzoku opened the door and saw no one, but there was a message scroll next to the door frame. He grabbed it, opened the scroll and read it.

Apparently the Kage saw fit to put him on a squad. Kinzoku saw it coming, having taken the rank of Genin. He also guessed that the squad leader would probably be someone younger than him, but it didn't matter. He wanted to learn all he could in his re-education, and welcomed whatever knowledge from where ever it would come, even from people younger than he was. He had a whole new attitude now. His goal was no longer to become the strongest, the best, in the shortest amount of time possible; no, he would take his time and learn everything.

The journey back to his gourd would be a long one, and he had to start somewhere. Eventually, after bathing, eating and dressing, Kinzoku was out the door and toward the meeting place located in the scroll: a training ground.

A tall individual of 6 feet could be seen approaching. He was wearing a red top with yellow trim. The top had a large collar that concealed everything below a pair of piercing yellow eyes. Kinzoku had tanned caramel skin and short frizzy black hair. He had on knee length pants and black gloves and sandals. While normally he would have been seen with a large black gourd on his back, he no longer had it. He still walked as slowly as he did when he once had his prized weapon.

A person was leaning on a tree ahead. An animal - what looked like a kangaroo - was chasing insects. Kinzoku guessed that this was the squad captain, and saw that he was right in his assumption that they would be younger than he was. The kangaroo had to be a companion, or a pet. It didn't matter. The male had to be someone special if he was the captain. Kinzoku would soon find out.

There was someone else too, a girl. The same girl from earlier, who was being bullied. Would she be on squad with him now? This didn't matter either. There was no expression on what could be seen of Kinzoku's face, and he looked between them with a calm, almost sleepy expression, remaining silent. Did either of them know the details of his dirty past? Would they judge him because of it? Kinzoku would soon find this out as well.

Yellow eyes blink slowly as Kinzoku folded his arms in front of him, waiting for their team captain to speak.

"..."

Aaaand there was both of them. Early, and that was fine with him. That they got there at about the same time worked for him, they could get started early then. He clicked his tongue softly, calling Coen to come to him. The 'roo had almost caught his new friend, but he needed him to not be running around and such. It'd be too easy for him to bow into one of them if he wasn't paying attention, after all.

”Sensei, I presume.”

"To the point, I like that. Not a bad guess, either. Not too many would jump to that conclusion." Coen hopped up beside him and settled into a 'sit', in as far as he ever did. He was a bit upset that he hadn't caught the dragonfly, but he'd forget about it pretty fast. "Did you do what I asked you, son?"

"Of course, Daddy. They're hidden."

"Good, good. Now, I have a little test for you guys, but we'll come to that in a minute. For now, introductions. I'm Karukaya Kaname. Taijutsu and Fire user, and resident animal specialist. I do double duty as active duty ninja and work the field teams for the local wildlife centers. My partner is Coen, and as you can see, he's very much capable of speaking human language, and he is extremely intelligent. He is also very well trained in Taijutsu and Fire, so I would advise not trying anything stupid around him."

"Hi!"

"Now, I've got copies of your files, but they're basically non-existent in details beyond basic combat statistics, and I'm the type that prefers to get to know the people I have to work with. If you would be willing, I'd like to know a little about you; goals and the like. Do you have anything special in terms of obligations that I need to know about? Special skills? Things like that."

“I was taught rather early in life not to judge it's book by it's cover; or in this case rank and skill by someone's age.” Artemis responded. She glanced over to her other teammate, noticing that he was the one who had helped her to deal with the bullies earlier; well, at least she knew already that he knew how to fight. Which meant this would likely go better then the last squad's beginnings did. Or, at least she hoped as much.

Artemis then focused her attention back onto her sensei and his companion. They spoke of something being hidden, a test, and this caused her curiosity to peak. Artemis liked tests rather well: the chance to prove herself was not something she shied away from. Plus, they were just fun: she liked testing herself both mentally and physically because it was how to grow and expand.

She listened then as Karukaya explained a bit about himself: how he doubled as both a ninja as well as working for the wildlife centers. That was impressive to say the least; one life was hard enough, but two? She had no idea how Karukaya managed it, but she hoped to learn. She then listened as Karukaya explained about his kangaroo, Coen. While she had had no intentions of messing with the 'kid' it was good to know that he was capable of defending himself.

When Karukaya finished speaking Artemis decided to go first, ”My name's Artemis Tatsumaki. I prefer above everything to use Taijutsu; I prefer to use my hands and feet rather then weapons. I don't really have any full time obligations; though in my off time I like to participate in dance and gymnastics. I also have the wonderful pleasure of amusing both of my parents by 'sneaking' home small injured or sick animals I happen across and nursing them back to health: working with them keeps me calm. My goal in life would have to be to raise up enough money to open my own animal center: strictly a no-kill one.” And she was done: she didn't mention her little anger issue over her height issue; being five foot two inches tall just sucked sometimes...

Karukaya Kaname was his name. Aside being a ninja, he was a wildlife specialist. He had to have some kind of connection with animals, since the kangaroo, Coen, spoke to him. It was surprising, but Kinzoku's expression didn't change. it was even more surprising to know that the animal had fighting skills.

The captain wanted to do meet and greet. The girl that he helped earlier was named Artemis, who was a fighter. She liked dancing and gymnastics, and also seemed to be into animals. She and the captain would get along, he could see that now. Artemis didn't seem like one of those girly girls, and Kinzoku didn't know if that was good or bad.

Then came his turn... though he didn't really know what to say. "...I'm called "Kinzoku"... Inmates called me that after an... incident while I was in prison. Before she vanished, my mother wasn't very fond of me, so she never gave me a name," he explained calmly.

"Anyways, I don't have any true goals besides getting stronger. Once I could control iron sand. I aim to re-educate myself and start from scratch, learn everything again from the basics. This would mean getting familiar with Raiton and Doton. I was born with the ability to turn my skin into metal, and my main method of defending myself is Taijutsu... There's no family or anything of the like, so I can devote my full time in training and whatever other duties you may have for us..."

He wasn't going to get into any other details that they probably already knew. The story was all over the village by now. While it normally bothered him, nowadays he didn't really seem to care about it, or anything for that matter. Still with his calm, plain look, Kinzoku waited for what this test the captain spoke of was.

Oooh, another animal person. That was going to make this even easier; they'd get along swimmingly. Dancing and gymnastics where perfect activities for Taijutsu users, anything to keep them limber and agile, work the muscles and keep the joints fresh and clear. Yeah, they'd have an easy time working together. The other male was a bit... closed; but then again, he really couldn't blame him. With the stories floating around about him, it was understandable. Eh, so long as he followed the rules and worked, they'd be able to work together; although if his attitude was always going to be that closed off, they'd never be more than work partners at best.

"Well, you've told me about yourselves, I should tell you a bit about me, beyond what everyone knows. Strength and fame aren't my style; I'm a protector at heart, or so I tell myself. I try to do just that, protect my people and the world around us. A spend a lot of time out on the far plains, and you're likely going to get to know them well with me, because most of my missions end up out there. I can tell you this right now, you're going to spend time around the Rakuenkage. She likes to drop in and mess with me when I'm in town."

He knelt down to his bag and riffled around in it a bit, retrieving a small golden token from a side pocket. It was a round disk, roughly 3 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick. Standing once more, he held it up so that they could easily see it. "In the brush around this field, Coen has hidden a token identical to this one. Exact same size, color, weight, and design. Your test is simple. Find it. You have until sundown, but I highly doubt you'll need that long. How you find it is up to you. If neither of you finds it, well; we'll come to that bridge if we must."

The brush around the field was extremely dense; the recent rains had kicked growth into overdrive, with new plants, vines, scrubs, tree, everything was new and young and thickly packed. It was as good as a tangle brush maze in there. Coen's advantage was his height, he could easily reach places that normally couldn't be reached, and do it without leaving a trail, since he could jump insane distances from a stand still. There would be no trail to follow, not like how there had bee when he'd done this same test with Temaki months before. More difficult, but not impossible. "I will give you a bit of a tip... avoid anything that looks like fuzzy cabbage sitting in a flat leaf salad. That is a painful plant to mess with."

"Ew, nettles. Stingy."

Artemis stayed quiet and paid attention as Kinzoku explained about himself: she had heard rumors floating around but she never paid attention to any of them. She didn't like the rumor mill, and tended to avoid it as much as possible. She simply blinked when he said he was in prison: it wasn't her business to know why, and she had no intentions of prying. She listened patiently as he finished explaining about himself and then she focused her attention back onto their sensei.

Her silver eyes remained fixated as their sensei explained more about himself, including the fact that they'd likely end up spending time around the Rakuenkage due to her habit of dropping in when Karukaya was in town. She couldn't imagine being that close to such a person; to know the leader of the village well enough for them to come drop in on you for a visit with how busy they were. And then her attention shifted to the token that Karukaya was showing them and her thoughts turned to it: she memorized the size, color, and shape of it while her silver eyes sparkled.

They had to find that? That wasn't going to be quite so easy... especially as it was apparent that Coen had hidden it. Artemis didn't know all that much about kangaroo's but she did know enough to know their jumping ability was insane. Unlike a normal animal that created a path or trail, there wasn't going to be one in this case. Still, she was hopeful that it could be found, and she was more then willing to try. She didn't want to know what would happen if neither of them found it; the idea of failing their first task wasn't an appealing one.

She made a mental note about the plant that Karukaya described that they needed to avoid and nodded in response. She then turned her attention to Kinzoku; Artemis wasn't normally the leader type but she was going to go out in the limb here. ”Want to work together, or separately?” She would leave the choice up to him: she didn't care either way. Though, they were likely to find it easier if they worked together, and it was always best to at least try... she had nothing personally against him after all, and getting to know her teammates was something she liked to do.

Word Count: 1,323

The captain wasn't one to be all about strength, or one to seek fame, as he explained. From the sounds of things, he was always out and about. Some of the missions they'd be going on would be out in the wilds. He also said the Kage - someone he'd seen from a distance but hadn't met himself yet - would be dropping in on them. Kinzoku wondered how she would take to the son of a former Kunoichi in her employ going along the same motions she once did years before; a Kunoichi who'd withstood years of torture after foiling a plot against her life...

The captain pulled a disk out and told the two of them to find one just like it. As Coen was the one that hid it, Kinzoku knew that this wouldn't be an easy task. "We'll come to that bridge if we must..." What would happen if they failed to find it? Kinzoku didn't like the sound of that. Surely they wouldn't have to suffer a beating or something of the like? Would they have to fight Coen? Would they have to fight each other?

There was much growth around them. Kinzoku turned to look about the landscape with half closed yellow eyes. He started to wonder what the purpose was behind finding a golden disc, but perhaps he would learn soon. He glanced toward Artemis when she spoke, then looked back forward. "...We'll cover more ground if we move separately..." was his response, and he started walking...

Kinzoku began to look everywhere, taking his time, moving slowly. His yellow eyes tracked every nook and cranny; behind every tree, beneath every rock. How long this was going to take, who knew...

Waiting for them to leave and start their search, Coen shifted close to Karu and whispered something in what to normal ears would be a grunting, almost chirping series of noises. The native tongue of the ninja kangaroos, he'd started teaching it to Karu just as Karu had taught him to speak like a human. The message was simple enough, "Itchy." The 'roo was fighting the urge to scratch at his arms, he was passing off an occasional rub as pushing off flies and such that landed on him. His fur hid the redness that was growing as a result of contact dermatitis, the result of sticking them into one of the large nettle plants that they'd been told of. A simple misdirection trick; if they were smart, they'd figure it out without much trouble. If not, or too scared to risk touching one, they'd fail the test. He was already a little disappointing that they hadn't been able to work together, that was half the point of the exercise; but at least Artemis had attempted.

Still, first tests rarely worked out the way you wanted them, and he was patient.

"I know, son. Get some medicine out of the kit. There's some spray in there that will help, and it looks like bug spray." He was whispering as well; actually, not even really that. He was sub-vocalizing; mouthing the words in a way that allowed for the absolute bare minimum of sounds to escape from him, it would just be a series of clicks and such to the untrained ear, but Coen's strong hearing would pick it up easily. "When you're done with that, let's spar some. Something to pass the time."

Coen did as instructed, fetching a spray can of what would appear for all the world to be bug spray, making a show of spraying it across his body like you would bug spray, and offering to spray Karu's arms and back; which he allowed to keep up the ruse. One the can was back in the bag, they moved toward the middle of the large open area and slipped into the base capoeira stance, the ginga. He was moving back and forth, low to the ground and in a rhythmic fashion; Coen was shifting into a classic boxing stance. They always worked like this, each would take on a different fighting style and work only with it while they fought the other. It forced them to really work, and to think outside of the box, because some of the styles they used where polar opposites and perfect counters of each other. This would be a good way to pass the time.

So, Kinzoku wanted to work alone? That was fine; though it wasn't the preferred method she would do what she could alone. She watched Kinzoku take off, glanced back at Coen and Karukaya curiously, and then took off herself. She moved in a slightly different direction then Kinzoku, wanting to give him his space to work. This task was going to be hard, but she doubted it impossible; Karukaya didn't come off as cruel enough to create a task that couldn't be completed.

After she got a decent way into the shrubbery and such she forced herself to stop and think: she climbed a nearby tree and sat on it – giving her a view of the immediate area. There had to have been some sort of hint, something that she was missing, something that was escaping her notice. And so she took the time to think on everything that had been said; starting from the very beginning of their conversation when they had arrived up until the most recent. Nothing stood out at first and so she repeated the mental process again. By the third time she found herself wondering why, of all of the plants, insects, and animals that they could have been warned about did Karukaya feel the need to warn them about the nettles specifically.

Unless....

No way, that had to be too easy, right?

Artemis placed her hands, palm down, on the branch on either side of herself and hoisted herself up and off. She dropped down the six or so feet to the ground and landed in a crouch. As she stood she took a moment to look around and then began to move. She wasn't looking for a single plant at the moment; more like for a cluster of the things. She would start there, and if she were wrong then she'd change directions with the search. As she searched she found herself thinking if she wanted to tell Kinzoku or not about her hunch: he had decided that he wanted to work separately but they were teammates after all. After several moments of internal debate she decided that if she crossed Kinzoku's path she would let him know where she thought the token they were to find might be.

Word Count: 377 + 1,323 = 1,700

"I will give you a bit of a tip... avoid anything that looks like fuzzy cabbage sitting in a flat leaf salad. That is a painful plant to mess with."

Because, that had to be where the disc was hidden, right? That would have been too easy. Yellow half closed eyes glance back at the sensei and his animal companion, seeing or hearing nothing out of the ordinary. The Kangaroo produced what seemed to be bug spray; nothing out of the ordinary. It sounded like someone was smacking their lips or enjoying some candy.

Maybe that's what it was, or maybe it was some kind of hidden way of communicating, or maybe Kinzoku was just thinking too hard on things. He continued to look around the growth in the landscape around them. If he remembered correctly from his time in the academy, these first meets usually involved forming a bond with team mates, and emphasized the importance of working together. It was nothing against the girl but he had no desire to get close to anyone.

Kinzoku help open his right hand. A brown liquid-looking substance seemed to drip from his palm until it formed a long staff-like weapon. He used to to bend larger plants to the side, to look beside and beneath growth that he was better off not touching, and to lift stones that didn't look too sealed to the ground. He didn't really see the purpose behind this exercise, but perhaps the sensei knew something he didn't.

Iron Stick:

What had to be weighing on his mind amongst the other thoughts was how he was going to handle encountering the Kage. His mother's squad was killed, and she was tortured for years after a mission to foil an attempt on the Kage's family's life went sideways. He was the result of that mission. All he'd heard was that she was an elaborate dresser and that she was a bit on the crazy side. A short temper mixed with Explosion release...

In that encounter, Kinzoku figured it best that he just remain silent. He glanced back again to see the captain and the Coen squared off, in what looked to be a spar. Back to the task at hand, it wouldn't be long before Kinzoku came to a patch of what looked like the plant that the sensei previously described: fuzzy cabbage sitting in a flat leaf salad. He wasn't going to risk touching the plant; thus the reason for his bronze staff. Carefully so that he didn't damage any of them, he began to bend the leaves and move the growth to the sides, for a more detailed look...

Chakra: 390/400
WC: 1,509

"How much you want to bet that they finally realized what I said?" He was rotating his body even as he flipped around his center of gravity; taking himself to a handstand that allowed him to go right into a spinning windmill kick. They didn't half ass even light spars, even with only a few minutes between when they'd started and now, they where working up a good sweat; Coen was wearing his base gloves, Karu was breathing smoke, and both had taken a few hits each.

The spinning did little to detour the 'roo, Coen just reared back on his tail to wait out the spin and used the extra momentum of his weight shifting back to his feet to power an uppercut aimed for Karukaya's lower ribs; which ended up catching his thigh as the elder rotated and shifted out of the way and into a tucked dive roll. That was gunna hurt in the morning. Still speaking the kangaroo language, "They did. They're picking around in every nettle plant around."

"Only the ones right at the edge of the brushline?" From his position on the ground he was able to roll to his knees and launch like a snake at the 'roo, aiming to tackle from the mid-body and force him over; this was when they brought in a style switch, he was changing from capoeira to jujitsu now, and jujitsu was the art of floor grappling; which was something that massively screwed Coen over because of his anatomy. He just wasn't anywhere near as flexible; but he was stronger and had more escapes, so he was able to jump out of the way and leave a shallow graze on Karu's arm for his troubles.

"Yeah, just the obvious ones. Neither has really dug into the brush line; they're sticking where they can see the field; maybe getting 20 feet in or so."

"So... they just don't want to find one, then. Wonderful."

"No, I think the girl is actually trying. She at least seems willing, anyway. This male is just, strange. I don't think he actually listens, or else he hears but he's not getting the entire message."

"Or just doesn't know a thing about 'roos."

"With these legs, it's obvious I jump. You even told them I hid it. Why they're not looking at least twice as deep into the brush as they are now I can't understand. I must have leaped 30 meters, if not more; so that token's no where near either of them."

"I know, son. But sometimes people just don't think." He managed to grab a hold of Coen's and pulled the big 'roo forward and off balance; that was what he needed to bounce off the ground himself and contort his body around Coen's until he had him in a neck lock from hell; Karu's spine was basically rubber and he could get into some seriously odd positions when needed, and adjusting jujitsu holds to fit kangaroo anatomy meant he had to push himself into strange shapes to do anything. "Call it, son."

"Yeah yeah, you got me Daddy." Coen wasn't even about to try that, he'd dislocated his shoulder the last time he tried to get out of that hold, and he just did not want to spend the night at the center again. "Break?"

"Might as well, they're going to either get it now, or never; so might as well watch."

Artemis ventured forward several more meters until she paused; nothing looked even remotely disturbed, including the few nettles she had actually found. Frowning to herself she let out a frustrated sigh; she was rushing into this too fast, it was time to really allow her mind to process and think. And so, as Artemis often did when her utmost concentration was needed on something, she dropped to one knee. The tips of her fingers came together and her eyes closed. She remained completely still, utterly motionless outside of the gentle breeze playing with her clothing and hair. She allowed her mind to completely clear as she went back over everything that had happened like a movie on rewind: what all did she know? She was sure that the 'hint' was that this token was hidden in the nettle plants themselves. However, she had found no token anywhere near here. So what else did she know? Well, Coen had been the one to hide it, not Karukaya. Kangaroo's got around by jumping, and they could jump far; though she wasn't entirely sure how exactly far that was. As she continued to think about it she realized that perhaps she was under-estimating the 'roo. Could he have jumped further then previously thought? It seemed like the most likely scenario. It also, now that she was taking the time to think about it, seemed silly that Coen would have hidden something so close to their starting position. No, it seemed more logical to hide it further out; perhaps far enough that they wouldn't have been able to see had they arrived earlier then what they both did. Yes, that seemed like the most logical situation.

Artemis stood suddenly, eyes opening as she did so. She glanced around her current position and then moved again; meter after meter as she headed further out and away from their starting position. She was careful as she moved, ensuring that she kept an eye out for anything out of the ordinary as she went: she didn't want to risk missing the token after all, even though she was sure it was further out.

Once she was a good thirty meters out she glanced backwards; she could no longer see Coen or her sensei, meaning that she was definitely deep enough to begin looking by her logical standards. Knowing that she didn't want to get her hands near anything prickly she broke a thin and mostly straight branch off of a nearby tree. She broke a few of the smaller twigs away to make it easier to use: it was perfect, it'd allow her to poke around in things without worrying about injuring herself in the process. So, with her makeshift 'spear' in hand she began to search the nearby plants; specifically the nettle plants that they had been warned about. She was careful while she searched, ensuring as she went that she didn't end up brushing up against or stepping on any of them either.

As she kept moving outwards, keeping careful check of where she had looked and where she hadn't, she poked at a specific plant and paused. Was that something shiny? Artemis leaned in cautiously, aiming for a closer look. Had she found the token? Or a piece of garbage that had made its way here?

Word Count: 554 + 1,700 = 2,254

Think, Kinzoku. That thing was hidden by a kangaroo. Kangaroos have insane jump power. if it's hidden around here, it has to be in there, deep, in the middle somewhere. Would he catch a rash or something? Would these plants make him itch?

Well, whatever had to be done. Whatever that got him closer to reattaining his gourd. Kinzoku began walking into the growth, using his bronze stick to move some of the growth aside as best he could, so he could walk, and also to look for this disc.

How's this for a first impression. It was probably the same old story with the captain and that girl Artemis. This guy's got problems. Something's wrong with him, he's a headcase. It all sounded too familiar now; all the same old shit he was used to. it didn't get him angry like it used to, just irritated. Maybe he was better off by himself, a solo unit. This exercise had to be a team building thing, and here he was, off on his own.

He wasn't seeing any signs of any disc. Yellow piercing eyes scanned every inch of the ground below him. He paid attention to his feet, just in case he stepped on something hard that wasn't a root or a rock. Find a disc in a patch of nasty plants. As much as he thought about it, he really couldn't find the purpose behind it all, but still, he'd do as he was asked. If it meant getting closer to the gourd again, he was ready to do whatever. Every inch counted.

Kinzoku poked at something with his iron stick, noticing a genuine stick poking the same thing, to then look and see Artemis holding that stick. He was looking and scanning so hard that he hadn't noticed that he'd nearly run right into her. It seemed that they'd both noticed the same shiny thing in the growth. Were they done?

WC 324 + 1,509 = 1,833

"Oh, there they go. Took them long enough."

"The female stopped to think. I don't think the male really did. Seemed like he was just poking around and ran out of stuff to check, so he followed her into the brush."

"Eh, either way. They did find one of them."

"They should have found both."

"If they'd worked together, they'd likely notice the second one above their heads."

"Yeah. It's not even really hidden, but you'd never see it from the ground."

They moved back to the tree and settled to wait, passing a bottle of water back and forth between each other. Coen removed his gloves and stuffed them into their pouch next to his flame gloves, there was no reason to have them on now since neither of them planned on sparing or fighting again anytime soon.

"So, what do you think?"

"The female has potential; the male is... anti-social, but if he'd be willing to work, he'd could become a decent teammate."

"Agreed."

2826/2350 STR B1-B3