New Assignment

[Mugen]

At the foot of towering stone brick buildings, beneath the hazy mist that pervaded all of Kirigakure, stood one Hōzuki far out of their depth. The chain of command had become destabilized and, with so many holes in their ranks, Kirigakure sought to assign a few of their ANBU operatives to teaching duty. For Mugen, this was a nightmare. They weren't the teaching type, they thought. It was better for a naïve genin to train under someone who would be enthusiastic and encouraging to a student, surely. But, despite all of their protests and pleas, there was no other option.

So, there Mugen stood, shifting weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other. "What appearance would be best?" The Hōzuki pondered, morphing their feminine features into something a bit more androgynous. "Maybe it doesn't matter. Maybe she won't even show up, and I can just go home and tell the boss tomorrow that I tried my best but it just wasn't for me, and they should find someone else. I work better alone, anyway..."

 

[Haizansha Furasato]

A subtle rapping accompanied Haizansha on the way to meet her new sensei; the rhythm almost reminiscent of children running sticks through fences. A stark white spike held between her fingers danced against the masonry of each stone-brick building. It thrummed with hollow echoes, reverberating the almost-nostalgic sound. The more gruesome truth was in her hand was no stick, she was no child, and these buildings were no white-painted picket fences.

The tang of the sea hung in the air as pervasive as the mist that seemed a constant in the village. In her younger years she had loved the mist, especially days when it was too thick to see through at some points. She would find the highest point of the fog, stand in such a way that it hid her from the waist down. She used to pretend to be a ghost in those times. The irony of pretending to be what she was now had never left her bones. She smiled in the saddest way, remembering how she had somehow predicted how her life would now be.

Her smile faded as the fog lessened. Today was the day most Genin look forward to. Today was the day she would meet her sensei and, presumably, the rest of her team. She had only been given a time and a place however so the details of the meeting were more of a suggestion than anything. She couldn't help but wonder what had caused such a nonchalant beginning to what would presumably be one of the most important relationships in her life. Was it her sensei's decision or had the sudden disappearance of the Mizukage had ripples that reached this deep?

Lost in her thoughts she didn't realize that the meeting point was quickly approaching. If it wasn't for the constant motion, foot to foot, feature to feature, of the person she wouldn't have noticed them at all. Her smile returned, smaller but with no hint of sadness this time. She found it charming, and reassuring, to find adults, or at least those in power, were sometimes as unsure as she felt.

"Un." She wasn't sure how to greet the person. Sir? Ma'am? Sensei? None of the words felt one-hundred percent. "Furasato, Haizansha, pleasure." Her voice, husky for a girl, wafted on the air like cigar smoke before going down like whisky. "I look forward to working with you."

 

[Mugen]

Just as they has begun to settle on throwing in the towel, Mugen heard a set of footsteps emerging through the haze of salty mist. Their posture straightened up, and their gaze turned to meet that of their student. She looked about as accurate as a block of text could describe a human being, but not the way Mugen imagined. When distance between them tightened, the student spoke, offering a gentle smile and a curt introduction of herself. Mugen's back leg flinched, fighting instinct to take a step back and create more space. "Don't be rude," The Hozuki thought.

"Ah- Er, good morning, genin, it's.... good to meet you." The uneasiness of Mugen's tone betrayed their internal discomfort, clashing with their otherwise cool, smooth timbre of voice. "You're my first student. I.. hope we can work well together as a unit." Their lips shaped into the most polite smile they could conjure.

 

[Haizansha Furasato]

Her head jerked back as a disapproving frown pulled at her lips. "Haizansha." She repeated. Her name was not Genin. She had spent too long answering to such generic and empty words. She had spent most of her life answering to them. Now that she had a name she would make sure others used it. "My name is Haizansha." She moved past her sensei whose name they had not given and pressed her back against the brick wall. The hollow bone she held in her hand beat against the stone in a simple rhythm, filling the silence between the two.

"Soooo...." She shuffled uncomfortably silently cursing that this was her sensei. "What should I call you? Sensei? Teach? Trainer?"