Hide and Seek

Mission Name: Hide and Seek
Mission Type: Education
Mission Rank: D
Mission Goal: Find all 15 Students
Description: The Academy is planning a game of Ninja Hide and Seek to teach the children how to hide. The Academy's head is requesting an experienced Shinobi to act as the seeker and find the students while offering pointers.
Payment: 10,000 Ryo
Requirements: Genin+

Another of Azra's early missions brought him to the academy of Kirigakure. He paused on his approach. The building was actually fairly large, considering the time. Most structures of this era were designed to hold one, maybe two, families and sometimes a shop. This one was clearly designed with mass function in mind. He estimated at least 20 groups of student classes could be held in simultaneous conference. There were also the teacher's quarters and even a large opening in the middle. Given the nature of this place, he reasoned that it was a training area.

Azra had never actually attended the Academy. He'd been in the village for years, of course, but due to his particular path, he was far too old for such juvenile learning by the time he'd chosen the life of a ninja. But he was no slouch. Even without formal training, he had managed to catch up to the level of others with his level of shinobi experience. Fortunately, that was quite small at the time.

The cloaked figure continued down the trodden road leading to the Academy's large entrance. It bore a sign over its doors, denoting its title. As he glanced over the letters in solemn boredom, Azra did notice that they were kept in surprisingly good condition. The entire grounds, he now noticed, were very clean and orderly. He liked that. It reminded him of his workshop with Deik, the only other person he had ever worked alongside for any extended length of time.

He doubted today's mission would change that fact. He was to join another Genin in some form of stealth training oversight. Though they were to complete this mission together, their companionship would likely not extend beyond this and perhaps a few more encounters. He wondered if that was a fact he would be okay with. Going at this whole shinobi thing alone did sound exhausting. A companion could lighten that load considerably. But it would have to be someone he considered worth working with. Someone like Deik. He'd met many of the opposite nature, unsavory individuals, that his relationship with ended much more abruptly.

Azra took a seat on one of the few benches spread sparsely around the Academy's front facing lawn. There was no reason to enter just yet. The appointed meeting time was yet some few minutes away. He could afford to sit and passively observe the fluttering birds while waiting for the other participant.

Another mission it would seem, and this time he knew he wouldn't be working with Tsubaki. For she was holed up in meetings for the day, ah the life of a clan head must be exhausting. However this didn't dissuade Calin in the slightest. After his ordeal with the plague, he needed all of the hands on experience he could get his hands on in order to finish recovering. From what he could tell he was nearly at the level he had been at before he blacked out in Kumogakure, a pool of his own blood, coming from between his own lips, slowly spreading out beneath his head. The Kaguya clan head moved into the Academy grounds with a slow assured step, his gaze automatically sighting the man in the tree before the entrance. A poor attempt to hide if that was the point but the pale haired young man doubted that had been the purpose. It appeared more like they were simply waiting for him to arrive so that they could begin their mission. It was actually an odd feeling for the Kaguya, usually he was the one waiting for others to arrive. This time, someone else had been waiting on him. It was a feeling he disliked strongly, and one he resolved to ensure didn't happen often.

Dressed in a loose cobalt blue yukata that was loosely tied to slip off easily, and shinobi combat boots, the bone wielder would walk toward the tree, his eyes never leaving the figure in it. "Good morning, I'm assuming we're partners for this mission? I'm Calin, Calin Kaguya." He would say politely, his voice cool and even, neither showing joy nor dislike. He didn't know this individual yet, whether or not they became closer as friends than mere work associates would remain to be seen. However Calin prided himself on his manners before the plague took him down. He saw no reason why he should refrain from being just as polite after his recovery. "Hide and Seek eh? Been a long time since I've played that one, you?" He'd ask before looking up to check the time with the sun. "We still have some time before we gotta get in there, wanna chat for a few to get to know one another or should we head on in? You were first here, so I'll default to you" He'd say with a small, amicable smile toward his partner. It was a simple method that had been how things seemed to work for him and Tsubaki.

The birds whistled their tunes and flew this way and that. They were curiously happy creatures. Their lives were so basic, trivial almost, yet they were always so happy all the time. Azra reasoned that it must be their minds. If the intelligence of these creatures was as low as he surmised, then they must not want for much. With little desire to ignite ambition, they must then be capable of true happiness in even moderately bleak circumstances.

But the real curiosity was the intelligence of one who would watch and ponder the intelligence of birds. Azra encountered similar creatures before, but he'd never had the time to sit there and watch them. He didn't have any interest to, either. For a small moment, he wondered if a life that would leave noticeable gaps of dead time was really a wise choice. He had to remind himself of the goal. There was much to learn and that was simply the best way to go about it. Even with dead time as bird watching, it was the most efficient path.

A young man's voice broke through the musical chirping. Azra, completely unmoving, responded in turn.

"Hello, Calin. It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Azra." The guy in the black cloak (that's Azra) sat there in the tree. He didn't even look at Calin. The birds had gone into some interesting pattern of flight. The more he observed, though, the less he thought it was an actual pattern. He wondered if, perhaps, the birds were simply trying to get to many different places in turn, but were not quite smart enough to prioritize them. That would result in a constant back and forth, switching destinations or finding new ones as soon as another place caught their attention. From there, they'd travel the paths of least resistance. This would certainly explain the repetitive flying, which any human would recognize as some kind of pattern. In the bird's mind, though, there was no pattern at all. Who was right, then?

"I've never played." Said Azra. He finally vacated his seat in favor of standing on the road once more. The birds, while partially interesting, were not quite worth the investment of time he was on the verge of spending.

"We have a few minutes still. It would not hurt to become better acquainted." Azra reasoned as he started a slow, casual walk towards the Academy's entrance. "Tell me, Calin, how fares the Kaguya?"

'Never played Hide and Seek?' The Kaguya would think as Azra landed on the ground near him. The dark garbed man choosing to take a few minutes to get to know one another before heading in the start the mission. A decision which Calin was personally more in favor of as well. "Well, the Kaguya have been doing well as far as I know. I haven't gotten too involved with clan business recently. I've been working to get myself back into shape. I recently awoke from a coma you see, and I've needed time to 'rebuild' as it were." He would say, beginning his own side of things by pointing out that he might be aware of recent events if the discussion moved toward that path in the woods. "I'm a close quarters combat fighter through and through, although I might work some distance into the mix at some point. I started the Academy extremely late because I went to school to learn of politics first, learning how to maneuver a conversation and such. I enjoy eating different kinds of food, training, and spending time with my Queen." He would say, summing up his life as quickly as possible. "What about you?" He would ask Azra in curiosity, wanting to know more of his fellow man.

A brief though occurred to Calin after all, but he'd wait until Azra had finished answering, if he did, before asking. "By the way, do you need me to go over the rules of Hide and Seek for you? I don't mind." He would ask, making sure his partner knew how the mission was to proceed before they headed inside. It was important information to know if one was to play the game after all. Calin himself didn't foresee any issues, but that didn't mean there wouldn't be any.

Azra immediately resonated with Calin with only the third sentence. Azra, too, was only just getting back into shape. His reasons for such were much different than Calin's, however. But what allied fellow creatures was not so much their past, but their goals and ideals. Thus far, Calin satisfied at least part of one of those. The only differences came about when Calin went on to explain his specialties. However, these were not the kind of differences that could lead to any kind of division or prejudice. Rather, they were they ideal pieces to a specific puzzle which allowed two or more people to fit perfectly well together. As a team, Calin and Azra could meet two of three conditions which Azra found absolutely necessary for combat. The first was close combat. As both a Kaguya, with a powerful Kekkei Genkai designed well for close quarters combat, and a specific focus on close combat itself, Calin was the ideal candidate for the soldier position.

The other positions were archer and support. An archer is one who is specifically tailored to deliver long range attacks. They must also bear the accuracy required to support the soldier role without putting the soldier in any kind of danger. This was, perhaps, the most difficult role to fulfill. Unfortunately, Azra was not capable of fulfilling these requirements. This left him in the support role. The support role consists of not only arming the soldier and the archer, but in providing tactical assistance and guidance during battle. Azra so far fulfilled part of that role. He was capable of providing armor, weapons, and other material items, but only up to a certain level. He had not fully mastered that art. He also lacked several key skills that would be necessary to fully comply with the needs of this theoretical three-man squad. While the archer was the most difficult position to fill, the support was the most important and also the longest to realize. Azra knew that it would take a great deal of time in order for him to reach the capacity required for the highest level of operations. That said, this squad would still be effective if the enemies it faced were moderated. By selecting specific missions and targets, Azra, as support, would be able to arrange the squad's tasks to match its abilities.

Azra began to mentally size up Calin. The cloaked man was not the sort of person to require constant sight of a person's body for this. He was the sort that could take a mental picture with one look. He could then use that to gauge an individual. So he continued the slow walk with Calin, listening and dissecting every word, while holding that image in the center of his mind's eye. Calin seemed, to Azra, to have not yet realized his full potential. In fact, there was great deal of improvement yet to come, should Calin's will prove sufficient. Even still, his current level was supreme. Calin Kaguya, without being close to his final power, was a very powerful man. In just the few words passed on to him, Azra determined Calin to be a fine candidate for the role of soldier. Whether he was suited to actually work in such a squad was yet to be seen.

"I am no man fit for combat. Instead, I focus on the auxiliary. I am learned in the crafting of armor, weapons, and any other object you might think of. However, like yourself, I am quite rusty in my ability. I, too, must restore my previous abilities through earnest practice." Azra responded. He spoke a mildly archaic accent. Most people knew this right away from him, but they rarely ever knew why. Though he was about to explain part of it to Calin, there was actually much more to it.

"I've been in this village since its conception. However, I have not found the desire within myself to don the mantle of shinobi, until recently. I hope you'll forgive my lack of ability when considering my age." Azra spoke with a nod of his head. That was an indication of remorse in some lands and times. It may or may not have been such in this particular place and time, but he used it still all the same. And though he spoke of age, Azra was fully aware that Calin would not be aware of his actual age, for he was cloaked in the shadow of his cloak. Still, with a voice of a grown and deep chested male, it may have been obvious.

"I assume that the goal of hide and seek is that the children will hide, while we shall seek. Accordingly, our goal will be to find the children in order to properly test their capability for stealth. Am I correct?" Asked Azra. He'd not played the game before, but the mere title of it indicated a great deal.

Once Calin addressed the pondering of Hide and Seek, Azra would continue by positing another question. "So you have a queen. Am I accurate in assuming that she is Kaguya and you are leader of the clan?" There was a moderate chance that the woman Calin spoke of was actually the leader. Azra was not yet knowledgeable enough of that clan's inner workings to ascertain this based on either prior knowledge nor upon the few words spoken of it by Calin.

Calin would nod as his temporary companion explained his own preferred combat role and that he too got a late start in the shinobi forces. The reasons why were unimportant, it was simply the way it was for some people. You could technically join the forces at any age, so long as you were mobile and able to mold chakra. What mattered was if you were willing to put your life and pride on the line for the village. Or if the village thought that it could mold you to be willing to do so. Azra’s next question though, would cause Calin to cough nervously. “Uh, no, Lady Tsubaki is not my wife, and I am not the clan head. Tsubaki is the clan head and I follow her. Even if we did marry, she would probably retain the clan head role, and I’d be more of a prince-consort. I would think anyway.” He would say, a mild colouring on his cheeks as his mind conjured up the image of Tsubaki in a wedding dress with him next to her as her groom. He wouldn’t openly say they were together to anyone. For he didn’t know how openly she would want that information mentioned. He would rather err on the side of caution than misstep and anger his girlfriend.

“You’re correct on the matter of hide and seek, it’s a simple game, and we’re here to find the students and coach them in how they could’ve hidden themselves more effectively.” He would say as he reached the door to the academy and opened it, waving his partner in first, and following after if he proceeded. “I don’t foresee it taking too long, but you never can tell, sometimes kids can be extremely creative. We’re right on time on entering so they should’ve just gotten all hidden so we can start whenever. I say we split up and meet up in the main hallway to compare counts. Sound good to you?” He would ask, as he stood toward the left hand side of the hall, figuring he’d take the doors and halls on the left.

With consideration for the change in Calin's demeanor, Azra wondered if there may be some additional nuance. Calin clearly felt something for Tsubaki. Though it may not yet be substantial enough for action, it was sufficient to trigger a mild emotional response. He'd also given thought to the nature of a relationship with Tsubaki. Azra was somewhat curious in that matter. He'd never understood emotions particularly well. And while that small piece of information was interesting, it was far less important than what other he had gained from that conversation. Tsubaki Kaguya was the leader of the Kaguya Clan. She would be a major player within the village.

Azra's next words were on the subject of Calin's connection to Tsubaki, but it was hardly worthwhile speech. He was actually pleasantly surprised when Calin went deeper into the subject of hide and seek. "That is acceptable." Azra responded solemnly. He actually wasn't putting a terribly large amount of thought into this whole mission. It was very menial and so it allowed his mind to spend this time considering other thoughts and plans.

The two shinobi entered the academy. Down the first hall and to the right was a gathering of students only just exiting a classroom. Their teacher was holding the door open with one hand and performing a headcount with the other. The footsteps of the two newcomers caught his attention.

"Ah! Welcome! You're right on time." The teacher called out to Azra and Calin. "I'm Shio. It's a pleasure to meet the both of you." Just then, the last of the students entered the hall, which allowed the teacher to free his hands. "You must be Azra and Calin. Please, follow me to the outdoor area."

Azra would accept Calin's thoughts on how to handle the Hide and Seek game, provided it was actually held in doors of course. It was entirely possible it would be outside. Which mainly left just pushes and trees to hide around in, where the indoors provided a slew of locations. However some of those locations could potentially have hazards too, so he couldn't really be picky about where the game was played. He would nod and follow Shio to the outside area. "We know there's fifteen students playing, is there a specific area selected for the game?" Calin would ask as he followed the man. The sun was out in full force, a light mist, as always, permeated around the village in a mild fog.

The students would have a specific amount of time to hide before they started searching for them, giving them tips and advice for how to hide better as they did. Things such as working on covering ones tracks, to better hiding places, and even scent removal, would be important when it came to hiding. Both when it came to laying in wait for an ambush, or when it came to trying to survive by not being found. Noise was a factor as well, to that end ones breathing could easily give one away if someone wasn't careful. At this point it was simply a matter of Shio explaining how they had chosen to set the game up.

The instructor allowed the students to exit the building before stepping in front of the door. "Well, yes and no. We are restricting the students to the outdoor training area. It's fairly small and shouldn't pose a problem for the two of you in locating them. However, we've also been reviewing shinobi tactics lately. I would be disappointed if they actually hid in the designated area." The instructor replied with a grin. Being a competent shinobi meant thinking outside of any traditional guidelines. If these students entered the ninja world years later and were incapable of ingenuity, they would surely be useless, if not also dead. While this was a test in their ability to remain unseen, it was just as much a test of their creativity.

"Are there any further questions?" The instructor asked. There were technically five more minutes until the game would begin. The instructor, however, only planned to give them three. With Azra having no questions, only Calin could influence the timeframe in the students' favor. There would likely be at least a few of them entirely unprepared. While the area of the game had only been addressed once or twice, the instructor made sure to prominently reinforce the given time for them to hide. This would teach them to believe in little of what they're told. If they entered the ninja world without taking a grain of salt with every word, they would surely be useless, if not also dead.

Calin would smirk slightly at the answer to his question. Of course that would be how this was going to go, some might hide in the area. Some might even do so exceptionally well. However if they did so after having reviewed shinobi tactics it would be an early sign of what the instructors needed to iron out of them before they graduated, mediocrity. Those who found solid places to hide, and did so within the Academy grounds, rather than the designated area would be ones to look out for in creativity. The Kaguya would consider the techniques they might know and knew that one would would to be careful when tracking them down. Normal Academy procedures generally lent themselves toward concealment and escape, to make sure that the low ranking shinobi, still working on expanding their skills and jutsu library, had a chance to fight another day. It was a solid foundation to build off of, while also being versatile enough to give students an idea of how to mold chakra in different ways to give them a leg up on future, more advanced, jutsu.

"No, no more questions." He would say, a small smirk on his features as he waited. He idly glanced at each student, committing appearances to memory. It could easily be a waste of effort, since the transformation technique did in fact exist in the world, and would've been taught to them. Allowing them to hide effectively as anything, or anyone. It was a test for the shinobi performing the mission as well really. Just how observant of your surroundings were you? He idly remembered the layout of the academy, and of each room. The decor of the place could have changed but the generally layout of each room would have to remain the same. "If that's the case, I say we change plans. I don't care who does it, but one of us should handle the inside out while the other handles outside. Take your pick where you're going." He would say to Azra as the timer ticked down to four minutes remaining. Meaning of course that they really had two, but the students didn't know that. A large number of them had already gone off to hide, but a few were standing about, conversing, making plans, thinking they had more time when in reality they really didn't.

Azra nodded to Calin. The inside seemed like the simplest choice. It was well lit, air-conditioned, and had fewer obscure places to hide than did the great outdoors. However, Azra had spent quite some time observing nature before Calin arrived. The steady, repetitive scanning imprinted upon his mind a fairly detailed third dimensional map of most of the Academy's external environment. He'd be the most apt of the two to detect any abnormalities that techniques such as the transformation jutsu would cause. They could turn into trees, rocks and animals all they wished, but he'd pick up on it in no time.

"I will take the outside." Volunteered Azra. He waited both for Calin's agreement and then for the timer to expire. Once it did, the mission began.

Calin would nod in acceptance of Azra's choice and proceeded to wait for the timer to begin. The second and minutes clocked down until the third one when the teacher suddenly called for it to begin. The few students who were still in the area, unhidden, trying to decide where to hide amongst friends. They were taken aback by the sudden start and glared at their teacher as they were obviously found and disqualified. It was only three of the fifteen students, but that still meant that there were only twelve remaining. Calin would wordlessly enter into the building, the halls quiet, lights on overhead, and the air still as the air conditioning wasn't actively running. He would step quietly, making sure his steps made no noise as he stalked silently through the hall toward the first room. The doors were all closed, and so he'd have to open them, revealing that he was entering the room. It was a subtle thing that gave those hiding warnings of his presence.

The door would open, the well oiled hinges not making a noise, but the click of the mechanism resounding through the quiet halls all the same. The lights were off inside, the room wasn't in use for class at the moment and that made it all the more enticing of a target for a hiding place. The white haired Kaguya would enter the room, steps light, cobalt blue eyes scanning the room. It was a simple classroom, desks and chairs, it was an inside room, so no windows. A blackboard was on the wall, a lecture book was open on the desk, and a chair sat partially pulled out behind it. Without missing a beat, Calin would step behind the desk and look under it. There a student sat hidden, looking at Calin sadly as they sighed and shrugged. "Too obvious, if you can't leave a hiding place exactly as it was before you hid there it probably won't be a good place to hide against someone who knows you're there." Calin would say simply, prompting a nod from the student who stood up and walked out the door. A ceiling fan spun lazily around on the ceiling, Calin blinking once at it before throwing a single bone bullet at the ceiling next to it. "Come down." He would say simply, prompting a smoke cloud as the transformation technique of the student was released. "Aw come on, you must have cheated." The student said as he glared at Calin.

"Yes, I obviously couldn't have noticed that the fan was on despite it being a cool day, or the fact that the building has air conditioning." The genin would say, an eyebrow raised in speculation as the kid slumped. "A good attempt, and hiding in plain sight is certainly a way to do it, but you need to be more careful when it comes to drawing attention to yourself. A lone ceiling fan swinging in an empty room is probably going to be the only thing moving, it'll automatically catch the eye. Better to transform into a desk or something, not a fan." He would say, prompting the student to nod before running outside. Calin would take another look around before nodding and moving toward the door. Time for the next room, he'd leave the doors open though, in case he missed any, they wouldn't know he was coming back by the door opening next time.