Konoha's next Generation [Izumi, Olympus]

Of all of Konohagakure no Sato's training grounds, this one was by Akihiro's favorite. It was the largest one, with a nice green view and even a small river running through it. On one side of the river, there was a cliff where Genin used to practice the wall walking technique. Some Genin would rather start off with the Water Walking jutsu, and for that purpose the river would serve nicely. On beautiful sunny days like this one, training was a joy.



On the other margin of the river across from where the cliff was, stood the three iconic logs. They were rather large and their wood seemed old and beaten up. No doubt this had been the result of many shinobi and kunoichi using them for training over the years. But despite all the beatings they had taken, the three logs still stood there almost proudly. They had been a part of the Leaf's youngest's training schedule for generations, and yet there they stood while many of the ninjas who once trained there had already fallen in combat. It was an odd fact, this one. Perhaps the small role of the logs hadn't ended in this world yet?

On top of the center log, there was a boy. He sat there with his legs crossed while chewing on an apple. A cloak covered most of his body- it was an odd choice of clothing with this weather but Akihiro just didn't feel comfortable training Genin in these respected training grounds without his proper combat gear. Alas, he was still a bit unsure about this. Who were these kids he was supposed to train? He knew their names and had a rough idea of their abilities from their academy files, but there was so much more he didn't know. He had a arrived a bit earlier, and decided to simply sit there and hope they wouldn't arrive late- after all that would be a bad start to their training together! Plus there was also the fact that Akihiro, despite being a Jonin, was incredibly young. He had somehow managed to ascend through the ranks in a very short amount of time. This was great at first but when he realized he would have to train his own Genin- many of which probably matching his age or even older, the Uchiha couldn't help but feel a little bit nervous.

"Munch~" he took another bite off the red apple, chewing while his eyes scanned the place to find those students.

The day had finally arrived. Kenji was to meet his Sensei, and as much as he would like to hide it; he was nervous. Tiredly he  dressed in his usual attire, and popped in some microwave ramen for breakfast. "This'll have to do" Kenji thought to himself. Kenji headed down stairs rushing out the door yelling "Bye Mom!", his father had already left for his job in the Village Police force.

Kenji took out the piece of paper that was given to him yesterday, inscribed on it was "Kenji Uchiha - Report to Training Ground 3 to meet with your new instructor, Akihiro Uchiha." Kenji was happy he was to be trained by a Uchiha, though he hoped he was not like some of the stuck up members on the Clan Leader's council, always thinking they're superior than the lower branched Uchiha members. Kenji didn't want to dwell on it, he was almost running late. He took off in a sprint towards the legendary Training Ground 3, that he heard so much in stories from his father's youth.

Kenji took a step into the training grounds, closed his eyes and took a deep, thoughtful breath. He then looked around, in the distance were the logs he had always heard about, and on it was a figure though he couldn't quite make out who it was. Kenji approached him, and seeing he was a young boy he introduced himself. "Hey, I'm Kenji. I guess you're waiting for the sensei as well?"

Arriving last on the scene was Izumi. She was late -like, very late. She'd gone to the wrong training grounds and waited for a while. For a long time, she wondered why everyone else was so late. It wasn't until a few minutes after the meeting time that she realized they weren't late. She was in the wrong place! Izumi got up and ran like no tomorrow. She was afraid that she might get into trouble with her new sensei on the very first day.

"Whoo...hoo...uhhh... sorry I'm...late...phew, uh..." Izumi tried to apologize between her heavy breaths. "I'm uh..." She started. Now that she wasn't leaning on her knees to try and catch her breath, she saw that she was the only girl in the squad and immediately turned red. "...Izumi." She quietly squeaked out.

Kenji turned around, almost surprised. An awkward moment of silence passes before Kenji said, "Hey, I'm Kenji. Pleasure to meet you but, uh... Isn't this a two shinobi team? Why is there three of us?".

Akihiro was still on top of the log when the first one of his students arrived. His face wasn't entirely unfamiliar, Akihiro could very well remember him from the Uchiha Clan District. Although the two lived roughly in the same area, they hadn't ever spoken to each other. This wasn't unusual considering the number of people in the Uchiha Clan District. They all shared DNA to a degree, but not all of them were closely related. In fact most of them only knew each other by sight.

"Good morning Kenji." Akihiro would cheerfully reply with a wide but quiet smile. "Waiting for...my sensei? Well, I guess I still am." Truth to be told, Akihiro had never really gotten a sensei. He had learned a bit from the current Hokage, but most of what he had accomplished was alongside his fellow Genin at the time, without any type of special guidance. The fact that this young Uchiha was getting a sensei meant things were changing for the better, and that made Akihiro glad. He took another bite off the apple.

He said nothing for a while, and they stood there for quite some time until his other student arrived. Running as fast as she could, by the time the girl approached the two boys she seemed to have ran out of breath. She was clearly embarrassed, could something have happened?

"Alright, we're all here now." Akihiro hopped from the log to the ground. " My name is Uchiha Akihiro. I am going to be your sensei for the next few years. I would like you two to introduce yourselves. I know your names, but I would like to know what your dreams for the future are." Akihiro was doing everything by the books so far. Knowing these basic facts about one's students was important, and since they had time he thought they'd start by there.

'This kid is my sensei?!' Thought Izumi. She looked him over, a sense of curiosity now overcoming her timidity. 'He looks even younger than me!' She wondered if this was a joke, or maybe a mistake. He talked like a sensei would, so maybe it wasn't. She reasoned that he must be a really young Jounin, which meant he was probably a genius. Izumi pouted her lips. 'He's Uchiha. Of course he's a genius. Still...' she got cut off when it came time for her to answer.

Her dreams? Well that one was obvious.

"I want to be the strongest fighter in the whole world!" Izumi proclaimed proudly.

Beyond that, she didn't really have any other dreams. She felt really shallow, all of a sudden, like her dream was too simple. Wasn't she supposed to have some overarching goal in her life? A purpose that only few aspire to that was brought upon her by her circumstances? She didn't really have any, though. Hopefully Kenji and Akihiro didn't have super tragic lives. Izumi would feel bad for just wanting to be strong.

Kenji turned back around at Akihiro Sensei in nothing but could be described as awe. A sense of amazement and envy came over Kenji, that left him speechless at first as thoughts raced his mind. "How was I ever to become a hero, when I have to compete against someone like this...? Someone who looks around my age...?" The silence was only cut short by Izumi, which prompted Kenji's brain to start working again. Kenji responded simply, "I will prove myself a hero to my clan, and be remembered by all who come... or something like that anyway..." Kenji laughed it off before replying "Well, it's quite the team we have here, Akihiro Sensei."

Izumi stood around, waiting on something to happen. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to say something or what was supposed to happen. Was Akihiro-sensei planning something special for them? Maybe she should sit back and wait. After all, she was already late coming here. It's not like she had any right to rush things.

"So...pretty clouds in the sky..." she said, awkwardly.

Akihiro smiled.

"To be the strongest fighter in the world...that's quite a goal." His eyes turned to Izumi and he couldn't help but wonder if the girl really had the potential to become that strong. She certainly seemed to have determination. "But what will you do with that kind of power? What purpose will that serve?" The role of a sensei was greater than merely offering assistance in terms of ninjutsu aid. Akihiro wasn't only supposed to teach them how to use and mold their chakra, he was supposed to teach them to think critically as well. And to "think" was certainly something the young Jonin knew how to do.

"And you, Kenji. I am glad you wish to become a great hero for our clan. They say there is no greater honor than to fight for the ancestral lineage of a great clan. I'm not sure I agree. Not that many years ago, being a hero was killing people foreign to the clan. We must be careful with our choices. You must decide what being a hero means, to you."

Akihiro chuckled. It was only their first day and he was already probably boring them to death. It didn't matter. In time they would both know what he meant. For now, he was certain the Genin would prefer action over talk.

"Let's go. We'll have our first mission today. We can't be late~ Follow me."And with that he would leave the training grounds, hoping his team would follow.

[Exit]

Kenji was in awe by his new Sensei, by his words that struck him deeply, but also by the age he was to speak them. It almost infuriated Kenji. Though he managed to calm down, and walked to catch up with Akihiro Sensei.

[Exit]

There wasn't much time for Izumi to chew on what she might use her future power for. She hadn't really thought about it before. Really she just wanted to get there; like a dog chasing a car, she knew she wanted it, but had no idea what she'd do with it once she got it. Before her mind had a chance to really run off down that bunny trail, Izumi was brought the news that they'd be doing their first team mission! That was exciting! Izumi immediately forgot about everything and bounced along with Akihiro and Kenji with a wide grin on her face.

[Exit]