Tracking Training (Kyotesk Haruma)

[stormecho]

Scents lingered in the air like a swathe of colours, shimmering and moving with each puff of wind. Not that there were many - the Land of fire was known for its sunny, hot days, and today was no different. Metsuki, in truth, welcomed such weather. Beyond the fact that it left a warm night, perfect for sleeping outdoors, but because, as well, the lack of wind made it easy to track things. True, the wind wouldn't bring the scent of things from far off to her, but it couldn't sweep such scents away, and that suited her just fine for now. This was, after all, just training.

She was early. The Inuzuka had little to do in the mornings anyways - she woke up because either she or Ao were hungry, they went to hunt, and then there stretched out a long space of two or so hours of... nothing. She could go back to the clan compound, if she wanted to beat herself up, feel horrible and be sneered at. She could walk around the village if she wanted her nose stuffed from the various scents of crowds, and if that wasn't uncomfortable enough, she would probably be panicking from the mass of people. Sitting in the training field was much preferred to well, anything. It was quiet, the few who were around were far enough away that she felt almost completely alone, and the scent of vegetation close by calmed her.

Ao was nearby, of course, sitting as a sentry only a few feet away. Together, as always, they waited for their sensei, patient without fretting - if there was one thing to be said of canines, it was that they rarely worried about the future. They lived in the present moment for the most part, and Met was not an exception.

[eli]

Haruma lifted her arms high over her head in a comfortable stretch, the long sleeves of her gray robe sliding down her forearms and resting near her elbows. Such a stress showed relaxation, comfort, and slight manliness. This is precisely why Haruma had chosen to do it somewhere that not many people were scattered about. The training grounds. Well, more like the large forest around the immediate training grounds. Haruma tilted her head up and sniffed the crisp morning air. It was a beautiful day in Konohagakure. The sun was shining, though the trees shielded most of it, and the wind was hardly blowing at all. On mornings like this, Haruma would have normally kicked back and relaxed on the roof of her apartment, perhaps to even get a tan on her unnaturally pale body.

But not today. Today, Haruma had something much more important in mind. In fact, she had woken up specifically early in order to set up a little training course for one of her pupils, an Inuzuka named Metsuki. What exactly was the training? Well actually, Haruma had made a sort of an obstacle course combined with a search and rescue drill. It was a basic simulation that would allow the girl to not only track down a target (In this case, kunai and random articles of clothing), but to also learn how to avoid an immediate enemy whilst doing so. In short, it wouldn't just be a simple game of hide and seek. Being on a mission would require more than just simple tracking, just like being a field medic required more than just healing. One needed to learn how to fight off opponents in the midst of their individual work.

As of right now, Haruma was heading back to the training grounds to meet up with Metsuki. She certainly wasn't late or anything, but as she looked ahead, it seemed that the Inuzuka had already arrived. So far, it seemed like her team all had impeccable timing. Haruma could remember the day when she would go to a meeting as a Genin and she would be alone for about half an hour because neither the students nor the sensei bothered showing up. Of course, if any of her pupils tried this, Haruma would simply beat them into submission with some sort of relaxing punishment. A bit of an oxymoron, but she would soon find her team's likes and dislikes. And with those, she could wield the power to dictate whether or not they behaved. Of course, she wouldn't be as strict as her mother. The kids didn't deserve to die.

Haruma swiftly stepped into the clearing with flowing grace, her gray robe fluttering behind her. "Hello Metsuki, Ao. Sorry if I'm late." she said, running her right hand through her white hair, as if trying to rearrange it quickly. Metsuki was a girl as well, so Haruma didn't really mind doing trivial things such as fixing her hair in front of her. Had it been Hyosuke, she would have done it later. Of course, had it been Hyosuke, she probably also would have ripped her hair out from frustration by now. But that wasn't important- it was about Metsuki today. "So! Today will be your first individual training lesson on tracking. You two are listening, right? Basically, I've hidden an assortment of items all around, and they all have the same scent. A scent from a perfume, actually, so this should be really easy for you two considering it's a strong smell. But we have to start off easy. There are plenty of difficult tasks awaiting you today. SO! Shall we get started?" The white-haired Jonin asked, beaming at the girl and her companion.

[/font][/size][/blockquote]

[stormecho]

There was an instant change in posture as Haruma-sensei's scent arrived just before she did. Ears pricking, Ao stood, walking over to her partner, her golden eyes unreadable. Met rose from her crouch, smiling as her sensei came into view. "Hello, sensei." she said cheerfully, eyes bright with enthusiasm. Tracking training - what could be better? Besides, now she had something to fill her time instead of aimless walks, and anything was better than the chance of stumbling upon one of the other clanmembers walking their dogs. Ao was, if not flattered, rather happy with being addressed - many of the Academy teachers had decided that if they couldn't keep the dog away, they could ignore her very existence, which had been rather infuriating.

"No, sensei, you're not late. We had nothing to do so we came early," Met was quick to explain, tugging absently at her shirt. It was rather rumpled because she had slept in it, but she was used to that - she traded one comfort for another. The girl had, on this occasion, opted to wear sandals, though she hadn't really wanted to. She could stand stepping on twigs and such, but if her sensei planted some traps, slicing her foot open on a kunai because of her own foolishness had a high possibility of happening.

The Inuzuka hung on every word, and though she managed to restrain her excitement from showing too much, Ao had already tensed up in anticipation of the hunt. Putting a hand on the dog's shoulder, she nodded eagerly. "I'm ready!" If the perfume was strong - and they always were, to her nose - she would have no trouble in finding it.

[eli]

As Haruma stepped into the clearing, she instantly noticed that both Metsuki and Ao had known she was just about to step in based by their postures. A good thing to know. Haruma would have to be careful as far as avoiding this girl went, and covering her scent was by far a great priority. As well as her emotions, apparently. She would most definitely have to figure out what that was all about. Being able to sense emotions was a common thing, but it wasn't exactly easy. According to what she thought she heard from Metsuki, the girl was able to smell them on people? Eh, Haruma would just have to find out.

Upon further calculation of the mild situation, Haruma discovered that she was indeed on time. That, or the girl was saying it to be kind. Either way it didn't matter- what did matter was that the girl looked... well, filthy. And feral. As well as unruly, tattered, and generally in poor condition. Well, all of that was unfair to say, but her clothing certainly looked like it unless Haruma was overreacting. It didn't matter however, because Haruma was too polite to point something like that out. And besides, ninja and their clothes got worn out on missions, so what was the difference? Other than that Haruma always kept clean anyways.

But that was beside the point. Shortly after Haruma explained the rules of the game they would be playing, it seemed as if Metsuki instantly perked up and confidently stated that she was ready to take on the challenge. A good attitude, Haruma noted. But hopefully she wouldn't become too headstrong. "Alright then you two. There are a series of traps out there in the woods, and you're under a very strict time limit to find all of the items in question. I need not tell you what they are, because you'll be able to find them with your noses, correct?" Haruma smiled, clapping her hands together. "So! Let's get started. You have ten minutes to find five items spread out around this training ground. Don't be too hasty with retrieving the items, because they're all rigged as traps. Good luck." And with that, the shadow clone of Haruma disappeared. Yes, a shadow clone. She had done well to keep the chakra flow regular so that one would not notice it.

As for the real Haruma, she was waiting by the closest object. A small notebook doused with the perfume. It was pinned to a tree, and the pin had a string that would trigger a kunai to fly at whoever decided to pull it out. The remaining items consisted of a green towel hidden in the cattails by a pond, a shuriken lodged into a tree near the pond, a kunai knife buried less than a foot underground, and a brown shirt high up in a tree. Hopefully the Inuzuka would successfully locate these in less than ten minutes so that they may move onto the next challenge.

[/font][/size][/blockquote]

[stormecho]

This didn't sound hard at all. She had expected to be given something like an elaborate treasure hunt, or a game of hide and seek, though in hindsight, that would have been far too easy. The Inuzuka clan had keen senses, and that she had the best nose was not an idle boast. If it wasn't for Ao, she might even have been considered a prodigy, but then again, her sense of smell wouldn't have been half as keen if not for the rather erratic melding of her chakra with Ao's. Even with traps set up, this little lesson seemed almost too easy - until Haruma-sensei decided to mention a time limit. That put a damper on things. Met was good at reckless rushing, which got her where she needed to be very fast, but that also meant she couldn't sense things as well.

Ao shifted, eager to get going as their sensei finished the explanation. Met winced slightly at the clap; to her ears, it was rather loud, and as soon as the shadow clone dispersed, she was off, running slowly enough to be able to test the air. Finding the object wasn't difficult at all. It reeked of perfume, strong enough that she could have followed it with her eyes closed. Ao ran to the side, making sure she didn't stray from the scent trail as she focused on speed, urging as much speed from her muscles as she could. The daily hunts and runs through the forest helped, because she could navigate far quicker than most in dense vegetation, and that accomplishment pleased her.

Ao barked as she reached the destination, eyeing the notebook with unabashed glee. She was about to reach for it when Ao growled softly, turning her head as if trying to see something out of the corner of her eye. Eyes narrowed in thought, and reminded to be careful of traps, she poked at the pin, eyes widening as she felt the string attached to it. Glad she hadn't pulled it out, she took out a kunai of her own and cut the string before pulling out the notebook. One out of five - this was going great so far!