[Eitama Sora]

SORA

❴ down came the rain ❵

You could talk a person to death about the ramifications of their actions and choices but sometimes experience was the best teacher and as such Sora had let things play out and the universe teach its own lessons. Granted, this wouldn't have been such a huge deal if it were anything outside of the Chunin Exams where things had the possibility of being life and death and given how they went this time around in Iwa with the unusually high amount of dismemberment it was very much a battle of survival.

Unfortunately trying to talk down three very eager --well 2 eager and one spiteful yet still kinda eager-- genin was a losing battle through and through so Sora had little choice but to relent and allow them to enter. He had done what he could in the little time they had been together as a team to prepare them for what was to come and to no one's surprise their inexperience shone through on multiple occasions. There were some highs as well but needless to say the man had spent most of the exams with his heart in his throat praying for his three spiderlings to make it to the end.

Surely enough the end of the exams did come and while all three did make it out virtually unscathed Takame was the only one of the trio to leave with a passing score. Truth be told it was the most expected outcome given his more intense training regiment. He was further along in some regards than Natsuo and and Suzaku and it had showed but even with that said Sora felt that the boy still wasn't quite ready to take that next step to Chunin, which is why they were here today.

Sora had called a team meeting at one of the training grounds but they'd be doing more than practicing punches and kicks, they were going to discuss their efforts at the exams. He had thought about doing these as one on one sessions and that option wasn't completely out of the picture but it had been a little bit since the whole team had gotten together so they'd get some bonding out of this, too.

❴ Notes go here! ❵
❴ Kyuumu Takame Kyuumu Suzaku Natsuo Jokyū ❵

❤

[Kyuumu Suzaku]

Suzaku normally didn't mind spending time with his sensei, he was the last to join the team, a latecomer compared to the other two who had managed too already spend some time training with the black haired man. So Suzaku was happy to get what time he could, even if it hadn't been much before the Chunin Exams had started. Though during the exams he'd started getting a bit tired of all his sensei's attention, specifically about the lectures and reminders of the importance of the basics, the many reminders he'd gotten, to the point he'd been avoiding the four armed man when they'd arrived in Kuwana until the exams began. And after that, he began avoiding the man for a different reason.

It'd all been over so quickly, the rounds ran cuncurrent, until he'd found himself out the same day he'd started. The event, the multiple days long event, and he'd not even managed to get past a single day. His family was disappointed, they didn't say it but he could tell. The heir to the entire branch, and unable too make it past the first round of fights. And the fact he'd been made to keep participating in the event after he was knocked out? To return to that forsaken land of stone after the break, to have to go through the motions like he were on strings. To be expected to act like he was still a contestant, it was like treating a corpse as if it were still a living person, pointless and macrabe. He'd just wanted it too end, and he couldn't go to his sensei during all of it because he knew what the man would say, what he'd do. "I told you so". They were words he was dreading too hear, yet fully expecting since he couldn't worm his way out of this.

And Sora would be able to see the contention, the emotions that were eating him up inside. He'd been unable to turn to family, unable to turn to his mentor, and so he'd been bottling up for weeks. And now they've burrowed and latched on, and wouldn't so easily dispelled with gentle words and one day of attention. Especially with the boy feeding the insecurities, the agitation and agression by fighting in Kumogakure's own Thunderdome, the Yanki fighting pit. While it gave him temporary relief, it also added fuel to all these feelings. This was the boy that would approach Sora, head down, orange hair covering his face, and feeling just as helpless as when Sora found him curled up and crying in the streets of Kuwana.

[Kyuumu Takame]

The exams were certainly something that yielded results for every contestant. While some returned with injuries that couldn't be repaired or with emotions crushed beyond fixing Takeme found himself in a mix of confusion and anticipation afterwards. The plan was now going to be getting started and while he was still living with the clan the plan with Azarea was in motion. He even sent a crow to her with a gift to make the lie convincing. No one would know how this was going to work except the two of them and possibly the Kage if he could get an audience with her alone, but that would be difficult with all the senor shinobi in the clan and the village. Takeme figured he would need to wait till he became a Chunin before he could involve the Raikage in the inner mechanism of their plot. Despite all this, his efforts in the exams were good enough to get him to pass so that was at least one step in his promotion process, but he still had a lot to learn before he could become a Chunin and this was something Sora would mostly likely discuss in their team meeting. Almost immediately after they got back from Kuwana they were to hold a meeting to discuss and train and honestly Takame was a little annoyed by this. Not because of who he was dealing with but more because she didn't want to hear about his failings again. He lived them and he knew what he did wrong already as he introspected and analyzed his actions after each match anyways. Certainly had to do with the few times he ended up in the medical wing afterward. At least, in his opinion, he did better than his two teammates so he had that going for him. [attr="class","wpknotes"]word count ✖ @tag ✖ notes if you want

[attr="class","wpsycho"]EAGLE EYES [attr="class","wpkimg"]

[attr="class","wcred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

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[Natsuo Jokyū]

The exams had creeped up on Natsuo just as quickly as they had finished. Though Natsuo had been knocked out after round two, he was pretty satisfied with how it ended. He didn't feel like he really needed this team meeting, he felt Takame didn't either. If anyone needed it, it was Suzaku. The boy had, very clearly, been avoiding anyone that he could vent to. That being said, Suzaku wasn't dismembered like many in the exams had been, at least. Atagi being probably the most gruesome of them. The boy who had wanted to train with him had lost a whole arm to... what was his opponents name again? It wasn't important, he supposed.

Somehow though, they'd all three managed to survive. Takame had even managed to pass. Whether it was by luck, skill, or a mix of many things. They were virtually unscathed, which seemed to relieve Sora, their sensei. Takame had definitely been a lot more tolerable than usual, likely due to his passing score. The boy was quite surprised that his teammate wasn't intent on rubbing it in. Natsuo was in a rather good mood when he finally showed up to the meeting, a smile on his face as he leisurely walked into the meeting place. "Guess we're all here, sensei." The boy would say as he arrived.

[Eitama Sora]

SORA

❴ down came the rain ❵

Suzaku would be the first to arrive and it seemed to be in body only as the dejected look on the kid's face was an indicator that his head was still reeling over what all had happened to him both in and out of the exams. Sora had found him crying on the streets in Kuwana after an incident with another participant and the whirlwind of events had proved too much for the genin. The man worried about all of his charges but Suzaku was definitely the one who shouldn't have been let anywhere near the exams; Natsuo and Takame had been underprepared as well but what experience the two did have brought about a little less worry.

Next would be Takame, the bright spot out of the trio even if his temperament still left quite a bit to be desired. Still, the boy had shown quite a few qualities befitting a chunin and had managed to get a passing score which was nothing to scoff at. Hopefully the results didn't make him feel like team meetings such as these were beneath him --he was still a genin after all-- or rather, any more beneath him that he generally already felt. The next stage for him would be shoring up the loose ends that were preventing the bird boy from moving up to the next rank and Sora was sure framing it in that light would at least give him Takame's ear for at least a little bit.

Finally, Natsuo. He had done ok all things considered and there was plenty of teaching left for him to receive before promotion or even another attempt at the exams, but compared to his brother Natsuo had come back virtually unscathed. Now that the group was completely assembled it was time to get the party started and boy oh boy were they in for a treat!

"Seems as such. First things first, welcome back from the exams and I'm glad to see that you all made it back in one piece. Congratulations to you, Takame, for passing the exams and clearing a major hurdle towards promotion. We've got a bit of work to do but we'll have you wearing that flak jacket in no time." Sora would begin as he then turned his attention towards Suzaku and Natsuo. "I know this was not the result you were wanting and I put the blame on myself for not better preparing you two for what you were going to experience, however, the exams are an invaluable teaching tool and we will use what you went through to get you in top shape for the next ones; but you won't be able to learn anything staring at the ground so chin up, Suzaku."

"Now I promise that our entire meeting today won't be a lecture but we're going to start by summarizing your experience. Tell me what you did well, weaknesses that were exposed and what you must work on to be a better shinobi; the last two may be one in the same but some short comings are natural so if there's something you would like to improve on but isn't a weakness that's ok. Suzaku, you first." Sora would take a few steps back to give the boys some space as his arms crossed one another. The boy was in a somewhat fragile state so piling on him, or letting the other two do so, wasn't going to help things but he needed to verbalize and work through what had gone on during the exams and if Sora could get him to focus on just the official parts then perhaps he'd be able to push aside the extracurriculars.

❴ Notes go here! ❵
❴ Kyuumu Suzaku Kyuumu Takame Natsuo Jokyū ❵

❤

[Kyuumu Suzaku]

It hadn't really hit him that he was the first to arrive, a little surprising given he was sure everyone else was in a better mood than he was. Maybe it had been the two companions egging him on, literally nipping at his heels to get him moving, harassed by his own birds until he'd arrived. Though if they hadn't done that, there wasn't even a guarantee the young teen would've gotten out of bed. And the first to arrive was the boys cousin.

Though while they might be related, Suzaku didn't actually like Takame very much. He'd be shocked if anyone did, he wasn't a particularly likeable person, even for his more...contentious branch of the Kyuumu family. The Kyuumu were interesting, they were insulated to outsiders, secretive and only really open to other members of the clan. Yet, there were fundamental differences between the branches, hidden splintering cracks within the clan only really known to insiders. Suzaku still clearly remembered his father constantly complaining about the old Raikage, Riku, a member of the Kyuumu and whose policies had isolated the other two branches from their disagreement, Suzaku's and Takame's incidentally. And the kicker, the twist of the knife at the end, was that Takame had graduated. It was about as close to dishonoring his family name as the orange haired teen could get, so when he eyed him approaching he simply looked away.

His second teammate then arrived last, showing the same penchant for lateness as he had in the exams. Natsu. They had worked together in the exams, had been a part of same team for at least a little while now. And yet the boy was a complete stranger. He at least knew enough about Takame to know he didn't like the boy, but Natsuo was just a enigma to him. Secluded and quiet, though not in the same way the black wearing boy was. Something even their sensei seemed to acknowledge, calling the boy out by name for his moping. The young teen jumped at that, lost in side glancing Natsuo while still dwelling on his own thoughts and how he was still upset that the speech his sensei was giving had been only half-heartedly listened too. So having his name called out caused him to flinch a bit, a grunt escaping his lips as his multi-armed teachers words caught up to his brain, and he did indeed finally look at his his sensei's kind face.

And the frazzled teen really wished he hadn't when his teacher revealed the first part of the meet-up, and he was told to go first. Surprise immediately struck once more, his inhuman eyes going wide, no sunglasses hiding them as they would indoors. I-I, ummm, uhhh.. What could he answer with that would truely be satisfying, out of how many things went wrong. It all started when you made the pact with the female! They are not to be trusted, they use their wiles for tricks, like looking that witch in the eye The boys two birds gave their own opinions, only understandable by the two boys from the clan who could understand bird speech. And he definitely wasn't going to be repeating what they said, he was certain that his sensei would pull his aside after the meeting and he'd be here all day getting a lecture if he said a fifth of what they said. But there was one pojnt they actually did make. It all started...When I just let Azarea do everything, instead showing what I could do...Especially in a field where my abilities gave me an advantage.. That was, perhaps, the greatest tragedy out of the entire exam. He'd had all the advantages, and he still let someone else take the reign.

[Kyuumu Takame]

He was still agitated at the whole ordeal of the exams even if he did pass them. He hadn't won any of the fights he was in, outside of the round two fights which in his mind was a fluke, so it wasn't a particularly great showing in his opinion. Still, at least it was a passing grade. So he had that to be somewhat proud of. This meeting on the other hand was going to be interesting since Sora wanted them to become reflective on their experiences from the exams and how they could improve on them and what they learned. Suzaku would go first and Takame would be interested to hear what his cousin did during the exams. Since Takame slept during the fights during the second round and they weren't working together during the first round it wasn't like Takame knew anything about how the other bird boy did. Did he bring shame or honor to the Kyuumu clan? He would have to see based on the words he spoke, but from how his crows talked Takame figured it wasn't good. A small smirk would appear on his face when Suzaku made mentions of relying on Azarea for the exams. She was a great ally to have and he was blaming her for his shortcomings. That was good as he would be in a world of surprise when Takame would introduce her to the family one day. When it came to his turn he would frown and state simply, "Underestimating my enemy and not having enough combat-specific techniques." He wouldn't mention the fact his eyesight gave him a disadvantage in the arena with how bright the lights were. After all, this was a clan secret in his eyes, but he couldn't help but look at Suzaku for a second there because even if the two didn't like each other they both knew about the effects of unnatural light upon their eyes. At the very least they could have a basic understanding of each other from that. [attr="class","wpknotes"]word count ✖ @tag ✖ notes if you want

[attr="class","wpsycho"]EAGLE EYES [attr="class","wpkimg"]

[attr="class","wcred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

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