[Uchiha Izusa]

In the bleak winter

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It was a cold, dreary morning in Konohagakure no Sato. Unlike most days he was not situated in his own classroom but instead a smaller, more informal lounge area reserved normally for faculty. Normally... but not today.

A letter had been sent by messenger to the home of Nara Shun, one of the academy's most promising students. It was vague, the handwriting was messy, but it served its purpose in both requesting her presence in said lounge and excusing her from regular classes. This had happened before to other kids and it was likely she knew what it meant.

Either she was in trouble... or today was finally the day. "Larger-than-average chakra reserves, a budding talent in Taijutsu..." The instructor thought as he glanced down at an open folder. It was no secret that the girl possessed a great amount of talent for her rank, not only in physical skill but mental fortitude as well. And just knowing what little he did about her... "She's been ready to graduate for a while, now." It happened out like that sometimes.

Some kids lacked a certain maturity to be considered genin, others needed further guidance in their training, and a rare few held themselves back. Whether it was a conscious effort the young Nara's part he couldn't exactly say.

But today he was going to find out firsthand during a one-on-one test. Judging from her past evaluations on file she definitely possessed a bit of an apathetic streak which made him lean more towards the 'purposeful slacking' reasoning for her lack of advancement. "Nara Shun..." He thought. "Just what sort of kunoichi will you become?"

One way or another he would come to learn this for himself. So in the lounge he sat seiza, dossier in hand with a medium-sized wooden board resting beside him. The room itself had been rearranged, all of the furniture moved to either side near the walls so they had space in the center of the wooden floor. All the while he continued to read over her file and jot down notes from his own experience teaching her. He'd run exams plenty of times before... but this one was going to be a bit different. Tailored to her particular set of skills and absent some of the usual tedium.

"Shun-chan." He would greet the girl with his normal kind smile, though his dark eyes appeared sharper than normal. Stern, almost. "Have a seat." A hand moved to gesture to the floor before him. "Usually I start these things off by saying 'today's graduation day'... but you probably know that already, don't you?" Izusa would raise an eyebrow.

Watching for her reaction before continuing on. "We'll start off with some questions, have ourselves a test of sorts, then end by having you perform some of the academy jutsu." The instructor paused for a moment while he twiddled a pen between his thumb and forefinger. Giving her time to digest the information. "Boring stuff but, you know..." He said. "Procedure." There was a slight roll of his eyes... but if the girl was as sharp as he thought, he expected her to pick up on the cues. He was at once smiling yet analyzing all the while with his darkened gaze. Appearing almost relaxed but contrasted by a notable tension in the air. The test had already begun. "Any questions before we begin?"

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[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

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A   H Y A C I N T H   F L O U R I S H E S

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It had been quite cold and the wind was howling all night. Winters in Konoha never got as cold as some other countries but it got rainy, windy and cold. Some days it felt like the wind was going through people.

”Uchiha-sensei… who knew your writing was…” Shun thought out loud as she once again looked over the note they had received at the house yesterday.


After some deciphering, she understood that she had to go to classroom 315 at 08:30 in the morning. It was kind of surprising - Uchiha-sensei was always so attentive, had a child written the note for them? A little sibling helping out, perhaps? Maybe a student assistant?

The following morning Shun headed to the academy when it started raining. It quickly turned into a downpour and, fearing to be late, she rushed through it. Besides, the Nara girl would not melt from a bit of rain so it wasn't a big deal.

The raven-haired girl travelled to the hallways and finally found the classroom. Assuming that someone was already inside, she knocked on the door before she entered. Her dark grey eyes scanned over the room and landed on Izusa. The room looked different than usual - she had been in it a few times for other school activities. There was more space in the middle now and she couldn't help but wonder what the purpose was for it. Some practical exercise, probably?

”Good morning, Uchiha-sensei.” she gave a small, polite bow. It was fitting the kids from the noble clans. Manners were a common sight and it was customary for them to show a lot of respect to their superiors. ”Yes, I considered this being about my graduation. Rumours about it were travelling my year's classes already.” It was true that students got called in only when they were in trouble or when they were graduating if it wasn't a group graduation. To her knowledge, Shun had not gotten in any trouble nor done anything to warrant trouble. Most of the time, while a bit ambitious, she had been a great student. Of course, she found many classes boring and would sit in her own thoughts during class but she submitted tests fast, answered correctly when called upon and passed all the physical requirements easily. There were no problems with her work - just a general lack of enthusiasm about learning in class.

She came into the room, shut the door behind her and had walked over to her teacher before noticing that her raincoat was still dripping so she removed it and went to the corner of the room to hang it. ”that sounds straightforward, sensei - it also makes me think it won't be straightforward.” she spoke out honestly. To be suspicious and cautious was the shinobi way, after all.

She was finally on her way to sit down but stepped awkwardly on one of the small puddles created by her dripping coat and slipped. Shun was falling!

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Words: 502
Tag: Uchiha Izusa
Shun: 395828

[Uchiha Izusa]

Flowers slumber or die, but...

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As the girl entered and greeted him with a bow, he waved a hand nonchalantly. "No need to be so formal." If the Nara were anything like the Uchiha, etiquette was expected if not demanded. But this was a place of learning.

One that he tried his best to make free from some of the more tedious norms his students may face while at home. As expected, the student had an inkling of why she was brought here. "Good, good." Izusa replied, watching as she removed her raincoat and listening all the while as she correctly deduced that this exam was not quite as simple as it seemed. "She's a sharp one." He thought, his smile still contrasting the keenness of his gaze as he nodded in response.

"Not much gets past you, does it Shun-chan?" The instructor asked, his eyes moving to one of the puddles as the girl began to walk. "Uh-oh." He thought then raised a hand to signal. "Watch—" An attempt at a warning but it was too late. The young Nara lost her footing and in the same way he would do for anyone, he reacted. Dropping his folder...

Before crossing the room in a split second and holding out his arms to break her fall. "Good thing I've been working on my reflexes..." He thought, resisting the urge to sigh in relief as he stared at the student. "Are you alright?"

Assuming that she was, he would help her back to her feet and motion for her once more to join him opposite his original position on the floor. Izusa moved to once again sit seiza and took up the dossier and his pen, jotting down a few hasty notes before they began in earnest. "Keen intellect, good deduction skills, watch out for puddles." After that was done with he glanced up at the girl and nodded. "Okay then... I think we're good to begin." He inhaled.

Then all of sudden his smile faded and his expression became severe. "To start... why do you want to become a shinobi?" It was the same question he always began with. Things would be rather uniform for the moment... until they got to the next part of the examination. "Next... many ninja die young and few rarely live to see old age. With this in mind do you still wish to continue down this path?" This part wasn't meant to scare but it was important. Being a shinobi wasn't all the stories claimed it to be. It wasn't all the academy itself claimed it to be.  Probably for purposes of recruitment and retention. At least in his mind, there was no shame in walking a different path. If he had the option he would've himself. So he always liked to give his students one final chance to back out. "Finally..."

Izusa's dark eyes narrowed on the girl's face, watching to gauge her reaction to the questions. "What does the word 'shinobi' mean to you?" There were no right answers for this one. "Think carefully before you answer any of these... and speak candidly when you do." Gone was the carefree sensei of days past... at least for the time being. This was perhaps the most important step in any ninja's path and one that they needed to be fully informed on before making. 

Face still unflinching, he would allow the young Nara all the time she required to answer. Making sure to jot down her responses on his paper as she did. Quite a few students never made it past this part of the exam... would she?

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[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

- t h e  t a l e  o f -

A   H Y A C I N T H   F L O U R I S H E S

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Shun was ready to hit the floor right before she got caught. In fact, getting caught was the surprise. She had already accepted how embarrassing it would be to fall in the middle of her exam…

”I…” she looked up at Izusa and was at a loss of words at first. It was at that moment that something strange happened and it felt like something had clutched her heart. Maybe it was because she had never been saved from anything since she was a little girl or maybe it was because she was in a very close proximity to the Uchiha, or, most likely, it was because teenage girls fell victim to it spontaneously but - Shun fell in love. Suddenly, the somewhat clumsy and awkward Uchiha-sensei had turned into a charming prince holding her in his arms. In a split second, she could imagine a future where she was older and both of them were running through a meadow full of flowers while holding hands. They were a part of an idyllic novel world and everything was the most lovely and romantic thing ever. Oh, and they were also married and had a big house together, and a dog…

”Wha- er-yeah..” She had been zoning out for a second before answering the 'Are you alright’ question. She'd get back up to her feet and would feel her face starting to burn up. Shun was blushing. ”Thank you, Izusa-sensei.” she said a bit timidly and would finally take a seat. It was the first time she had used his name instead of his surname.

Izusa went on to ask some serious questions and, while she heard him, she was seriously distracted. Her heart was pounding a bit quicker and she felt nervous. Maybe part of that was because of the exam but mainly because of the shock from these newly discovered feelings. It was hard being a teenager, you see. The bodies and brains of teenagers were still developing and full of hormones. All their emotions were heightened and for someone as much of a dreamer as Shun it was about time she got hit by a big crush. Not that she knew much about Izusa or actually knew anything about relationships or dating in general but that had never stopped a teenage girl from love.

She watched him talk and got a bit distracted. Even his serious look didn't phase her one bit. She let out a subconscious longing sigh and leaned into her sitting position. The girl relaxed her shoulders and gave in to her thoughts. *I never noticed how handsome Izusa-sensei is… oh gosh, when I graduate he won't be Izusa-sensei anymore. He'll be I-Izusa-san.* her thoughts were running a mile a second. To the Uchiha it would look like she was not phased by the idea of death at all. Maybe it even looked like strong resolve but, in the meantime in Shun's head: *KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~! What if we end up on a date and we actually hold hands? What if I do it wrong? Oh my god, that would be so embarrassing! Maybe I should cook him something? I've never cooked much but I'm sure I'll be great at it - oh, I should ask what kind of food he likes. Oh! Our love will grow stronger if I make him something. I only really know how to make an omelette… maybe he likes eggs? Gosh, actually, Izusa is such a pretty na-* yep, there was no fear of death on the outside whatsoever. She was turning a bit more red when she looked at him, though. It was hard to look the man in the face now.

When given time to think, she would look straight at him and almost say something at first but then stop mid-breath, hesitate, turn 10 more shades of red, cover her face with her hands and give the heaviest sigh that had probably been seen in the village in the last few months. Her whole body moved with it. *Get a hold of yourself - you won't graduate if you say nothing!!*

Slowly she looked up again, feeling extremely embarrassed and looked away at first. She took a deep breath and sighed again… but then straightened up.

”I want to be a shinobi because-” it was clear that Shun would go on as if nothing happened at all, ”I believe the ones with the ability to do well as shinobi and kunoichi should. Also, I would like the chance to protect the country and the village like my parents did. Nara Shikarui and Sakuragi Ayame are some of the best and most accomplished shinobi I know. Also, I want to be able to protect them and my friends, and all the other villagers and I- I want to protect you, sensei.” she almost choked on her words at the end there and felt her heart skip a beat. ”I know that there might be missions that are a bit scary or missions that are cruel but, regardless, they will allow me to protect others so that is what matters.”

”Also, I want to learn more about my capabilities and the world. I want to learn from different lands and learn new abilities and jutsu.” the excitement in her voice gave away her adventurous spirit.

”It is true that many ninjas die young…” she began to answer the next question, ”but many young people that are not shinobi die, too. If the choice is between the chance of death while aiding the country and maybe even preventing other deaths or just dying young then it's no choice at all.” it seemed that her resolve was actually strong.

As for the third question: ”'For me' … if you ask what it means to me as in a special way then I'm unsure what to say…” she started thoughtfully, ”when I was a child, I did the aptitude test that showed my talent for ninjutsu. It was strongly encouraged that I pursue a career in the shinobi arts and I liked training for it. I think this lifestyle is my lifestyle. Constantly training… constantly figuring out my surroundings and analysing the situations I'm in or how to handle them before they even occur. Even such things like using the emotions of your opponent to your advantage or using deception to attain information…” she paused to figure out a way to say what she was feeling in a way that it would make sense. The aptitude test she mentioned was a practice used in many clans to tell how gifted their young were in the shinobi arts.

”It doesn't bother me. I actually like it.” she looked back up at Izusa with certainty in her eyes. ”Like the Will of Fire is for some to protect others, mine is to be a kunoichi. I can't imagine nor want to do anything else. I feel strongly that I'm on the right path and that I'll become really strong.” There was no hesitation in her words. It also looked like she had pushed away her crush and was very focused on the task at hand.

She would watch him write down what she said and in that small time of waiting, the strong uplifting feelings would come back, however. She felt her cheeks get a bit warm again. ”Umm, Izusa-sensei… what does being a shinobi mean to you?” her heart was beating really fast and she gripped the fabric of her pants tightly in anticipation of the answer.

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Words: 1,286
Tag: Uchiha Izusa
Shun: 395828

[Uchiha Izusa]

Hyacinth blooms

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After he caught her, the young Nara seemed to space out for a moment. He almost started to worry... but before long she regained her composure and thanked him. "Of course, no worries." Izusa replied to her with a small, kind smile.

It really wasn't anything major, all he did was lend a hand so she didn't hurt herself. Although it seemed to have some sort of effect on the girl that only became more apparent as she joined him on the floor and he finished his round of questioning. At first the instructor assumed she was choosing her words carefully. Until her face reddened.

Izusa's eyebrow raised just slightly as he watched the girl. "...eh?" Now he wasn't exactly the quickest on the uptake when it came to matters of the heart, not from lack of experience but simply because he didn't have the time for such things. That being said, even he could see what was happening here. "I didn't see anything about a linen allergy..." It was what his yukata was made of, and if that wasn't the case then it could only mean one thing. A harmless crush.

Or... maybe he was off. It was anyone's guess. "Uh... Shun-chan?" He asked, only able to vaguely guess where her head was at. "Shun-chan..." It wasn't much longer until she snapped out of it and any confusion in his face faded.

He could see her face getting redder, and rather than embarrass her any further by addressing it directly he decided to just move past it. These sorts of things happened sometimes. Pen moving in tandem with her words, he split his attention between the paper and the young Nara's face. Showing that he was listening but making sure to take down all of her responses. "I see." Izusa said softly, giving no indication of approval one way or the other. "Very cogent." He jotted down in the margins of one of the lines in his signature messy handwriting. "Strong sense of loyalty to Hi no Kuni, a desire to protect her fellows, to protect—" Him. Izusa paused to glance up at her, closed his eyes, and smiled.

Breaking character for just a moment. "That's kind of you." The notion was sweet, but at least for now it was his duty to protect her and the rest of his juniors within Konohagakure's ranks, not the other way around. "Camaraderie seems not to be an issue." He wrote as he looked back down and continued to listen. On the subject of the average shinobi's life expectancy her response was more realistic than most of his students'. "Surprisingly pragmatic." He wrote, his serious expression returning as he vocalized a quick, "Mhm." and kept on writing. It wasn't his place to opine on her answers— at least not in this setting. So for now he'd keep his thoughts to himself. "First Ataru-kun, now her... the failure is our forefathers' for creating a world where children feel obligated to risk their lives." Izusa mused internally as he finished scribbling down her response. "...and we share the blame for perpetuating it." At least on the inside he wanted to say that was how he truly felt. And yet... he was a cog in the machine as well.

Worse than most, even. A killer, a spy, an interrogator... little more than a tool to be used by Root and aimed at anything or anyone who caused problems for Konohagakure. On the outside he smiled and presented a kind face. But deep down he was barely even human anymore. Sometimes if he wasn't careful or tired it even showed in his eyes.

Ponderings for a different time, though. Shun shared a little about her past and the instructor listened intently, taking a break from his writing to meet her gaze. His face had long since returned to its serious expression and to his approval it seemed the young Nara had regained her composure as she was looking a few shades less red now. Unlike some of his other students who'd given one word answers, hers was far less of an abstraction. "Fitting." He thought.

But before he could finish his scrawling and begin the second part she returned the question to him. "..." Izusa grew quieter as he thought, his eyes drifting down to the paper before him. "To me, 'shinobi' means many things..." He began, his gaze growing distant as his mouth moved. "At once we're both defenders and invaders, soldiers loyal to our nations yet essentially mercenaries, killers... and the slain." Guardian, terrorist, savior, murderer, escort, thief. At some point or another he'd been all of these things to different people. It was all a matter of perspective. In his mind... just about everything was. "Ultimately— a shinobi is a weapon. Whether we're used for right or wrong depends on what we're pointed at... and who's doing the pointing." He glanced up at the girl and nodded slowly, his face still unmoving. "For good or for bad... that's what it means to me." Izusa had always been conflicted about this lifestyle ever since his father made him put down his calligraphy brush and pick up a kunai. It was never his aim.

Not all could choose whether or not to don the hitai-ate and a part of him envied those who did. Still, he was a dutiful person and so here was. Doing his part for village and clan. A few moments later and he'd finished his writing after which he closed the folder and set it aside. "Interesting answers, Shun-chan." He said, leaning over to reach for the wooden box near him. "Now... usually my exams require a sparring match, but I've already seen your physical skills and know that they're genin-level." To say the least. The girl was well-trained and had good instincts so this time around he was going to try something a bit different. "So rather than that, we're going to play a game." A hand moved to grip one side of the box as he slid it between them on the floor. Fingers clamped down over an edge...

...then opened it up to reveal a nine-by-nine Go board. "Have you ever played Go?" Izusa asked, taking a moment to separate out the black and white colored go-ishi and dole them out. Black to Shun, white to himself. "If you need I can explain the rules. Otherwise..." Keen eyes shifted to look at the girl, narrowing just slightly as he once more watched for her reaction to this news. "...the first move is yours." For the time being he would place his hands in his lap and wait patiently. A test such of this was wholly unorthodox... but one that he felt was absolutely necessary.

Shun had the required strength and speed to be promoted, her answers had been taken into consideration and may have displayed a level of maturity necessary to pass... now he wanted to analyze her thinking and tactical skill. For most, playing a strategy game against a Nara was a fool's errand. Izusa however was a trained strategist with practical experience. The time for questions was over and now was the test of skill for the student. Overcome or suffer defeat.

As to whether or not that meant failure... well, only the instructor himself knew that for certain.

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[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

- t h e  t a l e  o f -

A   H Y A C I N T H   F L O U R I S H E S

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*Such a handsome smile* the teenage Nara might as well had heart-shaped eyes. The answer she got to her question, however, made her step away from the whirlwind of affection she was feeling. While true it sounded like it came from a cold place. Somehow an image of a person surrounded by darkness drifting through a space of unknown proportion was playing in her mind. She clenched her hands a bit and, without much thinking, responded: ”Sensei, it'll be ok. I'll carry that burden. I promise that I'll become super strong and you won't have to carry this coldness. And then… then you can live carefree.” Her tone was genuine. It was easy to say but Shun was determined.

When they would move on to the go board, her dark eyes scanned it and she would look up at Izusa. ”I've played this a couple times. Some of the clan would play shogi more often but I remember the rules for Go.” she confirmed.

The girl reached out for some pieces to play with in her hands as she thought. She looked down at the board and her eyes moved across the space, as if playing out a future game very quickly. The dark grey orbs darted across the playing board quickly and then she stopped. She'd glance up at Izusa quietly. From what she knew about the man thus far, she had no idea how his mind really worked. It was starting to look apparent that he had multiple characters he played based on his surroundings. She was uncertain if she could guess his starting strategy so it was best to play a bit of everything and see if her teacher gives into glee about a supposedly favourable outcome. For Shun, this method would be how she'd gather information on her opponent's inner thoughts.

She would place her first piece on the inner corner of a 3x3 space on Izusa's left. She knew there was no point going for the very centre at the beginning because of more difficulty but this board was also small so it wouldn't be the longest of games. Depending on how Izusa would play, she would adapt. Ideally, Shun would go for expanding from the 3x3 to 4x4 and then also placing a couple pieces on the inside to avoid getting her border captured. If Izusa were to mimic the same, she would place a piece between his borders. It was usually hard to work on a space and sabotage the other person at the same time so she would go by a strategy of 2 pieces towards her own strongholds and one in the way of the opponent's, just making bigger areas to capture or giving away the odd single piece.

It would become evident that, while not having played the game all her life, she was extremely adaptable and could easily come up with new contingencies if something was outside of her original expectations. That being said, she would have fun. She'd giggle at some of the moves Izusa would make or would clumsily say "oh!” a couple times when she figured out what the next step might be. It looked like strategy games made the Nara feel right in her elements. It was not easy to play against the Uchiha but it was certainly entertaining and made her happy.

”This is actually really nice, you know…” she said wistfully. ”We are taught about how to fight and calculate our falls and jutsu to deceive the eyes of others but, even though this is also a test, just playing a game is something I don't remember doing at the academy.” of course, the students spent time together and would fool around but in class they all had to be serious and focus on their military prowess. Just a few weeks ago Shun had a lecture on death by Senju Rinka. They had spent the whole class talking about the people who die in duty and talking about the chance of them dying on duty.

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Words: 682
Tag: Uchiha Izusa
Shun: 395828

[Uchiha Izusa]

A game of tactics

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Dark eyes traveled up from the board to the young Nara's face as she spoke. A small chuckle escaped his lips and he shook his head. "I appreciate that, Shun-chan." He said. "Don't mind me— I try and scare all my students with that."

Mouth curling into a slight smile he closed his eyes and gave a small nod. "She has a good heart." Izusa thought to himself. "I hope she can hold onto that... because so many of us don't." The girl was absolutely right— it was a cold way of viewing things. Moreover it was contrary to the kind, laidback demeanor that he normally presented to the world. "Maybe I'm too honest during these things..." He thought as he returned his focused gaze to the game board.  

If there was any situation that called for it though, it was a graduation exam. Not that shinobi were unable to retire, but promotion from student to genin was the first big step. From here the girl's journey would become equal parts more difficult and lethal. Rather than fill his students' heads with more propaganda he thought it appropriate to tell some version of the truth. Maybe in an attempt to be forthright when he was unable to in so many other aspects of his life... or maybe just in hopes that they'd walk another path. A less dangerous one with a higher probability of living a long life. It ran contrary to his position as an instructor in many ways but to him, it was simply right.

As 'right' as someone like him could be, anyway. "I have faith that you'll become a fine kunoichi one day." Izusa commented a bit late on her comment about becoming strong. "...if you pass, that is." He shot her a quick glance, but this time there was no smile. Izusa almost wanted to, but he had to play his role. Conversation and strategy games aside this was an examination in the end. "Now, let's see what you've got." Came his reply as he cradled his chin in hand and watched her analyze the board. Almost immediately he could see the gears turning in the young Nara's head. In real life, battles were often decided before they even began. Mind games, deception, misdirection— important tools for any ninja worth their salt. "Shogi and Go are both great learning tools." The instructor said as Shun explained a bit about her clan, still watching the board carefully as she continued to think on her opening move. "Great for determining one's sense for strategy, too." It was the main reason he decided to implement this into the exam rather than a simple spar. "Analytical, not prone to reckless decisions." He thought as he shifted his attention momentarily to the folder in his lap and scribbled down some notes. Finally the first stone was cast... 

...and the game was on. "Interesting opening." Izusa commented, playing his white pieces a bit more hesitantly than the student. At least for the meantime in order to project an air of inexperience. Though his moves were cautious and mostly mirrored hers to start... his eyes were narrowed. Scanning the field, looking for weaknesses in her territories as he bided his time. "Three-by-threes into four-by-fours, playing the corners first... she definitely knows her Go." Another turn, another stone played. Minutes passed and the board was slowly beginning to fill up piece by piece, and at least at present Shun was winning. "Knows it very well. She has me in gote for the moment." Taking a piece between his fore and middle finger, he fiddled with it while he sat and thought. "Not yet." He thought as he stared.

It was far too early into the match to give away his true strategem. "I'll stay here a while on the backfoot and shore up my territory." Izusa did as he thought and played mostly defensively. Taking pieces of Shun's if she left them particularly vulnerable but otherwise focusing on the unseized corners and bolstering his forces. Slow and steady was his plan for now. "I'm glad you're having fun." Izusa spoke as he positioned another one of his white stones, ensuring that as many of his groups as possible had two eyes to make them less open to attack. It was a bit of an annoying style of play... though that was the point. "But don't get too comfortable just yet." He said, a corner of his mouth forming into a half-smirk as he glanced to the girl. Sure it was a bit of fun and did help to break up the tedium of normal academy classes, but ultimately this was still an exam. Nara or no, Shun was up against someone who'd spent many years schooling himself on strategy and tactics. And even more applying those in the field on missions. If she wasn't careful this could all be over before it truly started. The fact that he was still playing safe might've been even more worrying. "Hm... and I think this one goes—" A stone clacked on the board. "Here." Uncertainty and apprehension...

Or so it seemed as he played the fool, attempting to see what sort of player the young Nara was. She wasn't reckless but could she assess this 'battlefield' correctly? Was she capable of finding the cracks in his defenses and positioning her own troops to threaten his without sacrificing too many of her own number? Only time would really tell. 

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