Feeling a bit worn out from the rest of his training, Kuro now found himself back in the camp being made to train his mind. The first exercise was a pretend battle in which he was the leader of a small military force being attacked by the enemy. It was not a real battle, but more of a discussion of tactics over a map of the area. He would be told the actions taking place and be made to think of effective responses. He felt he was basically playing an rpg.

"Your force is small, only numbering about 25 members, men and women aside from yourself." An older woman explained the scenario from across the table they sat at, indicating his location with a long stick. "You have no intel on the enemy or the surrounding area. What will be your first move?"

Kuro sat back and pondered the fictional conflict. This exercise was forcing him to think in a way he'd rarely thought like before. He was not used to being the person in charge and making the decisions. He racked his mind trying to come up with a smart and logical decision. He picked up his own pointer stick and tried to explain his answer.

"First, I'd move the force out of this open space they're standing in. They are sitting ducks waiting to be discovered if they stay there. I'd have them move into these trees here." he pointed at his desired spot. "The forest is thick, and the area is elevated. The small number of people will make it easy to blend in and remain undiscovered in the trees. Also, the elevated location would make keeping watch on the surroundings easier, letting them discover the enemy before the enemy discovers them." Kuro took a deep breath before continuing. This exercise was stressful because he was nervous about making a mistake and being ridiculed by the elders training him. "Next I'd split the group nearly in half. I'd pick 12 of the fastest, most stealth-like members of the group and pair them up into 6 groups. They would spread out in six directions from the main group's position and scout the land for the enemy and any natural rescources we could use to our advantage. The rest of us would remain and keep an eye out for the enemy."

The elders all nodded and contemplated their next batch of information. Kuro watched them whisper to each other while his heart pounded from the pressure. Finally, they finished their discussion and the man on Kuro's right presented the outcome.

"Your decision was fruitful. Your force made it safely into the wooded hills and sent out scouts without any run in with the enemy. While waiting for the scouts' report, your guards spotted a man creeping sneakily through the trees beneath the hills. They attempted to catch him and interrigate him for information, but only managed to wound him. He managed to shake them in the forest and his where-a-bouts are unknown. Afterwards, your scouts returned with good news. Two groups caught sight of the enemy. They say that the opposing force outnumbers you with a total of about 75. They are located a fair distance from you in this pine grove on the other side of the map. Another group investigated the rocky canyon to the north of both camps. They say that it is narrow and is open only on one end with a steep cliff with rocks at the top on the other side. The other groups found nothing of use. So what do you do?"

Kuro only had to think for a few moments before voicing the beginning of his response. "We would not pursue the injured man. We'd be wasting man power and forgetting our primary objective of remaining hidden. But it is likely that the man was a scout of the enemy and is making his way back to them to report our location. That being said, we'd have to act fast and make a move on them before he can get back to them. We'd have the advantage because he's injured."

Kuro sat back with his arms folded across his chest. He studied the map carefully, remembering the words of the elderly man. His mind began to race with ideas until he finally thought of a plan that seemed like it would be effective against the enemy.

"My force would move quickly, splitting a small group of 6 off to occupy the cliff above the canyon's dead end. The main force would then proceed to the enemy camp, timing our arrival at nighttime. I would assign 5 to guard this stream just outside the camp here. Then three more would sneak into the camp and set multiple fires to the surrounding trees seeing as pine trees burn easily. My force would then strike swiftly, picking off members of their group in the ensuing confusion. The 5 at the stream would swiftly kill any enemies who thought to gather water to put the fire out. Using this tactic, we would aim to lower their numbers to about 30 men. Afterwards, we would retreat quickly, but leave a trail that is notacible, but not too suspicious. We would head for the canyon and hope that they follow us."

Kuro waited for the elders' response. They seemed impressed by Kuro's plan. It was simple, but effective. They did not need to discuss amongst themselves this time. Instead the second woman on Kuro's left spoke up.

"Your plan worked perfectly. The enemy was caught off guard in the dead of night and panicked in sight of the flames. You managed to kill off 46 of them, leaving 29 alive and very angry. One of your members was however lost as he was discovered near the end of the attack as he killed one of their men and was taken out by three others. Hungry for revenge, they follow your group without thinking and persue you all the way to the canyon. Now tell us the rest of your plan."

Kuro sighed with relief. "We'd be saddened at the loss of our man. No losses should be cast aside in battle. We'd split up again, leaving 3 members to continue into the canyon while the rest hid in the surrounding area. The enemy would likely pass our main body by and follow the 3 into the canyon. At the end of the canyon, our 3 members would be pulled out of harm's way by the 6 I sent to the cliff earlier. The main force would corner the enemy by blocking off the exit of the canyon and force them in deeper with long ranged attacks, those being kidou arrows or sling stones. When the enemy reached the dead end, the 9 members up on the cliff would blast the rocks at the top loose and cause a landslide to fall on top of the enemy. Any that survived being buried alive would be finished off by our soldiers in the canyon."

The elders all looked across the table at Kuro. His eyes were sharp and fierce with an intense look that displayed a growth of tatical experience. Without bothering to voice the outcome, they all merely nodded their heads and gently gave a quiet round of applause congratulating Kuro on his performance.

(ooc: Intelligence please. Boy this first exercise took a while to write. lol)

+3 intel, lovely

(ooc: I'm trying for intel. Just let me know if the subject matter isn't appropriate for that.)

Kuro was sitting under a tree in the forest outside of his camp. A group of children from the camp came running into the forest to play. Shin, the boy who always seemed in charge of the children's activities noticed Kuro and led the group over to him.

"Hi Kuro-sama. Do you want to play with us?"

Kuro smiled as he looked up from the book he was reading. "Sorry Shin, but I'm studying right now. I'll try and find time to play with you guys later."

The children all whined at Kuro's response, but a few seemed interested in his books. Sitting against the tree was a large stack of books Kuro had brought with him. They were reference books on all kinds of shinigami subjects. Hollows, Kido, Spiritual Power, even the different spiritual species like Quincies and Superhumans. One of the children spoke up with a question.

"What are these hollow things Kuro-sama?"

Kuro sighed. He seriously felt he was going to get in trouble if anyone from the seireitei heard these kids call him 'Kuro-sama', but there was no stopping them. He closed the book on hollows he was reading at the moment and motioned for the children to have a seat. He thought for a moment as they sat down around him, trying to find out how to summarize what he'd read without sounding too scary.

"That's a good question. Hollows are souls that have gone bad. That would be a basic way of describing them. They start out no different from all of us. But in the world of the living, sometimes a shinigami can't send a soul peacefully to the soul society before it becomes corrupted. It loses its heart and undergoes a change into a dark beast that craves spirit power and will attack targets both dead and alive to satisfy its hunger."

As Kuro finished explaining, the children were showing signs of greater curiosity. One small boy with glasses nervously raised his hand before speaking.

"So these hollow creatures are the bad guys?"

Kuro didn't know what to say here. He leaned back and took a deep breath before starting his answer.

"That's a tough one to answer. I guess it would all depend on the individual's point of view. As a shinigami, I'm probably expected to view hollows as all evil, but I don't like to think that narrow minded. I like to believe that there is room for good as well as bad in all living things. I also think that we judge hollows too harshly. They may technically be beasts that prey on souls, but their actions are driven by instinct. Their personalities are what we have to look at to decide whether they're good or evil, just like souls here in the soul society."

Shin spoke up next. "Have you actually seen a hollow with a personality besides eating and fighting before Kuro-sama?"

Kuro smiled again. "Yes Shin, I met a group of hollows a while back." He leaned back, closing his eyes again as he remembered the day he and Saroki had met Sekkou and the others. "They didn't have the best of manners, but they were more than just instinct driven beasts too. Me and my partner fought them. They were strong and we were both injured. But we managed to hurt them a bit too. But then a menos grande showed up. They're gigantic hollows that eat their own kind to supply themselves with enough energy to live and grow. It was probably attracted to the intense spirit power all of us were releasing in our fight. My partner and I had to team up with the hollows in order to destroy it. Afterwards, we let each other go out of respect I suppose. I wouldn't feel right striking down someone I'd just fought beside."

"So what happens to hollows when shinigami's kill them?" another child asked.

"When we slay a hollow with our zanpakuto, we purify the tarnished soul and send it here to the soul society." Kuro glanced at his own zanpakuto as he explained the way purifying a hollow worked. "But I say again, I won't think narrow minded. While I will defend anybody who a hollow would try to devour, I won't walk the duty bound road that tells me to attack them simply for being a hollow. That may seem naive, but it is my way."

Kuro sighed as he closed up the discussion. His head had received a large workout from the talk with the kids. Before today, he'd never thought much about his position when it came to hollows. He was practically still a newbie as a shinigami and had not been to the living world since that one time. He watched the kids as they ran off to play, thinking about his declaration. It would probably be tough being a shinigami that spoke up for the enemy, but Kuro felt that everything deserved a voice of reason opposing the mass prejudice.

+2 intel