Shard

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Turning to Ozuko, Tao raised an eyebrow and tilted his head slightly, trying to measure him out. What was up with this guy? He was quite clearly arrogant, and he had based his life around the rules laid out before him. Tao listened to his sensei's response and would do as she said, but he wasn't about to completely stride against his own ways. However, she was right when she said that one was supposed to be open to changes, that's how you learn. Speaking of which, how would this go? Ozuko, he was a rather interesting individual. Tao placed a hand at his hip while eyeing his teammate, thinking about every possible outcome with this guy. He was obsessed with his own Kekkei Genkai, so much to the point where he thought it the main strength of the group. Not even Tao, someone who was a hundred percent reliant on his bloodline power was as arrogant as this kid. He reminded Tao of his mother. "Are you...serious...?" The boy finally spoke up, a faint frown forming on his face. "I've always condoned confidence. Be as strong as you can, and own it. But..." He shook his head. "Get your fuckin' head out of your ass. 'What's the reward', seriously? I've grown up around people like you, people who think the entire fuckin' world revolves around them. Do everyone a favour and put your feet back on the ground." It was quite obvious that Ozuko had struck a nerve on the smaller boy. "I don't know what your Bloodline Tech can do, but there is always a counter to it. People say the Sharingan is the fuckin' bomb but they burn just as easily as everyone else. Expressing your ideals is one thing but try to be a bit fuckin' respectful."

The boy would cross his arms and pout slightly, a very faint tuft of white fire leaving his nostrils as he did. "Reward...you should be strong for YOU, never ask someone else for a reward. Do you seriously need that approval? You know what that shows me? It shows me that you're insecure and you need someone else to confirm to you that you're a special snowflake. Snowflakes melt, you know. The only confirmation you need of your strength is the outcome of a fight, be it against someone else or against yourself. You're gonna' be a handful, aren't you?" Clenching his teeth for a moment, Tao breathed out and sighed. "And people call me full of myself...there are three things that piss me, three." He held up three fingers. "One, anyone threatening my freedom. Two, people who have convinced themselves that their victims and three...arrogant assholes. I can't count the number of arrogant idiots who have waved their bullshit in my face but in the end...they all shut the fuck up." The faint traces of flames licking Tao's body escalated slightly as he expressed himself. Once he was down however, they vanished and the boy would look towards their sensei. "Sorry..." He muttered, looking down on the floor.

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I'll wait until my teammates respond before I fling in another reply. That way it won't just be back and forth between me and OneWayOut.

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Oh boy. Tao is in for it XD

I'll post tomorrow. I'm sleepy~

@OneWayOut

Tao's a passionate soul indeed....PASSION!

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I replied. Tao is a bit uhm...yeah..

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"Hm..." Tao crossed his arms as he looked to his sensei and listened carefully to her words. "I actually know them, but..." The boy breathed out, shaking his head slightly. "I don't agree with all of them. Sure, I believe they are very logical and reasonable within their own sense, but anything taking to an extreme extent is taking it too far." Nodding softly, Tao continued with raising his index finger as he spoke. "Many of the greatest ninja we've come to respect whole heartedly forsake some of the Shinobi Rules and we see them as heroes, simply because they did something our inner moral strives for." He lowered his hand again and thought it over for a second, but manage to recite the rules within his mind before continuing. "The first rule is to always put the mission first. This finds it's roots in pure professionalism and sometimes the mission is so important that personal emotions pale in comparison...however! This rule indicates that surroundings factors are completely irrelevant. I will tell you all right now, and in all due respect sensei, you may discard me from your team if you disagree..." The boy took a deep breath before he spoke his mind. "My comrades lives come first to me, then the mission. If you need to hear a 'purely professional' reason for this, it's because without my comrades help, the success of the mission diminishes greatly. That and the saying 'Ninja who leave their friends to die are worse than trash', I agree." He nodded.

"The second rule, we're never to show our tears. That's a nice thought, really. Acting cold and never showing your emotions will seriously put your opponent off, especially if they depend on reading your body language. However, no matter how much we try to deny it, we're still human. Ive noticed how ninja constantly struggle against that principle, but in the end, our biology always wins." Tao crossed his arms and sighed softly. "My clan always teaches that you should harness your emotions and use them to strengthen your resolve. Sadness is the most powerful emotion there is, accompanied by love and hatred which both go hand in hand with it. There is no flame as devastating as a furious one and no flame as fluid as a harmonic one. All in all, I believe that this shinobi rule is good purely on a physical level, don't show your opponents any body language they can use against you but on a deeper level, I can't entirely agree with it."

Smiling softly now, Tao rubbed his chin and continued onward towards the third rule. "The hidden meanings within the hidden meanings, this is the one rule I fully agree with. You should always analyse everything to the best of your extent. This doesn't mean that you need to figure out the whole problem, but only part of it. We're a team, right? We're four minds working together. One mind won't be able to figure everything out on its own, however like clockwork, all minds put together will get things done! Yup, the hidden meanings within the hidden meanings is the exact way you should look at the shinobi rules and judge them thusly."

Finally, onto the fourth. "So, a ninja must always follow their commander's instructions. This is wrong on so many levels. I'm not a puppet, if that's what's being sought after, there is an entire combat technique that utilises them. I'm a person, and I will never follow orders blindly. No offence to you sensei, but if my commander makes incompetent decisions, I will not let other people suffer because I am obligated to follow a fool's sense of justice. I will however always do what's right and that's putting my life on the line for my friends, and the success of our mission."

Taking a deep breath, Tao prepared for the next rule, almost done with the rant. "So, a ninja must always be prepared before it's too late. Yup, makes sense. Nothing to complain over here, apart from the fact that you'll often need to improvise but that's a given. Good rule, good rule." The boy nodded twice.

"Phew, finally the last one! Alright, a ninja must never show any weakness. I guess this would go hand in hand with never showing any tears. Stifling your emotions and shielding your weaknesses are however kinda' different. We will always try our best not to show any weakness, something our team is essential for. However, some weaknesses are quite obvious. I mean, I control fire so water is obviously my weakness." The boy would laugh slightly. "But I get it, don't let the enemy get the jump on you is essentially what this rule says and that makes sense." Finally done with all of them, Tao took a deep, relaxed breath and looked back to his sensei. "Alright! So, that's my take on everything. Hehe...the academy instructors hated me, I hope you won't as well, sensei!" The wide smile on his lips as he spoke indicated his pride, but also a large sense of confidence. Tao had obviously thought his views through in one way or the other and immediately came out defiant on the other end. He had no clue how his sensei would react to this, but he halfway expected her to drop him off the team. However, Tao was ready for that. He wanted her to know what she was getting, all that she was getting. If these people would fight to protect each others' lives, that meant that they needed to know each other through and through.

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Do whatever's most comfortable for you ^^

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I believe there is a slot available ^^

Also, go ahead and ask.

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@Izaka Sazaka So, I'm guessing you're in a classroom now? Sorry, I get confused a lot ;-;

@Jay Kalton

Yeah, I think that's where he is.

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Yaaay, reply up!

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"C'mon, Azhul. We have to manage this." Up at the crack of dawn, the black haired boy stood in his home's back yard, breathing heavily with droplets of sweat running down his forehead.

"Damn, kid! Don't you know what 'chill out' means!?" Perhaps not what would be expected in an everyday conversation, but rather more common in the midst of combat, or like this time, sparring, a spirit of fire hovered over the ground in face level with the short boy.

"Hehe...I see what you did there." Tao wiped his forehead before a swirl of white fire surrounded his frame and gathered in his palm. "Now! Do it! Telep-..." Before the boy got a chance to launch the firebolt gathered within his hand, a door swung open behind him. Tao's home was a larger building fitting the representative of the Mei clan, his mother. She was known to be calm, relaxed and harmonic. Despite the passionate hearts associated with the Mei clan, she had always kept a very relaxed stance towards the rest of Konoha. One could call it professional, of course. Being a politician, there was little else she could be if she hoped to make progress.

"Tao Mei!!!" That calmness did by no means extend to her own family, however. Tao's flames paled in comparison to the hellfire glaring at him from their home. "You've woken the entire neighbourhood! Get your ass in here, NOW!!"

"H-hi, mom..." Tao gulped, immediately dispelling the fire in his palm. "We were just uhm..."

"How long have you been at this!? You look like you ran a hundred miles!" The woman shook her head with a sigh before her bear feet touched the ground and she walked up to her son, grabbing hold of him. "You're gonna' meet your squad today. Please, look respectable." Lin pointed at a scroll in her hands.

"Hey!" The boy stood up to her. "Being a warrior is sweaty business! It's not like the others don't work out!"

"I am sure the others don't blow up their backyard at five AM!" Turning her attention to Azhul, she narrowed her eyes into a heart piercing gaze. "You better have taught him something, that's the only saving grace now."

"Shower!" Tao pitched in, laughing nervously. "We were just gonna' take a shower! See you later, mom."

"Wait...I'm going to take a shower!?" It wouldn't be that surprising that the spirit made of fire was objecting to standing under a constant beam of water. Grabbing the spirit's hand, Tao hurried into the house before his mother tore open a gate to hell. "Y-you're not serious, are you?"

"Yes Azhul, I'm serious. I'm going to drown y-...Of course not! Did you want to stay out there with mom?" As they entered his room, Tao placed his hands on his hips and raised an eyebrow while looking at his friend.

"Fair point."

"Alright. I'm gonna' jump into the shower. Try not to get killed by mom." Not the most reassuring goodbye, but after having been scolded by his mother, Tao didn't waste any more time before cleaning off. Of course, he didn't have to spend long in there. Grabbing the soap and shampoo, he made quick work of the task and stepped out with a towel wrapped around his waist as he reentered his room. "Have you...been in here the whole time?"

"I'm not going out there alone!" The spirit shook his head and flipped through one of Tao's comic books with his claws. "So what are you going to wear?"

"Uhm..." The boy responded, opening his closet. He just managed to slip on his boxers before the door to his room swung open. "Wha-...mom!?"

"Oh don't act like I haven't seen it all." She waved it off. "Here, I prepared some clothes for you." Lin dropped down a small bundle of cloths onto her son's bed.

"Way to make me feel all comfy..." Tao sighed softly and approached his bed, seeing the clothes laid out for him. "Are you serious?"

"Of course I am! It's your clan's traditional outfits. All of us wear it except for you because you want to be hipster." Lin playfully ruffled her son's hair. The clothes she had laid out for him were a traditional outfit from their ancestral home. A silken vest beautifully embroidered with golden thread along the linings and a flowery decor stitched into the black silk fabric with a nearly as black thread. The short pants reaching down to the ankles she had laid out matched the vest in both style and fabrics.

"I uh...think I'll go with a T-shirt and a pair of shorts, thank you."

"Stop being difficult, kid. You need to look good, you're a Sorcerer. Look the part!" Lin raised her chin, proud of the title bestowed upon their clan.

"You do know that they'll just get dirty, right?"

"Of course not! Your opponents should be no more after you raise your hand!" She grinned, leaning closer to the boy. "No one said you shouldn't look good when you kick ass."

"You're scaring me, mom..."

With a heavy sigh, Lin shrugged and started out of the room. "Fiiiiine. Put on whatever you want, but make sure to eat breakfast before you leave."

Slipping into a simple black T-shirt along with a pair of black shorts, Tao put his gloves on and headed out of the room. "You know, you always clam up when mom's around."

"Maybe because she can banish me!?"

"Hm, yeah. That sounds uncomfortable." Tao giggled slightly at his own statement before grabbing a sandwich his mother had laid out for him. "Alright, bye mom! Bye Azhul, cya around."

"Wait, you dweeb! Take this scroll with you!"

Grabbing hold of his shoulder bag before leaving their home he dropped the scroll into it. Tao slipped into his black ninja slippers and ran down the stone steps and onto the dirt road before heading towards the academy. He was technically eating his breakfast, just not before he left. This worked, right? It didn't take long before he came in contact with the academy, seeing how several other Genin were walking into the building. He hurried in and made his way towards the designated location and opened the door to see a woman in there with long pink hair. This was going to be his sensei? "Hello." The boy spoke, tilting his head slightly as he looked at her and the cat. "Aw, kitty!" He did love cats, perhaps a bit too much. Dropping down on his knees he looked at the cat with a sheepish grin. "I'm Tao, by the way. Nice to meet you." It was proper to kneel when presenting yourself to your superiors, right? Well...at least he was on his knees.