Starring:
Date: October 4, 2010
Summary:
Daichi is training as Tosai has suggested with the giant cleaver. Taji shows up to say hi…and assist Daichi should he passout. Tosai comes in to monitor Daichi's training and have a little chat with Taji as he introduces Daichi and Taji as teammates to each other.
"Doing Squat, or I Was a Reluctant Ninja"
Genin Training Area
Daichi managed to make his way to the genin training ground with the large weapon in hand. He had procrastinated enough and decided to begin lifting the massive thing over his head and did the squats first. He made it to one…then found himself immobile do to the overwhelming weight. The weapon was 5'5" in height and just as wide as Tosai. Daichi struggled to get ready for the second squat, "Oh lord…." Daichi says as he tries to go down. Grunting now at the base of the squat Daichi managed to force himself up and found that his legs were on fire. But at least he had the stance down to a point. The weight wasn't concentrated on his neck like before; still it didn't make the task any easier. Daichi continues to crawl his way through the squats as his forehead already dripped with sweat…
Taji is a bit… well, out of sorts. So he walks into the clearing with a thoughtful look on his face. He's watching the clouds up in the sky as he walks, kicking a rock as he goes along, without even looking at the rock. He pauses as he hears the grunting from Daichi. He tilts his head, "Hey, you… what…" He blinks, "What are you doing? Where did you get that… thing?" He asks, peering at the weapon Daichi is hauling through the work out with. "Let me guess, Midoru-san got you a really big weapon to beat people with?" He ventures, sounding a tad unsure.
Daichi tries to smile at Taji as he works with the weapon, but the strain it puts on him prevented him from speaking as he came up from squat number four. 'Only 16 more to go then I can take a break and begin the next set! Then only 3 more set after that…..' Daichi thought and then began to whine for a moment. Tosai is insane!!!!! Daichi goes down for squat number 5 with the huge cleaver in hand. He managed to squeeze out a couple words to Taji "Hi…Ta….*whines in pain*" Daichi felt something pop…or was that his imagination? Daichi worked himself up again with another grunt and a big sigh as he survived another one. Getting started on his next squat he smiles at Taji "So….what….*whimpers and grunts* brings you here?" Daichi managed to squeeze out again.
Taji shakes his head, "You're crazy…" He says softly, "I think there are less painful ways to… um, do what you're trying to do." He says as he approaches a bit, "I was just following the clouds and thinking about some more training. Not really sure what to work on next." He admits, "I have a few ideas but… they're like the puffy clouds, unsure in my head." He offers a little smile, "So what are you trying to do? Learn how to lift small mountains?" He asks, trying to make a small joke.
Daichi wishes he was training to lift mountains. "Can't…." Daichi begins another squat going down "talk…" he grunts and goes back up. "about…" he goes back down, the pain numb to him now. Daichi goes back up for another squat he smiles at Taji faintly "But I'm gonna be stronger for the sake or the village and my friends." Daichi does another squat a bit faster than the last few he comes back up and speaks again responding to Taji's question "Well whatever you plan to do, don't ask Tosai to help…you might regret it…." Daichi says with a dark tone as he seemed to be completely serious. He then smiles as he goes down for another squat, grunting a bit he comes up and says "He's still a nice guy though hehe" Daichi continues his squats picking up speed.
Taji shakes his head, and mutters something about might and all. "Well, Tosai said he was going to teach me some things but it seems he may already have you as a student. Plus…I don't know it seems a tad… rough. I am not trying to become a monster with muscles." He notes, "So I think there has to be a better way." He shrugs and shakes his head, "You going to actually hurt yourself with that weapon before someone else it seems like!" He points out, "Um, if you need help walking to the medical center after your work out, maybe I can help you, though." He offers, being friendly and all.
Daichi comes up as Taji speaks "Oh don't worry Tosai trains different for every student depending on their skills…at least that’s what he told me basically." Daichi continues his exercise. "Well, I'm not saying Tosai's training is bad, in fact he is quite knowledgeable. But it is tough, so I understand if you're a bit too scared." Daichi was on squat 12 and was feeling dead…but in a good way. Daichi smiles at Taji "It's ok, I'm not even a forth of the way done, but I'm a medic so I can take care of myself, thanks though." Daichi smiles at Taji "Trust me if there is a better way, Tosai can help, but it won't be easy."
Taji tilts his head, "You're a medic? Oh! I didn't know that." He grins, "Well, then, you should know if you pop anything out of joint and how to fix it at least." He admits, "That's good. Still… wow, big weapon there. Bigger than you, almost?" He ventures, trying to eye it up, "You planning on learning how to use that thing in combat? To hurt people?" There's a tinge of something in his question, as if he finds the idea of cutting people into tiny bits unpleasant for some strange reason!
Daichi shrugs and regrets it later during the squat as Taji asked about the purpose of this large weapon. "I dunno what I'm supposed to with this other than work out…" Daichi says as he continues to exercise. It came to his attention that he has it 20. Daichi lets the weapon drop and indent into the ground leaving a since sized hole. Daichi falls down and begins breathing in relief as if he was holding in a long breath. "Soooo Taji I have a favor to ask….water….water…."
Taji laughs, "Water? Sure… just a sec." He pulls off his pack and digs around, pulling out a thermos, "How about some tea? It's not water but it has some energy like stuff in it." He offers as he holds it out, "Feel free to drink it all. I have two." He notes as he offers it, "I'm afraid the thermos isn't very good, it's gotten a bit cold, but…hasn’t had many missions lately so… trying to be frugal." He notes as he lets Daichi take the thermos, "Maybe you like cool tea right now anyway?" He says, thinking about it, "So this should be good for you."
Daichi takes the tea with his moveable hand. "Thank…you…" Daichi takes the thermal and downs the tea. Tossing the thermal due to the exhaustion in his arm Daichi lays flat out across the floor and just pants. "Soo Taji what kind of skills do you have?" Daichi asked as he couldn't recall from their last spar "I thing you uses some weird kind of Taijustsu…." Daichi says as he managed to get up and lean on the cleaver stuck in the ground. Daichi winces as the sore joints just feel like they have been set ablaze.
Taji nods, "Yes, Taijutsu. That's my specialty." He agrees, "Slowly people down and draining their stamina and the like. It is… limited, but I'm getting stronger over time." He explains. "Still working on things like tree walking. It's hard. I just don't pick up things that quickly." He admits, "Anyway, you're a med nin. And now you're working with this big weapon. What are you trying to learn how to do?" He asks, "I thought a lot of med-nin did mostly Taijutsu?"
Daichi shakes his head "Originally I was a Ninjutsu specialist. But some things happened and I began to focus on Tai." Daichi nods "I can to use tree walking…well I could if I wasn't soo exhausted now. If you want I could give you some pointers." Daichi manages to stand up using the cleaver for support. "I am trying to learn how to become more…..well it's hard to explain."
"What?" Taji asks, "What happened? I mean, sounds like a big change…. maybe I could give some pointers on your Taijutsu and all of that. You should just lay there right now it looks like." He says as he goes to recover his thermos, "I just know some of what my teachers had to share, so I'm always on the lookout for new things and new ways to learn." He says as he puts the now empty thermos back in his pack, "You know med-nin, that's mostly Ninjutsu, right?"
Daiichi waves a steady hand at Taji "Oh don't worry, I'll be fine…I still have more to do." Daichi sighs. "Anyway well a certain fire firing Uchiha made it so my body was in a condition in which I had to go through a lot of physical rehab, then Taijutsu came naturally. Daichi smiles at Taji "No my Taijutsu is good, well….good enough." Daichi chuckles and goes to lift the huge cleaver again to begin his second set of Squats "There are many kinds of medical techniques, don't assume they all require Ninjutsu. For example surgery…more know how than Ninjutsu." Daichi nods "Are you trying to become a medic Taji? Just asking?"
Taji gives a laugh, "Just asking." He says as he moves to sit down, "I don't do Ninjutsu much." He points out, "In fact most of my style uses no chakra at all. Still, I learned fire manipulation recently, so that's a wee bit different I guess, but I'm not very good with that yet." He stretches a tad, "I work on speed more than strength though. I'm not very strong, small in size and all." He says as he gestures towards his arms. "I lack the pure size and mass needed for the very powerful moves."
"You both should actually learn some Ninjutsu.. I mean it /is/ the basis of most chakra control that is done in every facet of jutsu." It would be Tosai that would seem to appear in the distance, walking toward the two, waving and smiling. Looking to Daichi first, Tosai would say, "Make sure to keep that chin up. Good job otherwise." He would look to Taji, ruffling the boy's hair, and saying, "Besides, Daichi may be able to take a hint on how some basics are done. It will help him for what I have planned next. As for you Taji…you will be showing me soon, how much you have developed in you Fire Release. I have something that maybe of fair interest."
Tosai would then move to the front of both boy's, as he would then say, "As for now, you will be counting yourself as fellow students, sempai over one another, under my tutelage. I suggest that you make sure you both know each other’s progression, so that you may better encourage each other, and…” a look would go to Taji especially, "..Answer the more complicated and long questions you may each have." Tosai would then look to Taji and Daichi, and say, "I can tell you both now. Each of your specialties in speed, make for an interesting similarity. However, I do recommend that you both make yourself, a master of another quality. After all, I would hate for all my students to have the same weakness."
Daichi chuckles as he goes down for his first squat. "One…." Oh god it was even more painful the second time through. But Daichi bore with it and continues just like he did the first set. At least he wasn't under so much strain that he couldn't speak like before. "Oh fire? That’s cool, Moriko-sempai showed me that I have wind affinity." Daichi says. A word from Tosai would make him straighten up his stance. Of course Tosai still found a flaw; Daichi lifts his chin like instructed. "Ohh so Taji is your student too?" Daichi says as he continues to conduct his grueling exercise. Daichi smiles at Taji as it seems he is now a fellow student of Tosai. Daichi would try and talk more but he needed to focus on his training. He managed to say on thing though "Hey Tosai-sensei did you know Taji is working on tree walking now? I would offer some hints about it but….well *grunt* you can see why not…"
Mention of the tree walking makes Taji frown. He has been working on this for a while, perhaps not working on it as hard as he should considering how long it has been taking him. He sighs then looks back to Tosai, not wanting to make things worse. "Well, I did learn one new thing with fire. I was going to try another. I thought maybe if I used fireworks, and lit them using fire jutsu it could make a good distraction or the like." He explains. "I even bought a few fireworks, but they were pretty pricey so I couldn't afford that many. If I want to use it as an attack I'll have to learn how to make my own I suppose."
A nod would be in reception of Daichi's question, as he would look to the boy's adjustment, and have no reaction. It was good to see Daichi working hard, but his progress seemed to be slower than Tosai anticipated. It would be left alone for now. However, Tosai had still be very much curious about Taji as of late. The Akimichi, had been busy, and Taji, seemed to have been busier, as of late, having not only been learning his fire jutsu, but, from Daichi's interjection, tree walking, had been on the table as well. "Aaaah… Tree Walking? That’s nice.. And you have been using it to light fireworks? Hmmmm… I see."
While Tosai's reaction had been playing to seem rather interested, he had been sweat dropping, and face palming on the inside. He had been so busy, that Taji's training, had seemed to be rather, well, lacking, on his part. 'I would have thought Taji had learned such.. Yeesh.. I guess I hadn't focused on him in a while. Man…this chuunin stuff is for the birds.' Tosai would look to Taji, bowing, as he would say, "My apologies.. I seemed to have fudged things with my memory once again Taji-san. I suppose this means that I will have to figure out where you are as far as how fit you have become, and get to know you again, skill wise." He would then look to a nearby Oak, and to the dismay of Taji, before saying, "Aaahh.. it looks like you have been having a hard time with the walking, eh, Taji-san? I guess maybe this may be a good time to impart some wisdom, and, perhaps even some quick shortcuts that can advance you use of fire jutsu to higher heights. After all, I will be wanting your hands combustible by the time I get back from another mission I will be headed on soon."
Daichi continues to squat as he listens to Tosai and Taji. He tries to focus more on the task at hand. Grueling squat after squat Daichi continues. He recalls his tree walking training with Hiro. It makes it easier to think of it as balancing chakra with the body's movement. Daichi winces as he gets halfway through with the set. The constant weight of the cleaver making it more and more difficult to rise with each squat. Sweat now begins to form from Daichi's head, he wished he could use chakra but Tosai made his thoughts about that clear. Daichi continues on now on his 15th squat. Daichi closed his eyes and as he nears the next milestone in his self training. "Hey Tosai, after I finish can I take a break?"
Taji is the one who sweat drops now, visibly, "Hands…. combustible?" He stammers, "But… what… I mean… how that does…. That's not… what I want to do!" He protests. "I mean, the only reason for that is to really burn someone badly!" There it is, out on the table, his hesitation to learn anything that can be used to really harm his foe seriously. "I mean, tree walking won't hurt someone else but… burning hands?" He takes a small step backwards, "And I haven't gotten the hang of tree walking yet." He admits, "But I got distracted working on fire mastery and mastering a new technique from my taijutsu." More an excuse than an explanation really.
Tosai would have had his mind on what Taji's reaction to his wants for him, had been. He knew Taji would not like this… The boy, hated violence, and yet, for some strange reason, was now standing here, a genin, ninja to this village. It was a part of the problem. The fact that Taji refused to fight, impeded any reason for which he needed training. Why not just go and live a normal life, like most kids who don't have ninja abilities? It would surely lead to a life of peace. Tosai would frown at Taji, and fold his arms, as he would stare at the boy, rather puzzled, his lips scrunching up. "You, sir… Have a lot to learn about the life you have chosen, Taji san."
He would call the boy forth, as he would watch him give his protest, and then ask him. "Why, is it that you wish to be a ninja, Taji?"
Daichi smirks as Taji goes on with his non harmful and violent approach. Daichi actually commended him on his choice to not hurt anyone. Daichi almost envied it, but he remains with his conviction to never dishonor an opponent by refusing to take them on with full force. "Commendable Taji…but selfish." Daichi comments as he finished the last squat of the set. Daichi set the cleaver down again taking a momentary break like before. Moderation was a key that Tosai emphasized. Daichi has become accustom to the weight of the cleaver as far as squatting. The kata would come next but he wanted to finish his squats to become more familiar with the design and properties of the cleaver. Daichi smiles at Taji "But I'm glad that ninja like you do exist."
Taji seems like he doesn't want to give just a flip or knee jerk response to Tosai's question as he steps in front of the man. He hesitates, thinking a bit, mulling the question over. "Honestly, I don't know." He admits. "I want to help people and this is what I was taught to do. I didn't have any where else to go that was safe after… things happened. I don't know any other useful skills. With the potential threat to my life, becoming a Genin for the village was my best option. I can do the most good this way. I helped stop some prisoners who were trying to escape from a prison that the Uchiha ran, with Fuyu-sama and a few others. I can do things that help. I'm not useless but… to do such blatantly… destructive things. It puts you out of balance with the rest of life. It disconnects you from the very world you are living in, you are cut off from the very things you rely on most." He tries to explain, tapping his chest, "In here, your spirit. Destruction, if you let it, will destroy you, too, eventually." He looks around, glancing to Daichi for some kind of encouragement then back to Tosai, "Haven't you seen some of that already, in just the last few months? Rainos, and the others, their destructive needs almost destroyed themselves. You don't need to destroy to have real power, real power can come from inner balance and peace, letting you do what is needed without unnecessary harm." He emphasizes the word 'unnecessary' as if to point out not /all/ harm is disallowed in this world view.
Finally Taji ends up looking down at his feet, "I know my views aren't in line with most of the shinobi of the village. I know that many just want to get stronger, more powerful, able to hurt people in new and more harmful ways. They say they want to do this so that they can do what is needed to protect us all, but… if they end up being what they have to protect against, are they really doing what they should be?" This last bit is said far more softly. He shakes his head but stands there, waiting for what he seems to think will either be some kind of attack or tirade against him from Tosai. Still, he's bared it all out there and seems to be speaking from the heart.
Taji's words to hit Daichi hard a little bit. His other side was corrupt by destruction. However in this world for a shiobi to be unable to take a life is basically dooming his own. As a medic Daichi's tasks would be more centered around saving lives rather than taking them. But things weren't always that simple. "Sometimes Taji, you'll have to take a life…to save a life. I hope you never get in that situation." Daichi thumps the cleaver letting it ring a bit. He recalls the time when he had to abandon Tosai to alert the village of Rainos' escape. Daichi was so useless he couldn't stand it, the lives laid down to protect his own could never be repaid. Daichi knew though that letting himself die in an effort to lead a passive 'balanced' life as a shinobi would shame them and their sacrifice…his mother's sacrifice too. Daichi takes the cleaver in hand again. Still using both hands Daichi hoists it over his shoulder and enters the proper stance for holding the weapon. He begins his squats again silently.
