[Tota]

LITTLE TOTA

Tota sulked as he walked by a small brook just outside the academy. It had been a rough day for the boy, taking insults and verbal abuse from students a grade higher than himself. As Tota continued brooding heavily over their words, he kicked some pebbles and rocks forward, scratching the dirt footpath. It had been a while since he'd felt this defeated, putting him into a low mood. It was a sight to see as the boys' usual energetic persona was broken into one of pensive thought.

His mind was scattered as his thoughts imagined all sort of things, but mostly what he should have done... use his fists to quieten the bullies. Words would never cut it, even the witty remarks he threw back at them when they had made their jokes and slurs. It wasn't enough.

Tota stopped and walked toward the edge of the brook before sitting down. He watched as the water slowly flowed down its length. It was calming, but only barely. Touching the ground, Tota dug his fingers into the soil, until he was able to pull them into a fist. He had found a stone and quickly threw it into the water, watching it cause a splash. For minutes, Tota sat there thinking and throwing stones into the stream. He didn't want to go back to the orphanage, well not just yet.

NOTES:
N/A

WORDCOUNT:
230

[yamaguchi daichi]

I COULD EAT THE WORLD RAW

Daichi wasn’t normally in the habit of stalking children, but this child was a special case. Lord Mizukage had requested that Daichi keep an eye on him—explained the story in broad strokes, and frankly it all seemed like a bit of a mess, but it was a mess that had started long before Toru had assumed leadership. Not his fault, but still his responsibility. So he was placed on something of a surveillance detail. Nothing so severe as around the clock, but he checked up on the kid every couple of days just to make sure that no drama had kicked up and nobody had caught wind of his true history. All in all, he was a sweet kid, bit of a temper, had two close friends and the early signs of growing into a decent med-nin. Maybe taijutsu, if he could get over his apprehension for combat. Daichi had never spoken to him, but—he was fond. So when Tota had an especially bad day, and Daichi found him not in any of his usual haunts but rather sitting sullenly by a stream, chucking rocks into the water, he felt like he should say something. He wasn’t under orders to completely ignore the kid, after all, and he felt fairly confident that Lord Mizukage would greenlight his impulse to have a little chat with him, help him through the day. Daichi had to do something of a run-around to re-position himself from his hidden observational point nearby, then took a casual stroll near the stream, and paused right after passing by Tota. "Hey,” he said, turning to look down at him, like any concerned passer-by might. "Rough day?”

Tota -- 278

LAIKA OF THQ

[Tota]

LITTLE TOTA

Tota reached for another stone as he heard a familiar noise close by. It was the unmistakable sound of feet crunching against the dirt and stone footpath, someone was approaching. Minding his own business, Tota wouldn't react and instead threw his rock. A large plop could be heard from the stream once it broke the surface.

The footsteps would pass Tota only for a second before stopping. "Here we go again..." He thought. His heartbeat raced, as his mind considered it might have been one of the bullies. He looked down at his hands which were now sitting empty in his lap. As the person spoke, Tota was relieved. It wasn't one of the bullies, but an unfamiliar voice.

The voice was smooth and genuine sounding as they greeted Tota. Although the boy acknowledged their presence, he remained unmoved, fiddling with his fingers as they asked if he had a rough day. A short sigh left Tota's lips before he pulled the hoodie of his jumper down a bit more. He wouldn't reply, and instead continued what he was doing, picking up another stone to throw.

Tota this time skipped the stone across the water, watching it bounce not once but twice before sinking below. From what he could tell the person hadn't left, and remained behind him the whole time.

NOTES:
N/A

WORDCOUNT:
221

[yamaguchi daichi]

I COULD EAT THE WORLD RAW

No response except for a world-weary sigh. That bad? he wondered, and nearly voiced the question aloud, but hey--if Tota didn't want to talk, Daichi wasn't going to try to make him. Still, he knew how hard it could be to sit by yourself at the end of a long, hard day, and since the kid wasn't telling him to shove off, maybe he'd appreciate a little friendly company. He spent a minute or so looking around the bank first, gathering up a few stones, and when he had a good four or five in hand Daichi took off his sandals and settled down next to Tota by the water. He let his feet hang in the brook, enjoying the feeling of the cold winter water bubbling past his ankles. "You got a good skip on that last one," he said. "Here, try this, and throw it kinda sideways, like--" He demonstrated the movement he was talking about, holding a different stone between his thumb and his middle finger and hooking his index finger around its edge. He flicked his wrist, a sharp, quick movement, but he didn't release it. Instead, he held it out in his open palm for Tota to take.

Tota -- 203

LAIKA OF THQ

[Tota]

LITTLE TOTA

Tota heard the stranger moving about behind him. Trying his best to ignore them, the boy would cross his arms against his knees, lowering his head; curled into a ball as he sat still. "What are they doing?" Tota wondered. After all, there wasn't much around here to do.

It wasn't long before he heard shuffling beside him and the clear sound of the person sitting down. As he saw two bare feet submerge into the water, Tota tilted his head gently to the side. He peeked at the stranger with his peripheral vision, first noticing their jet black hair and red clothing.

As they commented on his throwing skills, Tota moved his head back to its forward facing position. As he gazed at the water, he thought about how he threw and skipped the last stone. "Thanks" Tota would say meekly.

Almost immediately the black haired man would attempt to show Tota an example and technique to it. This peeked his curiosity, causing Tota to return his eyes to them. Tota would get a better look at their face, it was young yet chiselled, sporting an eye patch. The patch drew his gaze, but thinking it was rude stopped almost immediately and looked at their hand instead.

The boy would watch as they demonstrated the correct way to hold and throw the stone for the best result. As they held the stone out in their hand, Tota would hesitate for a moment before taking it.

Although Tota was still brooding, he would humor the man's attempt to engage with him. Emulating the technique shown, Tota threw the stone. However it's angle of attack was quite high, causing it to only skip once before sinking. Upon his failure, Tota would look down at the ground in a sulking manner. "Sorry" Tota said.

NOTES:
N/A

WORDCOUNT:
302

[yamaguchi daichi]

I COULD EAT THE WORLD RAW

Meek, shy—in his observational experience, these weren’t words that Daichi would typically use to describe this kid, but he guessed today was falling on the bad end of special. He could see Tota trying not to look at his eyepatch despite his obvious curiosity, which was frankly more consideration than most people showed him, and Daichi was oddly touched by the boy’s capacity for thoughtfulness even in the pit of his misery. Tota tried to copy what Daichi showed him, but the attempt flopped, and his mood quickly soured even further. Daichi stifled a grin—he didn’t want Tota to think he was laughing at him—and shook his head. "Hey, you’re fine, nothing to be sorry about,” Daichi said encouragingly. "You gotta practice being kinda bad at something before you can start getting good at it, right? Watch this.” He picked up another of his flat rocks and repeated the motion he showed Tota, but this time he let the rock go, and it flew briefly through the air before skipping once, twice, three, four times across the water’s surface, then plonking into the depths. "See the difference in angle there?” He offered the third of his stones to Tota. "Try again, but bring it lower this time.”

Tota -- 211

LAIKA OF THQ

[Tota]

LITTLE TOTA

'Why was he bad at this... What did he do wrong' Tota thought. His second attempt was worse than his first. Why? Tota exhaled into a sullen sigh. He wasn't sure he could pull off the trick again. Maybe it was just beginners luck.

After Tota's failure, he'd hear the man speak a few words of comfort. Tota relaxed, his body language appearing to open up a little more. As he thought carefully on the stranger's words Tota would raise his head again to watch them.

Tota carefully observed as the man threw the stone, using the very same technique he showed Tota earlier. Something about it was different though. Enamored by the skill and technique, Tota immediately perked up, looking on as the stone skipped across the water gracefully.

"Wow, you're so good at that!" Tota exclaimed.

As if the boy had suddenly become competitive, Tota jumped to his feet, standing head height to the sitting man. The angle, that's what he did wrong, that's how he'd improve.

Excitingly taking the stone from the man's hand, Tota would ready his stance. It was similar to the basic taijutsu form he had learnt in the academy; with his left foot in front and the right supporting his weight behind. With a large sweeping motion, Tota would pull his arm back, twisting his body before throwing it forward, almost copying the stranger's technique.

Letting go of the stone, it flew through the air, hitting the surface of the water once, twice and a third time before sinking below. Tota jumped in enjoy, turning to the man as he pumped his fist into the air. "YES!" Tota shouted.

Tota begun looking for more stones along the bank, picking them up and placing into his pocket. He swung his head back, looking at the stranger. "So what's your name?" Tota asked.

NOTES:
N/A

WORDCOUNT:
308

[yamaguchi daichi]

I COULD EAT THE WORLD RAW

Well, at least Daichi’s little demonstration had boosted Tota’s mood. Praise from a nine-year-old on being able to skip rocks good shouldn’t have stoked Daichi’s ego as much as it did, but hey, it was nice to know that at least this particular kid thought he was cool. Hardly anyone ever thought he was cool. When Tota took the rock to try again and got a full three skips out of his much-improved throw, Daichi cheered and offered up a raucous round of applause. The kid immediately went to go look for more stones, to which Daichi grinned—his newfound cheer was infectious. "Yamaguchi Daichi,” he said, pulling one leg up from the water to tuck underneath him. No point in lying to him, and it was stupidly easy lie to figure out anyway. "You’re studying at the academy, right?” He tapped the Kirigakure headband that he wore around his waist. "I pass by there pretty often on my way to work, I’ve seen you around. What’s your name?” If Tota told him himself, at least Daichi could stop worrying about slipping up and accidentally calling him by his name; and there was the added benefit of giving himself an excuse if Tota saw him more frequently in the future. He wasn’t even technically lying; Toru’s office was right next door to the academy, which he did in fact pass by on his way to and from his apartment.

Tota -- 242

LAIKA OF THQ

[Tota]

LITTLE TOTA

Tota bounced back toward where the man sat as he listened to their name. He stooped down again, to empty his pockets, placing the stones meticulous in a pile. "Daichi.. that's a cool name!" Tota responded. As he fiddled with the stones, inspecting each carefully to decide which he'd throw next, Tota would continue his reply. "Yeah, I'm a third year now" he quietly uttered. He kept anxiously moving the stones about, unsure of the best candidate.

Tota would look up as Daichi tapped his headband, drawing the young boys attention to it. His eyes gleamed in awe as he saw the four lines intricately craved it the metal. Tota was impressed by the proud presentation of it, he had always wanted one for himself. "You're a shinobi!" Tota exclaimed in a high pitch. "I haven't seen you around before." with a much lower tone, the boy added.

Finding the perfect stone and grasping it in his hand, Tota would raise himself up again. After being asked his own named, Tota would turn the stream then hesitantly say "My name is Tota! It's Tota!" before throwing the rock. He'd watch it skip across the surface of the water again and again, this time for a fourth. He proudly smiled to Daichi as he looked for validation.

Upon watching the stone sink Tota would look up to the other side of the bank, seeing another Academy Student there. It was the kid from the fourth grade that bullied him earlier; Kagami, Fuutama. Tota would instantly look down and turn around, grabbing a rock as quickly as he could. Without a moment of delay, the little boy threw the stone directly at his tormentor - hitting them on the back.

NOTES:
N/A

WORDCOUNT:
287

[yamaguchi daichi]

I COULD EAT THE WORLD RAW

"Third year, nice, you’re getting there.” He decided not to ask about the genin exams; if he didn’t know, he would once he moved into fourth year, and Daichi knew the prospect could either be motivating or intimidating. He didn’t know which way Tota would feel. It was a bit awkward, though, because obviously Tota hadn’t seen him around before; he’d been careful about that. "Yeah, I’m a chuunin,” he said, and tapped the side of his head. "Paying attention to your surroundings is a big part of being a shinobi, you know. Try to see if you can spot me when you go to class tomorrow, yeah?” He could make a point of strolling past, or maybe he could drop in to visit one of his old instructors; he did have some questions about a particular fuin technique, and he could kill two birds with one stone… "Nice to meet you, Tota,” he replied when the kid hesitantly introduced himself. He was still feeling a little shy, Daichi supposed, but he was deeply pleased with himself for the sudden turnaround in the kid’s demeanor. Not that it was all thanks to him—Tota did the work, after all—but it was nice to think that he had helped a bit. At least, uh. At least until Tota committed aggravated assault in front of him. There was another kid on the opposite side of the bank, a little older than Tota, and Daichi had no clue who he was but he could piece together enough context clues to figure that, uh, maybe the two didn’t get along. The kid whirled around, already looking spitting mad and glaring daggers directly at Tota as soon as his gaze landed on him. Daichi glanced from Tota to the other kid and back, and made a split-second decision before raising his hands in a don’t shoot gesture. "Woah, hey, my bad,” he called to the other kid. "I was trying to hit that tree next to you, but I guess I need target practice! Sorry!” Then, softly, so only Tota could hear: "Nice throw.”

Tota -- 353

LAIKA OF THQ

[Tota]

LITTLE TOTA

Tota watched as the bully stared him down, he was almost about to shy away and break eye contact as Daichi interjected. His new acquaintance was covering for him and his reckless behaviour. He was in shock, yet his eyes set ablaze in complete admiration for the chuunin. "I'm an idiot, I don't know why I did that" Tota whispered. He'd take his place next to Daichu and sit down. As he complimented his throw again, Tota chuckled. "Thank-you" he replied as they watched the boy across the stream shuffle away disgruntled and in pain.

He hadn't gotten to reply to Daichi before he'd thrown the rock, so he began now. As Tota thought back to what Daichi mentioned about paying attention to his surroundings, a muffled giggle could be heard; it was only a few days ago his friend Dansui tripped on a rock a fell, causing his sensei to say those exact same words. He nodded, affirming he took what the chuunin said as gospel. "Well I'll keep an eye out for you, but...." Tota would pause for a moment, lean back and tilt his head toward the sky. "I've got a weapons exams coming up and I need to try paying attention. I'll do my best though" he continued.

Tota sighed loudly at the thought of the exam - he wasn't confident about it, weapons were never his speciality. Looking at the pile of stones,  he swung his arm to the side knocking them over. "I better go do some training before I head back to the orphanage" Tota said as he slowly worked his way onto his feet.

NOTES:
N/A

WORDCOUNT:
271

[yamaguchi daichi]

I COULD EAT THE WORLD RAW

Luckily it seemed like the other kid accepted his half-baked excuse, and shuffled off sullenly to go nurse his wound and pride. Daichi let out a sigh, grateful that the interaction hadn’t escalated further. "You had some reason,” Daichi said, turning back to Tota. "Not a friend of yours, I’m guessing?” He had half a mind to scold Tota now that the situation was handled, but with context stacking on top of context, he could imagine why a nine-year-old having a bad day would suddenly and uncharacteristically chuck a rock at someone, and he had a suspicion that the other kid had contributed in some way to Tota’s bad day. Daichi piling on a talking-to on top of that definitely wouldn’t help, so: he shrugged. "If it was a good reason, then that’s good enough for me.” He grinned. "You’re gonna want to be stealthier than that in the future, though.” Tota’s deep, dramatic sigh at the thought of the weapons exam made Daichi stifle a chuckle as he watched the kid slowly get up, obviously dragging his feet. "D’you want some help?” he offered, the words coming out as soon as he had the impulse. "I’m not exactly a weapons specialist, but I made it out of the academy okay, I can show you a couple of things if you’re having a hard time with it.”

Tota -- 226

LAIKA OF THQ

[Tota]

LITTLE TOTA

Tota took a moment to brush the dirt and grim off his clothes as stood up. "Mhm" a little hum in agreement left Tota's lips. He knew he was in the wrong, and still felt quite embarrassed by his actions. But nevertheless, he'd try to explain the situation. "That kid just makes my life a living hell sometimes, his a big bully. And he doesn't just harass me, but a lot of the other orphans as well." Tota exclaimed, trying to justify his actions, if not to Daichi then to himself. As he readjusted his clothing, Tota looked at Daichi with another grateful glance - his comment on being stealthy next time was reassuring he understood his predicament.

"I'd love that!?" He said, jumping again in excitement, pumped to be training with someone new. "What are you going to teach me?" He asked. The boy continued to liven up, showing Daichi his true persona. As he prepared himself for whatever Daichi suggested, Tota pulled his gloves up his arm, tightening their fit as he pulled a fist. "Let's do this!" Tota shouted.

He'd take his backpack, placing it in a safe place away from the stream, where they'd be training. Tota then called out to Daichi "I'm ready".

NOTES:
N/A

WORDCOUNT:
207

[yamaguchi daichi]

I COULD EAT THE WORLD RAW

It really was a one-eighty, Daichi thought, watching Tota perk up even more at the offer of training. So sullen and sulky one minute, and bouncing off the walls the next. Was this just what it was like, being nine? He’d been such a reserved and quiet kid himself, it was fascinating to watch. "Woah, hold your horses,” he said, laughing. "We need some equipment first. Let’s head over to the academy training yard, okay? We need practice dummies.” And training shuriken, for that matter; he had a few on him, but he wasn’t about to hand Tota live steel. They were just outside the academy anyway, so once Tota got his backpack Daichi would lead the way back to the training yard, taking a shortcut on the way. "If that kid is that much of a bully,” Daichi said as they walked, "you can do something about it.” It was a hard thing to navigate—stand up for yourself and you ran the risk of getting penalized for fighting, but if you tried to talk to the senseis about it then it might just get waved off. "It’s not easy, don’t get me wrong, but—doing something is better than doing nothing. You don’t deserve to be treated that way, and neither do the other kids. You're allowed to stand up for yourself, Tota.” It was only five minutes or so before they arrived, and Daichi went hunting for the box of training shuriken that he knew were stashed in an office somewhere. They would still sink into the training dummies if you threw them with the right technique, but they had dull blades and wouldn’t actually injure anyone if something went awry. Daichi grabbed six and brought them back to Tota. "Alright,” he said, holding one out. "Show me what you got.”

Tota -- 298

LAIKA OF THQ

[Tota]

LITTLE TOTA

Tota eagerly bounced onward as the pair made their way to the training ground behind the academy. It had become a rather frequent location for the boy of recent days. His training had taken off at an accelerated pace, thanks to the many friends he was making. And yet, he still wasn't confident enough to face his tormentors head on. Although Daichi's words were comforting, motivating even; the boy still didn't know the best way to handle them. "What should i do? Should I.... challenge them?" He asked.

As they approached the area, Tota watched as Daichi ducked off for a second into the academy building. While he waited for Daichi to retrieve some training weapon, Tota kicked some stones about, thinking about what Daichi had said. When his new friend returned and handed him six blunted shuriken, Tota ran several paces from a wooden dummy. He focused intensely on his target, readying to throw one. His stance was wide and spread out, as he had been taught by sensei Asuka. With one large sweeping motion, Tota brought his arm forward and let go. The shuriken flew through the air, buzzing as it spun rapidly. Seconds later, the shuriken hit the target with a loud thump, although too high to be considered accurate.

NOTES:
E-Rank Training [1/6]

WORDCOUNT:
213