[Sora Minami]

Sora chuckled when Taro fell again, her lips parting in a slight smile as she sheathed Samidare, the fallen tree creaking against its counterparts in the background. He was improving rather rapidly, even if his concentration needed work. It was a common problem for Genin, one that couldn’t be solved by simple tricks or advice. The level of focus needed to tree and water-walk without thinking about it had to be earned through practice and many failed attempts, and didn’t come quickly for most. Some, to be sure, but not most. And definitely not him.

"Yes." The Jounin said, tilting her head as the boy dusted himself off, clearly wanting to have another go at the tree. "Every element has a different benefit to it. Suiton allows weapons to flex and bend more, absorbing impacts better. Doton makes things heavier and more sturdy. Katon raises the internal temperature and causes burns. And Fuuton lightens, enhancing the speed at which a weapon can move while enhancing cutting power."

There was more to it than that, of course, but for a Genin the basics would be more than enough to keep him busy for a good while. Once he got tree-walking down, that is.

Gima Taro

[Gima Taro]

Taro was more about on the spot thinking anyways. It was a skill he'd had his whole life- His ability to adjust to situations and problems as they came along, rather than with intense planning and forward thinking. Improvisation, one could easily call it, was his strongest suit.

Still, that didn't mean he learned any quicker than anyone else. Improv was different from adaptation. But it paired well with tenacity, which made him that much more viscous of an opponent as he finally decided to take out some bandages. The bleeding wasn't bad, but it was going to stain his shirt soon if he wasn't careful, so he started wrapping up the more gross looking cuts.

"So Raiton and Fuuton, both are good at cutting power? I use Suiton, so I'd probably be going with that. Unless someone taught me how to use another element. But I wouldn't ask anyone to try and help me up that cliff." He chuckled, standing up as he looked over himself.

"If you could teach me how to use this Chakra flow, in theory, it'd certainly be helpful for me. I'm not sure if my swords can use it, but if they can't, I'll just get some that can." A simple shrug. Disposable was the weapon, IN disposable was the user, right?

"I think I understand the basics of tree climbing. It shouldn't be too difficult from here, just a whole lot of practice. Is... Water walking the same story?" He curiously asked, tilting his head as he looked around. Where the hell were they now, anyways?

[Sora Minami]

Sora raised an eyebrow as the boy pulled out a wad of bandages and began wrapping his cuts, as if they didn’t have medics who would do that for him once he got to Kirigakure. Ame-nin are weird. She thought, shaking her head as Taro spoke, once again asking more questions about chakra, conduction, and utilizing elemental bukijutsu. So many questions, this one. Why hadn’t Ame given him a proper Sensei yet? He’d flourish with a bit of attention. Hell, he was learning fast from her, and he wasn’t even her Genin!

"Any of the elements can be used to cut. Heck, they can all be used to do damn near anything." The Jounin said, stretching her arms up as she glanced at the sky. Still before noon. Good. "Each one has something it's better at than the others though. Fuuto is the best at cutting, followed by Raiton, then Suiton and Katon, with Doton being last." None of them were bad at it, but certain elements simply trumped others by dint of being what they were.

"There is a jutsu that you can learn that feeds elemental chakra into a weapon, even if it isn’t conductive." Sora paused, arching an eyebrow at the boy’s comment on understanding tree-walking- there was no way he had it down anywhere near what he needed to, but she didn’t question him on it. His ego wasn’t hers to pop, even if she was technically his Sensei for the time being.

"As for water-walking… Yes and no." The Jounin said, scratching her nose as she spoke. In principle they were very similar, but the actual application of the jutsu was very different from the principle, even if it did work that way. "Tree walking requires a set amount of chakra every time, flowing through the feet to help you stick to an object. Water walking requires a stream of chakra that fluctuates with the motion of the water, essentially making a platform for you to walk on. It requires almost the same amount, but a lot more control and focus. Especially when first starting out."

Once you got to her level it was easy, but for a Genin… well. There was a reason it wasn’t taught at the Academy.

Gima Taro

[Gima Taro]

His mind rested on what Sora was saying. Elements could all be used to cut. Hrm. In truth, Taro couldn't see how water could cut something, but he'd also never seen a pressure washer before, so that went a bit without saying. Instead, he crossed his arms and listened to her speak on conductivity.

"I'm sure that'd be important to learn, but for now, I should figure out those basics. Water walking and tree walking... I feel like both of those are more important than learning how to make my weapon bend better- For now." He simply put priorities on the different things that were placed before him. In this case, he decided he'd put priority on learning how to water walk and tree walk.

"...I've been asking a lot of questions, however. Do you have any questions for me, Sora?" He'd shoot back. He'd been so focused on himself so far, and pushing himself, he'd hardly had any time to ask about the girl herself- What she had in mind to teach him in the first place, what her plans were. Surely she had plans, right?

She seemed like a great teacher so far. He adjusted his bandages and tightened them. Sure, he knew they had medics, but again- His own self reliance meant that if he didn't have to worry about other people for something, he wouldn't.

[Sora Minami]

"Just one." The Jounin said as the boy finished bandaging himself, her head tilting to one side. Perhaps it was his age compared to Enyo and the rest, but Taro seemed far less distracted than they were. More focused. Nothing at all like the file on him had said he’d be. She could easily chalk that up to him trying to make a good impression but… that didn’t fit. You could only fake being calm and attentive for so long, could only pretend you were interested or focused so much before the act fell apart. Everyone had to take the mask off eventually, after all.

"Why does your file say you’re a troublemaker?" Sora asked, her face impassive despite the curiosity she felt. Amegakure had a real gen on their hands with Taro, but someone somewhere had it out for the boy, and she wanted to know who. If only to get the gears of bureaucracy grinding a smidge in his favor for once. "You’ve been nothing but polite, attentive, and willing to learn from the moment I walked up, which is about as far from ‘troublesome’ as it gets. So why the label?"

Gima Taro

[Gima Taro]

Taro stopped as she asked that question. He stared off into the distance, trying to figure out himself why he had that title. It wasn't as if he didn't know or understand- No, he did. He just, perhaps, found it hard to audibly explain, as he slowly stood back up, patting his arms for good measure.

"Because I am a troublemaker. I get into fights a lot with my peers. There's certain people I can't stand, and I don't mind punching them in the face to let them know that. I gamble with my ryo. I owe debts, and loansharks chase me down every few weeks to try and get their ryo back." He explained, as he stood up on a particularly large rock ahead of them.

"I grew up with a lot of siblings, in the middle of the pack, so it's just how I am. But." He turned his head back to Sora, as he thought about his next words carefully. These meant more to him.

"I also understand loyalty. And I am loyal to Amegakure, and loyal to its people. I wouldn't do something that could potentially damage the relations between villages. I'm a problem, sure. I can be trouble, yeah. But I don't like dragging other people into it." From the way he explained it, that probably meant innocents, and not the people he was quite literally punching in the face.

"So I'm on my best behavior here. And just because I like to cause trouble- Just because I am a pain in the ass- Doesn't mean I don't want to learn. Loyalty also means being able to protect the things you care about. So if I can protect my village from harm, I can sit still for a few days and keep my nose out of trouble to learn something useful." He shrugged, as he hopped off the rock. It was kind of just in the way. Though, thinking on it, he suddenly cringed.

"...Jeeze, that was wordy. It's cause I don't want to cause an international incident, but I cause a lot of trouble at home." He wasn't sure where that little tangent came from, but the amount of words he just spoke kind of sickened him. Bad taste. Why say many word when few do fine?

[Sora Minami]

Sora listened to Taro’s explanation, her expression calm and contemplative as he spoke. He repeated himself a few times, using the same line but with different words, summing it all up with a simple sentence that seemed to encapsulate everything he wanted to say with a shot of self-deprecating humor. She’d seen the act before, heard the words, knew the lines- and it hadn’t been funny or interesting the first time, let alone here.

"I’m gonna call bullshit on that, kid." She said, crossing her arms as she stared down at him, one eyebrow raised in a look of utter annoyance. Not that she was actually annoyed, but appearances mattered when it came to stuff like this. "You might think that’s the truth, you might even believe it, but it isn’t. Gambling debts aside, what you just described is the typical teenager- up to and included that inflated sense of bravado you’ve got."

"Now maybe Ame is different," The Jounin said, gesturing towards the mist around them as she continued on, "-but here in Kirigakure, we don’t label kids as troublemakers for being kids. You’re a Genin. Legally that makes you an adult, but in reality the people that be should know damn well you aren’t mature enough yet. Allowances need to be made." She paused, uncrossing her arms as she looked off in the direction the village was in, sighing.

"I guess what I’m trying to tell you is you need to cut yourself some slack." Sora looked back at Taro, no longer looking annoyed, her lips twitching up in a slight smile. "That and maybe learn how to cheat."

Gima Taro

[Gima Taro]

Taro probably over explained himself. But uh... That was in the past now. He was more of an in-the-now kind of guy anyways. He listened to her remarks, but in truth, they went through one ear and right out the other. It wasn't like he didn't get it.

Of course he understood how teenagers were. He had an entire family after all. And sure, things were a little different in Ame, but truth be told, it wasn't as if he was being abused or anything, or ignored. They just had more respectable, important genin to focus on training. They probably just passed over him a lot.

When she talked about slack, he snorted unintentionally. He did have a response to that, at least, as he turned away for a moment.

"Slack? Nah. I got too many people counting on me, even if they don't know it yet." That was the simple fact of the matter. Even if his village overlooked him like his family often did, he'd look out for them. Through thick and thin, he was loyal to his blood. Perhaps it wasn't as much of a Nindo as his inability to stay down, but in a way, not backing down was really an extension of that, especially when it came to his own ideals.

Regardless, cheating... Mrm, he did that a bit. But not here. Still, he wanted to hear more about what she meant.

"Tell me more about this cheating stuff though. I'm not against shortcuts." It was the truth. If you could take a shortcut, you took it. Did it promote bad behavior?

Only if you relied on them.

[Sora Minami]

It took Taro all of two seconds to stop listening. She could spot the look as easily thanks to her time in the Academy; eyes half focused, lips compressed just a hair, muscles slumping as if exhaustion had just gripped him from the depths of his soul. The boy was not listening to her. Sure, he heard the words, he probably even understood them, but they just bounced off his brain and went out the side of his head without much, if any, thought put into why she might have said them. About what experience she might have to say the things she did. Tch. Teenagers.

"Sure kid." Sora said, letting loose a long, heavy sigh as she strolled off, away from the rocks and trees down a thin, seemingly unused path, gesturing for the boy to follow. "Cheating is a vital part of being a Shinobi, a time honored tradition in most every village, but especially in the major ones." The Jounin paused, glancing back to make sure the boy was following before she continued on.

"When it comes to stuff like gambling, you have to understand the game is rigged from the start, so the only way to break even is to cheat." She gave Taro a moment to process what she was saying, lips parting in a slight smile as they walked, the only hint that she wasn’t absolutely serious. "You with me so far?"

Gima Taro

[Gima Taro]

Crossing his arms, Taro would follow along, listening to her talk about cheating in gambling. He snorted again. The idea came to him more then once, for sure.

"Yeah, I've gotten my ass kicked more then once for trying that. Clearly my skills aren't up to snuff." He shot back at the girl, as he walked along the path with her. Hunger pangs once again struck his stomach, as he pulled something from his pouch- The other half of his energy bar. He never finished it, after all. With a hum and a sigh, he'd continue down the path, listening to her speak on it.

"I'm with you. Go ahead." He verbally let her know to continue. Even if he didn't have a lot to say, there was a lot to think about here- He'd cheated in more then his fair share of games. He was just typically gambling against other Ninja, so tricks of the hand were a bit tougher to pull off.

[Sora Minami]

Sora watched Taro’s face as she spoke, his sardonic grunt a hint that perhaps there was a bit more to him than the polite young man he’d been so far. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for her to start thinking. Not enough for her to change her opinion of him just yet, but enough to give the Jounin pause- and perhaps a bit of sarcasm in her own voice as well.

"Yes well, your issue is that you suck at it." She said, glancing towards the path as she spoke, careful not to go too quickly. She had a longer stride than he did, after all, and if she wasn’t careful she’d leave him in the dust. "What you need to do is not suck at it. Preferably by being good at it." The Jounin paused, giving the boy a chance to process what she was saying- and, by dint of her tone, what she was really saying.

"Alternatively, you could try not wasting your money on stupid games rigged to rob you blind. Since, you know. You can’t seem to get good at cheating."

Gima Taro

[Gima Taro]

Whatever she was putting down, Taro wasn't really getting it. She'd likely have to be a bit more blunt with the country boy, as he closed his eyes and rubbed his temples in an attempt to register this strange language the Jounin was trying to teach him.

"...Yeah, I suck at it. I just told you that. Getting better is just... What practicing?" He tilted his head towards her.

"You want me to practice cheating? That sounds... That sounds just weird." He let out a sigh as he shook his head. Not wasting his time or money though, that sounded even worse.

"Can... We just get back to learning Jutsu and training?" He decided to end this farce by moving a bit forward- There was still fighting to talk about. Ninja stuff. No need to waste time talking about... Non-ninja-stuff.

[Sora Minami]

"And maybe learn how to recognize sarcasm while you’re at it." Sora said, letting loose a long, low sigh and shaking her head back and forth as Taro missed the meaning of what she was saying by a mile. Oblivious. Simply oblivious. The Kiri Jounin rolled her eyes when the boy asked to get back to training; if there was one thing she could count on, it was a teenaged Genin’s obsession with learning how to better kill everyone and anyone they met. Because that was healthy.

"Time to pick up the pace kid." She said, gesturing for the boy to follow her as she walked off, her pace slightly quicker than before. The sun was still up, but she wanted to get back before it got too late; the hottest part of the day was yet to come, and there was no reason to stay out in it if she didn’t have to. And they wouldn’t have to, if Taro would hurry up. "If you really want to train some more, you can do it at the village, but right now we need to move. I don’t want to get caught in the heat."

Gima Taro

fin