Youth Today [M/Jett]

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SPOILER: Click to show

Troubled Kids
Rank: C
No. of Participants: 2
Details: We have a few real young kids that think it’s cool to steal from stores and skip their classes. If you don’t mind, I’d like you to come in and give them a talk about village duty, responsibility and just how to be an all around good kid. I think your words might help them out.
Rewards: 200 EXP & 1,000 ryō

Rewind the clock. If someone had asked Rael over two months ago if he'd be willing to deal with some unruly kids and teaching them how to be 'upstanding citizens', he would have laughed. Laughed, then stabbed you in the throat for wasting his time and coming up with such a stupid proposal in the first place. Fast forward a week later, the same question would've simply been ignored, and the Genin would carry on with his business as usual. They say the third time's a charm, and so if one were persistent, and inquired again after a month's time, they would receive a different result. Perhaps a bit hesitant at first, the white-haired youth could eventually be persuaded to come in and proceed to give them a lecture on proper conduct before hurrying away. Quite a series of changes, across the span of just over one month.

However, two months later, and the old persona couldn't even be readily identified anymore. He expressed no ill-will towards the youth mentioned in the report at all, only trepidation that they could run into trouble while skipping classes. With no supervisors aware of their locations, should anything happen to the children, how would they explain things to their superiors, to the parents? Furthermore, though his time there as a temporary teacher was brief, Rael began to share a similar desire as the Academy instructors. The future of Kirigakure depended on the ambitions of each new generation of its shinobi. If they couldn't even abide by rules this young, how could they ever hope to survive a ninja's lifestyle when they graduated, if they even made it that far?

Standing outside the closed door to one of the Academy's many classrooms, Rael was tempted to head on in and get started with the misbehaving group; from what Takeda-sensei told him while they crossed paths in the hallways, there were three of them in there. However, he was waiting for another person to come and join in on this...'guidance' session of sorts. He didn't have many details about the other party, only that they were also Genin, and a fairly recent graduate as well. Leaning casually against the doorframe, both arms crossed, he took a quick glance at the overhead clock. Still fifteen minutes before scheduled time; hopefully his partner wouldn't keep them all waiting. It might only make the little troublemakers disregard the rules even more.

[Jett Kuroi]

Another mission rearing misbehaving kids. Did Jett really look like the parental sort? DId he do a good enough job on the last one to warrant sending him in again? Apparently that was the reason, because Jett could think of nothing else that would prompt the higher ups to such a decision. Despite how much he disagreed with such a conclusion, and the mission he was given, he would still get to it.

He came from a broken home, with little to no meritable guidance of his own to reflect on for encouragement in such a situation. He had no idea how to be a positive role-model, short of 'don't do anything your father did'. Very encouraging no? Don't whip the children, don't accuse them of crimes they did not commit, and treat them nicely. Hardly the sort of pep talk that would help in the current situation. However, his duty was still his duty, and so without audible protest, he would head to the classroom where the unmotivated, disrespectful, and disobedient were kept.

Upon arrival, he noticed the other that would be his aide in todays lesson. At least he wouldn't be alone, yet he still could not help but feel he was not the person for this sort of thing. Getting a bully to settle down was hardly the same thing as keeping kids attentive in class, as well as attending class.

Jett nodded his head to the other Genin, though kept his hands stuffed within the pockets of his blue jacket, and gave as cheerful a smile as he could, though it was hidden behind his mask. His oh so green eyes though, did help to show the cheer of his smile. "Hello there, I'm Yogiri Jett." he said softly, as he pulled one hand out of a pocket, to chake the other's hand in greeting.

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The sound of approaching footsteps caused Rael to look over at whom was likely his partner. He turned glum for an instant, noticing first thing that the masked boy was about a foot taller than him. Though he didn't know it at the time, it probably had something to do with him being nearly half the other Genin's age. However, he got over his dejection quick enough, and accepted the proffered hand with his own, giving a small half-smile in return. "Nice to meet you, Yogiri-san. My name is Hiraiyomi Rael. Looking forward to working with you." Short and simple; straight to the point. He didn't know if they'd ever be paired together after this, but hey, better to be acquaintances on friendly terms than accidentally upsetting and being at each others' throats. Given time after this was done, he might look a bit deeper into finding a bit more about his present colleague.

"It seems we're rather early, but let's see if we can't get an early start on things, hm?"

Turning the handle and pushing the door inwards, Rael entered first, looking around to see what his 'culprits' were like. He found them easily enough, all three crowded over the teacher's desk, looking for all the world to see like naughty children, caught with their hands in the cookie jar. It wasn't far from the truth either. One boy, a plump redhead, had his entire hand stuffed into the small glass jar on the table, trying to cram as many of the little foil-wrapped chocolates into his fist as possible. The other two, while it wasn't known whether they'd already taken their share, shared his 'deer in the headlights' expression, and he presumed they were easily guilty. Instead of flying off the handle, Rael merely sighed and shook his head, though with the hint of a grin.

"I know Marechiyo-sensei should cut back on his sugar intake, but that's probably not the best way to do it, heh."

Guiltily, though with obvious reluctance as well, the redhaired child and his two accomplices trundled back to the front row of seats, sitting down with a heavy thump. A combination of scared, agitated, boredom, and for just the briefest of moments, fear came over their faces. By now, Jett would have likely joined him in the classroom, facing the trio with his own comments to share or actions to take. He seemed like a calm enough person, though by this initial show of minor theft less than five seconds into their session, who knows what might happen.

[Jett Kuroi]

Rael being quick and to the point was helpful. Perhaps, if he could mimic this, the whole mission would be quick, and end just as easily. He doubted he would be so lucky. "Same to you, Hiraiyomi-san." If Rael wanted more information about Jett, however, there would be a limit to such information, since he hid a lot of things from the Mist Village. He didn't want people to think badly of him because of his family and their history. And he would do his best to keep that a secret, so that only what was necessary to be seen would be seen. With introductions taken care of, and the door opened, Jett would slip into the classroom with Rael, just as he made his comment about the teacher that supposedly liked his sweets. To this, Jett chuckled a bit. He couldn't help it.

"Well, whether or not we were technically early, it seems we arrived on time."

Jett sauntered over to another desk, and rather than sitting in the seat, he sat on the desk itself, keeping his hands stuffed in the pockets of his jacket. "So, kids, why are we acting out?" He looked between the three kids, analyzing the way they looked, the way they held themselves with posture and the look on their faces. As he sat there looking at them, he did his best to seem stern and ... well, like an adult. After sitting there inspecting the for a moment, in silence, and receiving nothing but silence in return, he would grin again, though still hidden behind that mask.

"Hmm, you guys like to have fun, 'eh?"

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[Lang]

Rael nodded in agreement with Jett's assessment; right on time indeed. Good thing Marechiyo-san only kept sweets lying around so carelessly. If he'd been like the instructors Rael endured throughout his own Academy years, leaving spare ryō in his desk drawers as a bad habit, the borderline-diabetic teacher would've found himself much poorer before the school term was over. As for these troublemakers, they were certainly a quiet lot. A lot of children seemed to believe that, if they just didn't say anything after getting into trouble, the entire thing would eventually blow over. Obviously, none of them ever stepped into the room of an ongoing torture session, or better yet, been subjected to one.

One of the kids muttered something unintelligible following Jett's comment, and Rael spoke up for his fellow Genin. "Could you repeat that? Believe it or not, we're all friendly here. Anything you feel like saying, come on right out with it." The brown-haired youth hesitated a bit, then slowly spoke up. "It's not that stealing's really all that fun...it's just...me and Hideo," he looked over to their third friend, a bloke with hair Rael swore was dyed blond, "we've already failed the exam twice; Izumo's on his fourth run. It feels like we're just wasting time staying here any longer, you know...?"

Rael gave a slow nod towards the boy, privately appreciating his admission; at least he didn't try to fool him with a 'we weren't stealing' charade. Granted, that would've been hard to pull off with the evidence. "It's understandable. Of course your mind wouldn't be on your studies; you're pretty much forced to be here against your will. You've already shown that you don't have what it takes, that your best just isn't good enough. Never mind the fact you won't be able to graduate as shinobi, you probably wouldn't even be able to make a decent living in the future, would you?" They showed approval towards his initial phrases, but after the last few lines, Rael found himself getting a full round of hard-edged stares.

"What do you think, Yogiri-san? A bunch of failures?

[Jett Kuroi]

Jett did what he could to suppress the sudden, and quite livid burst of anger. His eyes even seemed to sparkle with it, as he turned his gaze away, and back to the troublemakers. He remained quiet, as he strived to rein in control of his anger.

"Again, you pathetic girl!" father yelled out, with the crack of a whip following such.

She yelped out in pain, and choked back a sob, as her shaky fingers lifted once more, to begin forming the seals. She was too weak now, and shaking so much that the seals were done improperly, and the proper amount of chakra was not molded for the technique. She collapsed eventually, as father cracked the whip once more, and spat down at her.

"Pathetic. A failure. Always a failure."

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"Failure is only present, when one stops trying. If you boys are content with having lost faith in yourselves, will you be able to do anything else in life without giving up? If you do not follow this through now, and just give in, then you'll be doomed to repeat this in the following years of your life. Have some self-confidence, and you can achieve so much."

Jett settled down, calmed down from the anger that had surged within him moments ago. He'd slip off the desk, and move over to the front of the room, where he could stand before all three kids.

"I came to this village not too long ago, I was not born here. I was born in a poverty striken village on the outskirts of Kirigakure. I had no ninja training of any sort preceeding my arrival here. With no instruction, merely the success and failure of my own attempts to learn, I managed some rudimentary skill, then came here, and took lessons at the academy. So, do not be discouraged. Have faith, in yourselves."

With his 'speech' finished, he would turn his head to Rael, and nodded softly. "Sound good to you, Hiraiyomi-san?"
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[Lang]

Rael's eyes didn't miss the shift in his colleague's demeanor, nor the way he repressed it long enough to regain some semblance of control. It wasn't hard to guess which of Rael's words incited such a powerful response from the other Genin, though to be honest, he hadn't quite expected him to take it so...personally. Filing away that tidbit of information in the back of his mind, the white-haired child kept quiet through Jett's little speech, his previously good-natured attitude dissolving into a blank expression. From here on, he needed to be more conscious of what he said, and the subtle things that were implied.

That saying does hold true. "You don't cry tears until you see the coffin."

He didn't immediately respond to Jett's query, and even the three assembled looked mildly nervous at his long silence. When he finally spoke, it was directed towards the redhead, and yet for the other two, it felt as though he was drawing them in as well. "Do you have a mother, Izumo-san?" Whatever the boy was expecting, it wasn't something to do with his parent, and thus took him a moment longer than necessary to give an affirmative nod. "I do as well. She's already in her senior years; for many reasons, I was a late child in her life. She's getting too old to be doing things herself, and so I want to help her, keep her safe under my protection." A slow exhale of breath, drawn out like a rasp.

"War is coming, and it's on the brink of arrival. I knew that the moment I put this on," he lightly scratched with one finger at the shoulder of his long-sleeved shirt, where the Kiri plate was sewn, "I became a soldier of this village. But it's more than just that." Another pause, and it was so quiet, no sound drifted in, even from the rest of the Academy. Rael's eyes had a faraway look to them, and whether he was looking back on his own memories, or something else entirely, nobody knew.

"If I don't pick up my weapons, who will protect my mother? Who will protect my family, my home? If they invade us, our fathers, brothers, and their sons will be killed at best, or made into slaves for generations to come. Your mothers, sisters, and their daughters will be raped, and turned into whores for their sick pleasure." He left them to digest this grain of truth for a minute.

"Who will protect them?"

[Jett Kuroi]

Jett was no inspirational speaker. Even when he spoke of things that reminded him of his own past, and tried to use his own life as an example, he still felt that he himself was a horrible speaker. He never really focused on becoming a better one though, so it was excusable. He spent his life now, learning to fight, to protect. But who was he to protect. He had no one now. He had his search for his sister. If he found her, he would protect her, but till he did ... if he did ... he had no one. This brought him through another moment of silence, bowing his head to stare at the floor as Rael spoke now. His mention of protecting his mother however, brought him back to his memories.

Jett sat quietly, writing in his journal. It had been a few years since the events of that night, and he felt confident that he could discuss it, or write of it in this case, and not be overcome with uncontrollable anger...
"My mother died that day. I was born into the world mere moments before she left it. I have never heard the end of it. I do not know if my mother truly cared for a man like him, but my father clearly felt some form of love for her, though I would classify it closer to obsession. He blamed me for her death. He had it fixed in his mind that I was the reason she died. She had four other kids before me with no complications, but she died when I was born. It made me angry. Even before I could speak, I felt contempt for my father. Before I even knew what contempt was, it burned within me."

He stirred from his thoughts, slowly, and brought his head back up to look at Rael and then the boys. The room was quiet now, and he wondered how long it had been since Rael finished speaking. How long had the room been silent. He felt suddenly nervous, and embarrassed, and could not help but blush a little. Though his mask covered much of his face, the red tint to his cheeks may have peaked over the top of it.

To stir the embarrassment away, and hopefully getting things back on track, and hopefully over with, he unfolded his arms, and cleared his throat. "So, boys. We have rambled on long enough. What do you have to say about what we've talked about?"

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"We're sorry for what we did..."

"Yeah, we'll go and apologize to the owner we nicked stuff from right away!"

"...Can we really get stronger?" Surprised, everyone turned their focus onto Izumo, who'd remained silent this entire time. "Every time the exams come around. it's always the most basic ninjutsu we have to be able to do: 'Bunshin', the 'Kawarimi' and the 'Henge no Jutsu'. I know how to do the 'Kawarimi' and the 'Henge' well enough… b-but… but I haven't been able to create a decent 'Bunshin' yet." He lowered his head some more, his hands clenching and eyes becoming overshadowed with disappointment. "This sucks! If I can't do the Bunshin I can't pass!"

Izumo huffed and looked away sharply in frustration. "I can't control my chakra well enough to produce a decent, working clone. They always end up either unconscious or they just die on me the moment I create them!" His growing anger at his inability to perform the technique made his voice tremble with irritation. "Why do I suck so much? Why do I fail at everything I try to accomplish… why am I a dead-last…?"

Rael cleared his throat, not giving the boy another chance to slip back into his depression. "...Let me share a little something with you three. Every Chuunin or Jounin you will ever meet had a dream or an ambition when they were young. They probably still do, and have all worked incredibly hard to get where they are now. Many of them even failed the academy graduation exams in the past once or twice, but in the end, after working even harder, they managed to pass…rising until they stand where they are now. Those challenges that they faced as academy students and as Genin are years behind them. But today, they are combating new challenges and negotiating other obstacles, including their own limitations."

Rael balled his fist and then jabbed it out in front of him, showing all three boys a sign of absolute confidence and strength. "I remember what a wise shinobi once told me; that 'hard work and perseverance in the face of great adversity, and the will to never give up, will help you get to where you want to go.' You can accomplish anything if you put your mind to it."

The white-haired Genin poked the redhead lightly in the stomach. "You have to stop making excuses for yourself and start focusing on your studying and your training. I know you all have a lot of potential bottled up in those thick heads of yours, so start opening them up." He finally gave them a genuine, full-blown grin, letting all the worry and stress roll away. "Remember, even the greatest shinobi started off from the Academy just like you and the rest of your class…and I want all three of you to be a part of that next, graduating group."

[Jett Kuroi]

Jett could only marvel, himself, at Rael. Rael actually had the confidence to back up all that had been said thus far. Jett did not have that. He preached confidence and perseverence, but he lacked it himself. More often than not he doubted himself, but he never stopped because of that doubt. It wasn't confidence that he could overcome his failures and press onward that kept him going. Instead, it was a much simpler fact.

"Where are you going!? Come back! I'll kill you all! I'll destroy you for thinking you could command me! Hahahahaha!"

At his feet, lay three bodies, all of the Shiroi family. Primarily of which, Katsuo lay right before him a burn mark in the shape of an X across his chest, from lightning chakra imbued swords being slashed across his chest. His eyes looked around, his fury peaked, and not dimming down anytime soon. Especially with the realization that his sister, Kiyomi, was nowhere to be found. The more he looked, the more Daisuke got angry, and the more he got angry, the less control he had over his mind and body.

"Come back Shiroi cowards! And bring her back!"

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No matter how much he screamed, nothing would change. Eventually, his anger would die away but it would take time. And as it had happened the last time, when he awoke, in control of himself again, he would remember nothing of what transpired in the battle against the Shiroi family. He awoke to the three bodies, to his sister missing, and to the wonder over whether or not he had killed her. Had he destroyed the only person in his life that mattered?

He had to hope she was alive. He had to believe she was alive, so that his search to find her would have a point, a purpose. If it had no purpose, than he was just wasting his time and his life. If she was gone, then he would have no reason to carry on. More than once, he stared off some great cliff, or looked into some deep, dark sea, and contemplated pushing himself to the other end.
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Doubt was his chiefest weakness. But rather than succumb to the doubt, he pushed himself not because of hope or self confidence, but because he had to. Because if he didn't, there was no reason to even live.

He would eventually stir from his reverie once more, frowning behind that mask at how easily he had been distracted today, and stood straight, nodding his head to the boys, and to Rael.

"Never give up, never surrender, and never lose confidence in yourself. Try, your utmost, believe that you can do anything, and you will. Make that your Nindo, and you shall succeed. There will be no doubt. And never be afraid to ask for tips, for help on how to do something. Can you guys do that?"

The simple response would ring out from all three. Hai!!!

"Good, now go make your apologies, and get to practicing.
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[KEITH]

+50 EXP each.

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