ruronihs

Naruto: Of Compassion and Tyranny

When Ryozan finished speaking, he was unsure what to expect from Takeo. He did as he was told, raising his head so as not to offend the commander, but his face still bore a grim expression. It wasn't until he felt Takeo's gentle pat on the shoulder and they began walking back into the village that he began to feel a bit more at ease. And frankly, Ryozan was surprised at how lenient Takeo was being with him. No grudges, no resentment, and no further shame. It was as if Takeo had wanted to forgive him from the beginning, which he never would have guessed from his harsh words from before. The commander just wanted to make sure that Ryozan was on his side, and it all made perfect sense. Then came the verdict: he was once again a leaf ninja, albeit a Chuunin, but all things considered, Ryozan didn't mind. He was certain that the hardships ahead would give him ample opportunities for promotion, and honestly after he had been through today, a single demotion was a sort of relief, especially considering how he had only been a Jounin for a short period of time. No, he did not begrudge the demotion at all, and a small grin managed to pierce through Ryozan's stoic expression. "Thank you," was all that he could think to say.

Then, as they approached the Uchiha compound, came Takeo's next big question, which seemed to carry more weight for the young ninja than the commander had expected. His house was currently empty; his mother was KIA while he was still an academy student, and his father was simply a merchant, away on a business endeavor at the moment. He didn't have any intention of joining the general celebrations that were going on in the streets, not because he wasn't happy for their victory, but because explaining to his comrades why he was standing at the village gates while they were out risking their lives would be an awkward conversation to say the least. He did, of course, have close friendships with the squad members he had been assigned upon graduating the academy, but the past six months had changed things. One had decided to join the Empire, while the other died fighting against it. This all amounted to a simple response. "Nobody in particular is expecting me at the moment," he said, his grin being replaced with his usual stoic expression.

RuroniHS vs Chev

As long as Chev is ok with it it's fine by me.

RuroniHS vs Chev

Ryozan stared down his opponent in the clearing, feet planted firmly in the dirt, left foot leading. With his left hand, he steadied the sheath of his sword while his right hand grabbed the hilt, putting tension on the blade but not drawing it. He leaned forward and crouched down slightly, the right side of his body facing his opponent, but all of his vitals guarded by his arm. He had no intention of killing the girl that stood before him, but he was still not one to take his training lightly and if she wasn't careful she'd definitely feel his attacks in the morning. "So Karela," he began, offering her a few words of advice before the match, "have you seen this stance before? It's called an iaijutsu stance. Look at where my weight and power are focused. What do you think I can do from this stance? What does this stance prevent me from doing? Once you have thought of these to things, show me how you attack."

RuroniHS vs Chev

Ok. I'm going to post my intro. For simplicity's sake, we'll start at an open clearing, but maybe we'll bring in some terrain later. Come at me with everything you've got. This is for learning purposes, so don't be afraid of making mistakes.

Naruto: Of Compassion and Tyranny

Here's the golden rule of god-modding: you control your character, not the other character. Essentially, you don't get to declare if an attack hits or not. However, you are allowed to declare intent to hit in a particular way. For example, avoid saying "Bob smashed Frank over the head with a bottle." Instead say, "Bob swung his bottle at Frank's head." The exception to this are instances like in the beginning of the battle when we were essentially just slaughtering our own NPCs or when the GM gives you permission to beat on his NPC, like the Shukaku fight. Here is the link to the arena thread I created. We can go over more details in there so we don't clutter up the OOC.

RuroniHS vs Chev

((Sparring Match between RuroniHS and Chev).

I will be using Ryozan for this. You can use whoever you like. I'm thinking that I'll have Ryozan give your character advice about tactics in the IC to keep things interesting, and I'll give you advice about how you're writing your posts in the OOC.

Naruto: Of Compassion and Tyranny

Well, not to toot my own horn, but I've been doing combat RP's for many years so I've gotten quite good at it. If you'd like, we could have a little sparring match in a separate thread where I give you advice along the way. That would probably be the best way that I can help you.

Naruto: Of Compassion and Tyranny

The storm of battle came to a end, but Ryozan's heart still stirred. He was not very elegant with words, but he had plenty of time to think of what he was going to say. Even if Takeo welcomed him back with open arms, it would be a long time before he stopped feeling pangs of shame, but if he could at least get Takeo to understand his sincerity, then perhaps it would dull its blade. And then, despite all the time that had passed, Ryozan wished for just a few more moments as the Jounin Commander approached. These next few moments would likely determine the course of the rest of his life.

As soon as Takeo came up to him, Ryozan bowed deeply, keeping his head down as he spoke. "Takeo-san, I was wrong." That was the easy part. But a simple admission of fault would not warrant all the time Takeo had given him to think, especially when his error ran so deep. "I was wrong when I aided the Imperials, but I was also wrong before that. My true fault was the moment that I learned when the rebels existed and chose not to join, and indeed I was naive in thinking that neutrality was akin to not making a choice. One of the first things that we are taught is the importance of teamwork. I allowed myself to be so caught up in abstract philosophy about what was best for my team, that I nearly forgot the simple fact that, first and foremost, I must be a part of that team.

"I will never make that mistake again, and I have already eliminated the possibility of me making any other choice. The Imperial scroll that I carried is no longer with me; it is soaking in the blood of the man that gave it to me." Ryozan was generally very good at separating his emotions from his duties as a ninja, but now there was a slight, barely even noticeable, quaver in his voice. "Takeo-san, I strayed from the correct path, I will not deny that fact any more, but I am back now if you will have me. Please accept my apology and please accept my service." He remained bowing even after he finished speaking, unable to look Takeo in the eyes until his shameful burden was at least partially lifted.

D E A T H N O T E – "Who, me?"

"I must agree with the young man... to an extent and albeit for different reasons," Q said, now seeming to spread some cards out in front of him. "If this was the first such case I would be more inclined to accept that profile as probable, but there are too many variables hanging in the air this time, namely the fact that this is a copycat crime, which makes me call into question the sincerity of the divine judgement statement. We could be dealing with a legitimate god-complex, or we could be dealing with somebody merely carrying on the legacy of their former God; they are not god, but they are doing god's work, much like the suicide bombers that have become so popular these days. We also cannot rule out the equal possibility that this is a case of obsessive infatuation, a sort of love note to the previous Kira. And, even above all that, there is the simple universal notion that power corrupts. We could be dealing with a psychologically healthy person that has simply become drunk on power. Neither children nor politicians, men nor women are immune to this. In short, it is too early to construct a profile and I would like it if our investigation was not tainted with confirmation bias." He brought his hands together, placing his invisible cards in a nice neat pile.

D E A T H N O T E – "Who, me?"

Ok, I'mma solve the N problem right now. He got bored with detective work and used his keen intellect to become the CEO of a the world's largest toy company and has never been happier since. lol.