Getting the Gang Together; Sword, Steel and Snow.

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Yuki huffed out a sigh and pulled out a mirror, stuffing one of the pastries in. If she didn't get to it, Kori could have it. Either way, she didn't mind. Now that they were sort of on the topic of religion, Yuki never really thought about any deities she'd align with or follow. Did Occam also follow a god? She didn't really think about asking, not worried that Occam would care if she did, but more on the idea of letting him share if he wanted to on his own. Admittedly, she never really explored much of the village on her own, so this was exciting for her to learn more of the place but also of her newfound friends and team.

Yuki stayed quiet, unwrapping the spiral horn and taking a nibble from the larger end. "Mm! Mu, these are really good!", she said, a hand over her mouth to cover food in it. She took another bit from the pastry, enjoying its overall sweetness and how fluffy the bread was.

Mu smiled at Yuki brightly "My aunt makes most of the stuff in her shop. Some of the more plentiful candies she buys from people that mass produce them, but everything else is all hers. She is especially good at making cakes and pastries. It's something she takes pride in." He nodded a bit before looking to make sure he was leading them in the right direction. His steps conveyed his excitement and he really couldn't wait to show his friends the fountain "I know not everyone is religious or have different beliefs, but I think everyone could appreciate the beauty of this fountain. When my mom first brought me to it, I swore my heart skipped several beats. It really is beautiful."

As Mu went silent they reached the little square. He motioned them over to the fountain before moving to stand before it himself. It was a beautiful thing, made of marble with accents of glittering gold. The statue at the center was that of a beautiful woman, kneeling on a pedestal and pouring water into the fountain from her gourd. The woman was dressed in simple yet elegant finery, with a circlet of flowers made of glittering gems that decorated her head. She was not alone however. Kneeling beside her on her right was a powerful looking ram and a cow nudged her right shoulder lovingly. A hawk was perched upon her left shoulder like a silent guardian while a crab sat upon the lip of her gourd. A small cat curled up in her lap, a snake coiled around her right forearm, a chameleon was moving to make its way onto her left knee while a scorpion already had a position on her right one. A horse and goat stood beside the cow on either side and a pelican rested on the edge of the pedestal while a shark swam happily in the water before the woman. She was obviously supposed to be Gaia, and the animals the representatives of the twelve Zodiac Contracts, the greatest of them all. Around the edge of the fountain were pictures of all the animals of the other contracts, playing with one another and acting jolly. Mu smiled as if this were the best thing he had ever seen before addressing his teammates "I love this fountain not only because its beautiful, but it shows unity. Each of the Twelve Zodiac Contracts has an enemy in one of the others, yet this fountain shows that they are capable of peace in the name of their Goddess. It's just....beautiful, don't you think?"

Posts : 3780 Join date : 2012-05-06

Occam was silent for most of it, just listening to his newfound allies talk and watching them to see how they reacted to various things. When they reached the fountain, Occam walked up to it and looked it up and down for a few moments. He was no craftsman or architect but his limited training in Earth Release and working so much with those that used it allowed him to see that it was indeed finely made and wouldn't be degrading any time soon. There was a small voice in his head telling him to turn it to sand but he didn't want to do that, it would be more than slightly rude to do so. Instead he simply sighed and walked back to the other two, putting his gourd down and taking a seat on top of it, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin on his fists.

"It's pretty and well crafted. It's a shame that unity doesn't really exist in this world though... Does it? The Gods don't get along as far as we know. The nations don't really get along anymore, the creatures don't get along, the very elements themselves don't get along. Unity with such difference is something unlikely to ever happen, there will always be strife, always be conflict." He paused for a few moments before shrugging, a smirk lighting up his features. "Maybe it's better that way though, keep us all on our toes. keep the strongest alive to continue onwards. I don't think that sort of thing is for us mortals to know anyway, pretty sure if the Gods are real that it's their knowledge and they probably don't want to share."

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Mu and Occam had different outlooks on things, making a perfect polar opposites of each other. Yuki stayed quiet. The idea of unity was always something striven for unless someone was to demand chaos. But Occam had a point. It was the real world and things like this were impossible. Perhaps that's why they sought out such a concept's reality? Even if such a thing was achieved, it would only break away quicker than it would have been brought in, and that was something sad to think about. Was there really not one thing that all people could share that would bring them together to let the world breathe? She guessed so. After all, with all good people, there are bad people to counter balance. Those who fought for beliefs think they're doing it for a greater good and there would always be someone who would disagree just as strongly.

While she thought, the girl walked around the fountain, taking in the details of the fountain, the animals and goddess carefully carved and put in a way to showcase each figure as evenly as possible. The details were beautifully refined, the gold accenting in the most perfect of spots and not a flake out of place.

Mu listened to Occam before nodding a bit. He moved over to the fountain and took a seat on the edge, his hand entering the water and swirling it about. He looked down at his hand moving about in the water absentmindedly before he looked back up at his teammates "Do you think that is better? Striving for conflict rather than searching for unity? I know that the former is more natural for all things and that the latter can be a very hard thing to find, but I can't help but feel as if there is someway for everything to be at peace. For all things to coexist in true and beautiful unity..." He looked back down at the water, his eyes clouded as he spoke. He didn't favor fighting. It never really was his style. That's why he wanted to become a medical ninja, so he could help rather than harm. But then again he knew that he would be forced to draw his blade and fight on more than one occasion, so he needed to be combat ready. That didn't mean his heart didn't lament said occurrences.

"My mother told me a story once. About how our world as we know it came to be as it is now." A small smile played on his lips "She told me to decide whether I believed it to be true or not. She said that once, there was a group of several shinobi whose power was able to withstand that of even the greatest Kage of the age. The group had seen the terrors of war, and as such they strived to find peace. However, rather than attempting to unite everyone of their own free will, they decided to do it by force. They began to forge a weapon so fearsome that it caused all villages to put aside their differences and stand beside one another to defend themselves. It came to light that the group had been tricked by a greater power, their goals skewed and their abilities exploited to bring about destruction that no one had anticipated. The ones who had tricked them attempted to use the power to remake the world into their own paradise. However, they were thwarted by a band of shinobi whose bond was stronger than steel, and forged over years. In a bid for victory, one of the defeated villains used his newfound power to make the world into how it is now. He wiped the slate and made everyone start anew." He closed his eyes and then looked at the statue of Gaia, examining her serene features "It is intriguing how conflict can force unity, and how the want for unity can force conflict."

Posts : 3780 Join date : 2012-05-06

"To make friends or allies is not unity, it is companionship in the face of conflict. This world was not built for unity, in all things there is always conflict, there is always fighting. A simple debate is a conflict in its own way. The way the creatures out there war against one another, the way that wind cannot accept lightning. People cannot truly accept other people. Besides in this current world?" Occam paused for a few moments, stroking his chin before shaking his head. "I don't want unity. Not with the evil bas... People out there. The Pandorans are rapists and murderers all, proud to be part of the darkness. The Shogunate just want to rule and command us again, forced 'unity', forced compliance, a bomb waiting to blow. Epsilon are silent, they grant boons for money, cost for their alliance but they at least don't attack us." He sighed loudly.

"It's a noble idea and a fun story, Musei. It wouldn't have happened though. The world is as it was, things will have changed, knowledge lost but there are always remnants. A blank slate is not something that has yet happened and there is no threat that can bring true unity." He looked to his hands and clenched them into fists. "That doesn't mean people can't be friends but it does mean that worldwide peace will not happen." He nodded and ran his fingers through his hair. "So, anyone else got anything planned or any ideas? I've not really got anything on where to go next..."

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Yuki continued to stay quiet, letting the two talk and express their differences in ideologies. Something about Occam's made her think he saw things too realistically. What was the word? Pessimistic? ...Or a word akin to it anyways. Despite that, Yuki thought both held truths to what they thought. One person's idea of a perfect world is another's disaster. Even then... With rumors and stories of shinobi before them with just amazing amounts of power, she did believe a reset slate was entirely possible. Not quite so simply as described in the story, but cleaned off in a much more brutal way. Occam's sudden change in topic broke off her thought process. "I.. I don't really have any plans either...", she mumbled a bit quietly.

Mu looked at the water for a long moment before turning his head towards his new teammates sheepishly "Sorry for getting all philosophical...Thinking puts me in that sort of space sometimes, I guess." He ran his fingers through the water for a moment more before standing and stretching "I must confess, I have no idea what to do either. But I don't think this is a good time for us to call it a day and just go home..." He thought for a moment before shaking his head "Still nothing. Well...We could spar, I suppose? See how we fare against each other as well as skills we can use to compliment each other in battle. It would be a good way to learn what we should and shouldn't do." He gave a small shrug "If you two are up to it, that is."

Posts : 3780 Join date : 2012-05-06

"I wouldn't mind a spar. Keep it pretty simple though, alright? I don't want any of us getting hurt, sure we have Oramacare but still wouldn't be too great for team morale." He chuckled quietly and got up, picking up his gourd and putting it on his back. Chakra flow stuck it there and he shoved his hands in his pockets before starting to walk back towards the academy. "We won't fight here... It's too pretty to risk getting damaged, the academy has some sparring grounds anyway." He grinned back at them and cracked his neck as he walked. He could already feel his body gearing up to fight mode, his eyes almost sharpening, his body ready to produce metal that he could fight with and he could feel the metal in his gourd straining to be released. Not yet though, he would need to wait until the spar had actually started before he could do anything like that. The dark glint had entered his eye again and his face split into a smile. A samurai and a Toketsu, foes he hadn't yet fought, how interesting.

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Yuki figured she'd go with the flow, but she wasn't really much one to fight and would rather avoid fighting if at all possible. But even she knew that was impossible with the kind of world they lived in. She kept silent and just watched Occam lead the way back to the academy, the twisted look on his face sent literal chills down her spine. She's heard rumors of just how spooky Occam was from their time in the Academy. I don't really like this idea..., she thought to herself, trailing after Mu and staring towards the center of his back.

Mu noticed the look on Occam's face, but he didn't mind it. While he didn't particularly take joy in fighting, he was willing to spar. Sparring was sometimes fun. He followed the other to the academy's sparring ground, looking around a bit. He remembered being here and playing around with the other academy students. There had been some who had been extremely serious about training and such, but Mu never shared their enthusiasm for it. He was much more interested in socializing and making friends, but he trained more than enough to pass his exams. He turned to Occam with a smile and backed up so that they were a good distance away from each other, about 15ft "Alright Occam! We should spar first, since our little snowflake is of a gentler sort. No kill shots, m'kay?" He gave a giggle and caressed one of his earrings, the bee transforming into a rather ornate katana. He rested it gently against the ground and simply waited for the other to make his move.

OOC:

Posts : 3780 Join date : 2012-05-06

Occam pulled the cap off his gourd and tilted it, letting all of the sand within pour to the ground. The metal clicked and clattered and shifted as it hit the ground and spread out around him. Once all of it was spread out, Occam performed a few handseals and then hopped up onto the top of the ground, sitting there and crossing his legs. His circuit zone flared into life around him and he narrowed his eyes towards Musei. Unbeknownst to the samurai, unless he could see chakra natures, Occam's body had been infused with Earth Release chakra, making him incredibly light and fast on his feet. He then just sat there and waited for Mu to do something. Occam wasn't an attacker, he preferred to be on the defensive so he could confuse his opponent and drag them down so he could destroy them. Hence why he waited and stared at Mu.

Spoiler:

» Noon Over Steel [Summer/Cherish]
» Jinzus Steel Release Training
» Zireh:Cypher-Steel Release Jutsu
» A Bout of Supremacy, Tenshi no Amaterasu vs Eyes of Steel & the Ageless Destroyer.
» From Snow to Ash {Traveling}

Road Trip

With the first round of classes complete and the students already acclimated to life at the academy. The school has organized a field trip in order to give the students a taste of what …

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