Konoha Academy

Gin watched and listened to Rosemarius intently, never breaking her gaze with the young kunoichi-in-training. This girl spoke rather sincerely and Gin couldn't help, but smirk. What she was currently talking about was rather touching and sweet and she herself could relate to it some, though aside from this all there was still a reason why Gin wanted to speak with Rosemarius and she would wait until Rosemarius was finished before she would bring it up. With patience she would wait for her to finish, once she was done she would speak up. "Chakra is far more simply than just a tool, it is part of yourself. It can very well be stated that chakra is you as well. Everything has chakra in this world, some are just incapable of tapping into it, but chakra isn't what is necessary to achieve great and amazing things, but if you wish to view chakra as a tool, then think of it this way." She would adjust in her set and place her hands in her lap as her gaze shifted towards the chalk board.

"Tool's normally don't function under their own ability, a hammer does not strike is there is no one to wield it. Much like chakra does not do a thing if there is no one to use it. Yes, Chakra will broaden what you can do and make thing's easier, but I, personally, don't like to see chakra as a tool. I see chakra as myself, it is apart of who I am. I can throw away a hammer whenever I want, my chakra stays with me no matter what, but..." she paused a moment and thought. "I am digressing." she stated as her eyes shifted over to Rosemarius. "I have no doubt that you will achieve great things, though I have my concern, merely an observation I've noticed throughout today's lesson, what sparked it though was something you said earlier in the day and that brings me to my concern."

How should she put this? "Have you ever just had a play day?" she asked looking at her.  

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Rosemarius watches Gin as she speaks, her expression starting out slightly flushed with pleasure as her teacher response to her sentiments. So my impression of the idea of chakra may not be completely right, she says to herself as Gin disputed that chakra could be regarded as a mere tool for a person to use as needed. It's a tool, but a tool like my hands and legs, indivisible from me in that I can't simply reject it. All I could do, if i was ever inclined to just ignore some of my own potential, is to not use my chakra and allow it to lie fallow. As Gin is wrapping up and approaching the point of the conversation where she mentions her concern, she'd be able to see a slight shift in Rosemariu' expression, a very slight remoteness as her thoughts divert from the strict subject of the conversation. I wonder if chakra is like arms and legs in that it can atrophy and decay from not being exercised. Something to ask Gin-sensei when the moment presents itself.

The moment that the word "concern" is used, Gin would see the distance vanish and Rosemarius' eyes and attention focus immediately and intensely on her. A... concern? A concern about what? Any expression washes out as she seems to simply stare in stony silence as Gin asks her question about a play day. A... play day? What could that possibly have to do with anything? How do I ask without seeming disrespectful and rude? Her expression becomes slightly more animate after a moment and she's visibly calculating how to respond. Well, she seems very easy-going and I have the sense that she's not easily offended so... With a mental shrug, she does a slight tilt of her head and allows an expression of slight confusion and curiosity come through. "I ask your forgiveness if my response seems rude, Gin-sensei, but what could a play day have to do with anything? I enjoy working, trying hard, getting up early to start and going to bed early so I can get enough sleep for an early beginning. It's very satisfying, seeing a block of clay that I dug, worked the excess out of, cut, and carried back home. I enjoy putting a carefully-crafted piece into a kiln and getting it back out again for finishing."

Despite herself, that tiny smile returns. "Work is my play, Gin-sensei. It makes me feel good and is relaxing and fun. Best of all, I can enjoy myself without having to worry about other children." And then the smile goes away. The expression is the same but there are small changes to it, a tension at the corners of her mouth and eyes, a flash of hardness about her face and gaze as she mentions other children. "Play is so much better and more satisfying alone, at least for me. Doing it alone keeps me out of trouble because I don't have to convince other children that I sometimes like to be alone with my thoughts, and will join them if what they're doing looks interesting." She pauses, letting her head tilt in the other direction as she purses her lips. "Being really convincing has been messy before, and that's never good. It's awfully hard to really honor this idea I've discovered of Budō, especially the part about seeking to be virtuous even when you're fighting, when being convincing ends in a bloody nose."

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Gin watched her and paid attention to how she reacted to her question and took Rosemarius's words to mind. She nodded her head for a moment and listened, though as she mentioned other children Gin noticed the change in Rosemarius's expression. Soon after she was done, Gin would speak. "There it is." she stated as she pointed right at Rosemarius. "That's exactly what my concern lies. Yes, I will agree with you on the idea that there is some work that people can find fun in and enjoy, but for a child. I don't believe it." she stated flatly.

"Now don't misunderstand, I am not saying to stop doing what makes you happy. If it makes you happy by all means continue to do it, but isolating yourself away from everyone else, that's not right. Not for a child. Why I brought up play day is because it does have something to do with this. Children will be children, they get in trouble, they tussle and fight one another because they have their moments where they believe what they are doing is right and if other people don't follow them then conflict arises, but once in a while I suggest going with the flow and see what happens." Gin would stand up and move from behind the chair she was sitting in and slide it in.

"Of course, I am not saying to go and do something stupid as many kids around your age may end up doing. I know there's a couple troublemakers in this academy, but..." she paused a moment and put a little more thought into her words. "I am going to assign you an extra assignment. Now this assignment is extra credit and there's no right or wrong answer to it, but once a month I would like for you to basically have a play day and not by yourself. No, I want you to have a play day with others and I'd like for you to write a report on your play day. Be as descriptive as you want. I wanna know what you did, who you met, what you thought and what happened. Whether it was a good experience or bad experience."

Gin would cross an arm across her chest and rest the other arm on top of it and lift her hand so that she could tap her chin. "I've seen many who try to isolate themselves from others and even hold some spite simply because they didn't like what other people do. It doesn't turn out well in the long run. While we shinobi are taught to conceal our emotions and detach ourselves because we never really know what may happen in the future, allies can become enemies and vice versa. It still doesn't' change the fact that we are here to protect everyone from our village. The people we love and the people we may dislike in here, so at any point once a month go out and have yourself a play day. How you go about it will be up to you and whether you actually do it or not will not affect your grade at all so there's no worry there."

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Rosemarius studies Gin for a moment before giving a little sigh. "I mean no disrespect, Gin-sensei, but whether isolating myself from others is right or not right, it is what's going on, and it is what has been going on. Being..." Isolated? Alone? Separate? Apart? Apart, yes. "...apart is just part of who I've chosen to be." She smiles in a slightly strained way, but the strain at the corners of her eyes that indicates she's forcing the smile isn't there. "I get what you're trying to do and why, and I will take to any assignment you give me with a lot of determination because just like shaping clay is what I do, instructing shinobi is what you do, but..." The smile drops and she gives another little sigh. "...I'm afraid it's not going to work out as well as you want it to. Not because I won't try, but because I'm a pot already shaped and dried and ready for the kiln: however much you moisten and work it, there is very little you can do to undo the flaws."

She breaks eye contact to gather her things briefly and then regains it as she rises. "There's a lot of hands that've worked on me, Gin-sensei," she says with a much less strained and much more genuine and relaxed smile than a moment ago. "Some of those hands have been truly skilled and did all the right things when they were needed. Some of those hands were earnest but unskilled and flawed the pot despite their best efforts. Some of those hands were just careless or malicious and unfortunately, they were the last hands to work before the pot was set to dry in readiness for the kiln. I just want you to keep in mind that whatever comes of me trying this 'play date' assignment, your hands are like the first hands, and anything that doesn't quite work out right was done by someone else, and you aren't responsible for it." She bows deeply, almost reverently towards Gin. "I'll see you tomorrow, Gin-sensei." And with that, she turns and walks to the end of the row and then to walk to the door. Just before she exits, she turns her head to throw a smile at Gin over her shoulder and reaches up to tuck her hair behind the collar of her clothing before she exits the classroom.

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Gin only chose to listen at this point, listening to her student. Who seemed so fixed in her ways, but many children are these days. Children that really yet to see the world for what it truly is. Especially children who grow to become shinobi. While Rosemarius may see herself as a pot ready for the Kiln, Gin doesn't see it that way. Though there were parts here and there that she agreed with, but she did respect the child's views.

Gin would only nod her head and give Rosemarius a gentle smile and watched her leave the classroom. "See you tomorrow, have a good day." she stated to Rosemarius after Rosemarius stated her good bye. Once she fully exited and left, Gin would place a hand upon her hips and chuckle and shake her head. "There is still so much to learn from here on out. I just hope you'll come to see it." she whispered to herself as she collected her things and left.

[Thread exit and thread end.]

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