Leaving with a friend, and a charge

Taichi reached the village gates, he had been looking for Honi for hours trying to find out just where she could have been. When they left the strange man that stopped him from entering the tavern, Honi ran off to find something, or someone. He decided that he would just meet the boy at the gates of Suna, hoping Honi would smell Taichi and come running. He tried contacting her Telepathically, but she would not respond to him. So he just waited by the gates, wondering just what in the world was going on with the both of his tag alongs. They planned on leaving Suna and heading off to a far away land, where they ended up going was anyone's guess.

WC:122
(Requesting allowance to leave Suna with Satoshi)

The sub blaze down over the desert village of Suna as Sozin made his way toward the gate riding on Honi's back. The big mountain lion uses to intimidate the boy, but after the time the two had spent together, it seems that they had become close friends. Sozin took a swig from his water. He nearly spilled it when Honi started to speed up at the sight of the man they were looking for. Sozin looked up and saw him, "Taichi Sensei!" He called and waved as Honi sped toward Taichi. Honi stopped right in front of her old friend and gave him a lick across the face.

Sozin hopped down and looked up at Taichi smiling from ear to ear. "Sorry we are late Taichi Sensei, me and Honi kinda lost track of time," Sozin said as Honi lowered her head to be petted. Sozin obliged giving her a scratch behind the ear and a hug around the neck. "Ok, we are ready when you are sir!"

Word Count: 168

As Taichi watched Sozin atop of Honi, everything began to make sense. While he didn't truly care about him having to wait for a little while for the boy and the cat. He wanted to have the presence of a sensei, and to do that, one must be strict on tardiness. He casted a stern gaze at the boy and the cat, showing them his displeasure of them being the reason for his waiting. When the cat pulled up to the large white haired man and licked his face, he continued his dissatisfied stare into both the cat's and the boy's eyes. 

"Lost track of time?" He said in his stern deep voice. "That excuse will not work outside these walls. When we need to move, it is time to move then and only then. There will be no waiting for you. If you do become a burden on the roads, I will leave you. Do you understand me?" Taichi would then lean against the sandy wall that was behind him. After the child would respond to Taichi's chastising, he would then say "Your tardiness proves to be a moot point anyway. While I don't particularly care for any in this village, respect is still an important aspect in this society. We first must inform a leader of this place that we are leaving. Once that's done, we will be leaving."

Taichi did not look happy in the slightest. It was obvious from his disapproving stare that Sozin was in trouble. As Taichi began to scold the boy about the importance of being on time and the threat of leaving him behind, Sozin looked to the ground timidly, he twidled his fingers as he so often did in such situations.

"I'm sorry Taichi sensei, I just wanted to get some last-minute practice in before we left. Honi found me at the training area trying to get the hang of the Exploding Shockwave jutsu. It won't happen again I promise.
The boy said with a reassuring smile.

Taichi also went on to mention getting permission to leave the village. That's when it clicked, when he had first arrived to suna he didn't really know what he had to get permission from the Kage to come and go. It wasn't something he had to worry about back home since the first time he actually left the village was to go on the road.

Sozin pulled a second flask of water from his backpack with a rough drawing of Taichi on a piece of scroll paper taped to it.
"By the way, I brought you a present." The boy said handing Taichi the flask of fresh cold water.

Word Count: 214
Total Word Count:382

As Taichi scolded the child about his tardiness, the child's face fell to the floor immediately. Taichi stopped what he was saying and instructed the child, "Pick your head up. To many, that is a sign of respect. But to me, eye contact is how you truly show someone respect." He would wait until the child picked up his head before finishing his statement on the child tardiness.

A happiness built up inside of him when the child said that he was actually getting in some last minute training before they hit the road. He wanted to tell the child that he was proud of him, but he was still trying to put off the attitude of a serious sensei. His tone went from stern and disappointed, to a more instructive tone as he saw the child was truly repentant of his tardiness. 

He was waiting for Stark or maybe Kenshin, depending on who he felt like being at that moment. After waiting for almost an hour, he decided that he and the child would go ahead and hit the road. Just before he instructed the child and the cat to follow him, Sozin pulled out a flask out of his jacket and handed it to the large white haired sensei. The moment his eyes fell unto the flask in the boy's hand, a smile came across his face and he accepted the gift from the boy and put it into his jacket, next to his own flask. He put his hand onto the boys hair and ruffled his hair slightly, thanking the child for the wonderful gift with the marvelous drawing. He picked the boy up and put him on his shoulders, giving up the serious sensei attitude. The two of them then hit the road with a majestic cat on their side. 

Taichi was unsure, but excited for their adventures to come. As to where they would go? That was an answer he didn't have for himself, or for the boy.

WC:370
TWC:723
+3 stats for Honi
+723 towards Wood Locking Wall (Completed)(Previous Progress)

Sozin looked Taichi in the eye and gave a bit of a smile. Sozin took comfort in the instructive tone in Tachi's voice. After handing his sensei took his gift he was given a ruffle of the hair followed by being picked up onto Tachi's shoulders. It was a shock to him at first, but he didn't fight it. It reminded him of the days of old when his father did the same. It made him feel apart of something. As if he had found his family.

The trio of Sozin, Tachi, and Honi set out to grace the long road ahead with their presence. The adventures they may have and the troubles they may face will not break their spirits. Sozin had promised that not just to his new sensei, but to himself.

Word Count:134
Total Word Count: 520

Claiming:
+2 Stats
Mist Servant Technique

When Taichi first came here, it was to come home. He saw what it had become and he found it to be unsettling, off putting, honestly just a hell hole that he figured it would have been better to just burn it down to the ground and start it over. As he stayed in the village since his return, he realized that there were still good people within the place, like when he met Bri. To have it quickly shattered when she was mutilated and murdered. His threads attaching him to this place were thin and they were only thinning more and more each day that would go on with him staying within the sandy walls of Suna. 

The real reason he was leaving this time was not only out of a whim, but to protect the child Sozin. He couldn't describe just why he cared about this child so much, maybe he reminded him of himself, maybe he was going to be something important in his life and he was destined to have met him. Or maybe the boy was just a child of circumstance and Taichi wasn't one to allow a wayward soul of a child to be bent and bastardized by the evil that sat within the walls of this once great village. He looked up towards the child that was now sitting on his shoulders, he felt a strong desire to protect this child. He just hoped that he would be able to do so if God forbid the situation comes to fruition where the child's life is indeed in danger.

Looking out into the seemingly endless desert that surrounded Suna, he thought to himself for just a moment on whether or not leaving with this small child was a good idea. He knew that within the walls there were many bad people, there was going to be evil no matter where they went. But the evil within Suna was at least contained by the last Kazekage himself, Kenshin Uzumaki. While Taichi had only interacted with him a handful of times, he still knew that he was a powerful ninja, obviously more powerful than he was. So would he be more protected within the village? This was an honest question that had no real answer, the truth was anything could happen and there was nothing Taichi could really do about that. 

Still deep in thought, Taichi and Sozin were going to hit the road and begin their adventure, but then Honi began to growl and snarl. Taichi, with Sozin on his shoulders, quickly whipped around to see who it was that was coming closer to their position. Setting Sozin on the back of the beautiful and majestic cat, Taichi would see that it was the Ragdoll himself, the very man that greeted him when Taichi finally made his way back to Suna after the Kiri invasion. Taichi was sure that Kenshin was here to greet any other travelers that would be coming or leaving the village, so he was exactly who he was waiting for. 

Kenshin got into speaking range and greeted Taichi, but not the child. Being sure that Kenshin probably didn't know the small child, he placed his hand on the boy's shoulder to let him know that he was safe. "Stark! How are you? I don't know if you have met this child. This is Sozin, my new charge." Taichi then bent down to be eye level with the child on the back of the giant cat. "Sozin, this is Stark. He is one of the leaders of this place. If you have this man looking after you, then you have very little to fear in this world, let me tell you." 

Taichi then stood straight up once again, waiting for Kenshin to arrive to their location, reassuring Honi that the man approaching them, was a friend, well at least, someone to be trusted. 

WC:653

Sozin's face showed the grand incensation of hitting the road and discovering what else the world has to offer. He sat upon his new sensei's shoulders prepared for the best of times and the worst of times. As the duo began to leave the gates they were stopped by the growls of their mountain lion companion, Honi. Sozin's head snapped around to see what was going on. 

Sozin saw a strange man standing before him. Someone he had never seen before. He seemed like an older gentleman, evident by the slightly greying hair and stubble on his chin. What really caught Sozin's attention was the man's eyes. One was very strange in it a blank white color. It was kinda creepy, though the boy refused to show it. Sozin felt himself be lifted from his sensei's shoulders and placed onto the back of the mighty lion. 

Taichi Sensei and the strange man greeted each other and began to converse. Stark was the man's name, which Sozin found a bit strange. He had never heard that name before, but it was kinda cool. He could picture a hero in stories like the ones his father used to tell him. Taichi introduced Sozin as his "Charge" whatever that means. Taichi gave a respectful bow of the head to the older.

Sozin sat waiting to see where this conversation would go. He began to pet the defensive lion, scratching behind her ears in an attempt to calm her down.

Word Count: 246