Here's a little extra about Daro's background before he became part of team Taryn. I hope you enjoy :)

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“Daro, is that you?” Kanna Kamori peeked around the door of the pottery into the hallway.

“Yeah,” Daro called back. He dropped his schoolbag on the floor and was headed for the kitchen when his mother called him back.

“Come here for a second will you? I need your help.”

Daro strolled into the backroom of his parents’ shop and looked at his mother questioningly. “What is it mom?”

“Please take that crate of decanters into the shop for me. And watch the counter for a minute.”

“But I’m meeting up with Hiro, we’re gonna practice with shuriken and kunai with his dad.”

Kanna sighed. “I know we allowed you to go to the Ninja Academy, but that does not mean you don’t have to do your chores. We agreed on that.”

“But mom! We’re close to the graduation exam. We need all the practice we can get.”

“I’m sure it can wait an hour. Your father is out making deliveries and I have to keep an eye on the oven. I can’t do both at the same time. As soon as your father is back, you can go over to Hiro.”

Daro sighed and hung his head as he walked to the front of the store. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to help his parents, on a normal day he wouldn’t mind watching the shop, it was just that he really wanted to become a shinobi and in order to achieve that, he needed to train.

Unlike the other kids in his class, his parents weren’t ninja. They were regular citizens. He felt like he had to work twice as hard as the rest to reach his goal.

“Don’t look so sour, Daro,” his mother scolded, “you’ll chase away the customers.”

Daro sighed and replaced his mother behind the counter.

There were only two customers at the moment, admiring the plates and cups on the shelves. If only they would hurry up.

He glanced at the clock. An hour from now would leave only thirty minutes before dinner time. And afterwards it would be dark. There was no use in practicing in the dark.

“He, what’s taking you so long?” Hiro’s voice sounded from behind him.

“I’m in the shop!” Daro called over his shoulder. He watched as his best friend appeared. Hiro always used the backdoor.

“What are you standing here for? Shuriken practice, remember?”

Daro sighed. “My mom has me watching the shop. Dad’s out on deliveries and she needs to watch the oven. I can’t come.”

“Bummer,” Hiro said.

“Yeah,” Daro hung his head, “and the exam is up in less than two weeks.”

“Come on,” Hiro tried to cheer up his friend, “you’re already really good. One of the best in class. Of course you’re gonna pass.”

Daro didn’t look too sure. “I really want to. It would be so cool if we were on a team together.”

“Yeah, I know,” Hiro smirked. Then he sighed. “I gotta go.” He had a guilty look on his face. “Come over as soon as you can. Okay?”

“Kay,” Daro muttered as he watched his friend head out the door, almost bumping into someone.

“Sorry Casey!” Hiro shouted while hurrying off.

Daro looked up at hearing the name and stared sat the girl that was now in the doorway, hiding a smile. She stepped into the shop and walked over to the counter. “Hi Daro-kun. Are you managing the shop today?”

“H-hi,” Daro stuttered, “why are you here?”

Casey smiled. “My mom told me to brig over the bread your mother ordered. It’s freshly baked. I put in some bread rolls too. They’re your favorite, right?”

Daro’s cheeks turned red. “Y-yeah.”

“So how’s ninja school?”

Daro grinned. “It’s going great. We have exams coming up in less than two weeks. If I pass, I’ll be a real ninja and I’ll get to go on missions and stuff.”

“Please be careful, Daro-kun,” Casey pleaded, “I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”

“Don’t worry,” Daro boasted, “I’ll be fine. I’ve been training a lot. I won’t get hurt so easily.”

“Good,” Casey sighed in relief. She stepped aside when a customer approached the counter and waited for Daro to finish. “I should go back,” she said, “my mom will wonder where I am.”

Daro nodded. “Sure.”

Casey waved and ran out of the shop.

Daro lifted the cloth that covered the bread and took a whiff. The delicious smell made his mouth water and he lifted one of the bread rolls. His stomach growled and he took a bite. There was nothing better than fresh baked bread.

“Was that Casey?” Kanna entered the shop with a tray of ceramics. She looked at her son, who still had a piece of bread dangling from his mouth, and looked at him sternly. “We’re having dinner soon, don’t ruin your appetite.”

Daro swallowed the bread. “Aww mom, but they’re the best when they’re still warm.”

Kanna sighed. “Finish that roll and that’s it.” She took the basket and disappeared into the kitchen.

Daro took another bite and grinned.

***

“Sorry I couldn’t make it last night,” Daro said when Hiro came rushing out the door.

“Yeah,” Hiro answered, “and my dad had this whole course set up. It was really cool. I almost hit the center this time.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I forgot about the wind again. It threw them off course.”

“You think we can practice again today?” Daro asked hopefully.

“No,” Hiro told him, “my dad has an appointment and he doesn’t want me to train unsupervised. He says it’s dangerous to use jutsu and weapons if you can’t control them yet.” He looked at his friend, “how about your uncle? Can’t he help?”

Daro sighed. “He’s away on a mission. I don’t know when he’ll be back.”

The two boys entered the school and sat down in the back of the classroom. The twelve other students were already there.

“Late as usual,” one of their classmates muttered as he watched the two, “how will you two ever make decent shinobi?”

“Shut up Davey,” Hiro bit, “sensei is not even here yet.”

“Settle down class,” a woman entered at the front of the room.

“Morning, Kasumi-sensei,” the class chimed.

“The assignment for today is writing an essay on the various kind of jutsu and how to utilize them in combat. You may use examples and illustrations. It needs to be at least two thousand words. Please include elemental components and their relations to one another. You may use your textbook as a reference, but I don’t want to see anyone copying entire paragraphs.”

“Oh man,” Hiro groaned, “really? Can’t we do some real ninja stuff like making clones or target practice?”

Many of the students muttered in agreement.

Kasumi-sensei sighed. She had expected no less from him. Hiro always complained at written papers and exams, but he was one of her best students, even if he was a slacker at times. She pitied the sensei that would get him under their wings. The boy needed someone firm but patient that could keep him occupied.

“Basic knowledge is important,” she explained calmly, “if you’re in the field and you encounter an enemy, you’ll need to know what jutsu gives you the advantage. Throwing knives will not be enough.”

“But don’t we need practice for that?” Daro asked.

“Of course you do,” Kasumi nodded, “but you need to understand how a jutsu is build up and what the effects are, before you can create it. That is what this assignment is for. I need to see your knowledge of the essence of jutsu. Using something you do not understand can be dangerous, not only to yourself, but to your teammates as well. You don’t want your comrades to die because of a mistake you made.”

It was silent for a while.

A boy raised his hand.

“Yes, Takeshi.”

“Do we have to include the use of weapons in our essay too?”

“If they are related to any type of jutsu, then yes. Any more questions?”

It remained quiet.

Very well,” Kasumi said, “you have one hour.”

***

“Man, that was hard,” Hiro whined, “couldn’t sensei give us another assignment?”

Daro smirked and leaned back on the rock they were sitting on. He closed his eyes against the sun. “You always say that, and when we get them back, you aced it.”

“Huh,” Hiro scoffed, “that doesn’t mean I have to like it.” He crossed his arms. “What kind of shinobi writes about jutsu anyway? It’s the action that counts.”

“Yeah, I know, but as long as we’re still in the Academy, we don’t have much choice.” He sighed. “I suppose sensei has a point though. You have to know the theory before you get the skills. Makes sense.”

“Ugh,” Hiro said, “I can’t wait to get out of the Academy.”

“I hear you,” Daro agreed.

***

Kasumi sighed as she took the next essay. Her students were all outside for lunch break. Some of the papers were very promising. Others were a nightmare. Like this one.

“To counter a jutsu an enemy uses, you have to use one even stronger.”

Kasumi sighed and shook her head. ‘Ryuu Hikari, of course.’ She took a red marker and wrote “See me after class” at the top of the paper before taking the next. “Hiroshi Tomoda. This ought to be interesting.’

“To perform a jutsu, a shinobi needs to form a certain series of hand seals and release chakra. Whichever seals they are and what order you have to use, depends on what jutsu you want to perform.

There are many types of jutsu. The three most common are ninjutsu, taijutsu and genjusu. Ninjutsu requires the use of elements. There are five basic elements: water, fire, wind, lightning and earth. They all stand in relation it one another.

It’s common for a shinobi to be able to use at least one element, though strong shinobi may be able to use more than one.

Taijutsu is hand to hand combat and does not require seals.

Genjutsu casts illusions on your opponents. It affects the five senses. It can also be used to inflict imaginary pain…”

That was actually quite impressive. She shouldn’t be surprised. No matter how much the boy liked to goof around, he was an intelligent kid. Much like his friend Daro. That boy worked harder than anyone else. He could make a good shinobi one day.

Kasumi glanced at the clock. A few more minutes before her students would come back in.

***

“Right,” Kasumi stared at her students one by one. They had gathered in the training field behind the Academy. “Now, for the ‘real ninja stuff’ as you so elegantly put it. This afternoon we will practice your combat skills. I’ll pair you up with one of your classmates and we’ll see how you put in practice what you’ve learned.”

There were excited sounds from the students, but Kasumi raised a hand. “First let me state a few rules. Number one, no drawing blood. This is not a battle, it’s training. And two, Hojou-sensei and I will decide when a spar is over.” She pointed at the man beside her. “First up. Daro and Davey.”

Davey smirked as he stepped forward. He cracked his knuckles.

Daro took a deep breath. This was it. This was the moment to prove his worth. Why was he so nervous?

Hiro slapped his back. “Go get him.”

Daro nodded and took a stance across from Davey.

“Ready?” Kasumi said, “battle.”

Davey formed a few signs and vanished. Daro looked around confused. Where had he gone? A movement in the air behind him made him whirl and he was just in time to deflect Davey’s dagger.

Davey smirked. “Didn’t you know? My family specializes in camouflage. What can you do? Ah, that’s right. You’re not a real ninja.”

“You jerk!” Daro growled and he kicked Davey off. He had never liked the boy much. He was incredibly arrogant, believed he was better than his fellow classmates.

Daro lifted his hands to perform a few seals. He had learned the theory, he just hadn’t tried it before. This was as good a time as any. “Earth Style: Rock Wave,” he whispered.

At first nothing happened and Davey smirked. “Was that it?” He took a kunai dagger and ran at Daro again.

Daro gritted his teeth. Perhaps he hadn’t released enough chakra. He doubled his efforts. “Earth Style: Rock Wave!”

The ground trembled and moved towards Davey in small waves, knocking the boy off his feet. Daro quickly moved over to him and sat on his back, a dagger against his neck.

“Winner Daro!” Hojou announced.

Daro grinned and moved away. Hs classmates patted his back to congratulate him.

“That was awesome!” Hiro said.

Kasumi eyed the boy in wonder. She had known he was a good student, but she hadn’t expected this. It was clever thinking. Instead of using brute force, he had made use of his surroundings. Not many of her students would have thought of that.

Next to her, Hojou nodded in approval. “That boy will go far,” he mused.

“Yes,” Kasumi smiled, “I was thinking the same.” She made some notes and turned back to the class. “Alright. Next up, Kuro and Takeshi.”

A/N Next one will be one of Taryn again. If you like Crow's Feathers, please check out Clash of the brats. I wrote it together with Amaterasu and it is a spin-off from Crow's Feathers and Amaterasu's Beauty is the Beast. It holds more Taryn and her students and Hisayo and her bratty bunch from Amaterasu's BB. Please check it out and let us know what you think!
You can find it in the Works section on my profile.