READING!?IT BURNS!! [Private]

Zaiaku sighed in relief as he sat back in chair, cracking his tired knuckles as he gazed upon all the signed papers he did today. It was currently 1:41 PM. Zaiaku came in and started doing paperwork at 4:02 AM, in hopes he could finish early and have the rest of the day off. Surely enough, he did finish early, and now had sometime all to himself. Kicking his legs up to the desk, he stretched out, smiling as he pulled out a all too familiar object. His cig pack. His advisors practically made him not smoke as he signed documents, afraid they might get burned up. But since he was done, Zaiaku could careless. Popping the cancer-infused stick into his mouth, he lighted it up with his lighter before taking a long inhale. After a few seconds of holding it in, a large cloud of gray smoke came from his nose as he relaxed further chuckling to himself. The euphoria didn't last long as he secretary came in. The secretary was a fairly old man. He had busy eyebrows and a long white beard. He was bald, but didn't have any liverspots. He was in rather good condition for his age, even having a little bit of muscle here and there. From what Zaiaku could remember, his name was Sun Lao. He wore a symbol business suit and chinese-styled hat. "BOSS!" Lao Tzu said as he snatched the cigarette directly from Zaiaku's lips. "How many times we gotta tell you. No smoking in the office." Zaiaku simply rolled his eyes as he quickly snatched the cigarette back, rubbing the head on the palm of his hand, putting it out. "Busta..." Zaiaku mumbled quietly before getting smacked on the back of his head with a old man hand.

"WHAT YOU SAY!?" The old man yelled, turning red. Zaiaku, while not exactly taking any damage, still flinched out of instinct before sighing. "Nothin' Lao, calm yo old man titties." Sun Lao turned into a even brighter red before sighing, calming himself down as he places his hand on his face in annoyance. "I'll "calm them down" when you start acting like a leader. You weren't chosen for nothing." He said, now giving Zaiaku a stern, grandfather-ish look. Zaiaku, however, rolled his eyes. "Leaders can smoke." He said, flicking the now useless cigarette over his shoulder. "Yeah well, they also don't speak in slang." "And yet here I am." The old man glared at Zaiaku after that remark before speaking again. "Look, Zaiaku-Sa-" "Don't call me that. Just call me Zaiaku or Zai or what the fuck ever." "Ok "What The Fuck Ever", I came here to say I brought you some books that may interest you." Zaiaku raised a eyebrow. "Oh?" Sun Lao nodded before leaving the office, returning shortly after with several books. "Read these, they'll help shape your vision as a leader." The books, from left to right, were the Tao Te Ching by Lao Zhi, the Analects by Confucius, the Art of War by Sun Tzu, and Hagakure by Yamamoto Tsunetomo. "....Th'fuck?" Zaiaku asked as he looked up at his old companion. "Read these. Get some understanding." "I ain't no philosopher." "And? All knowledge is power!" "Since when did you give a shit about me reading?" "Never, I gave a shit about you knowing what you're doing since the day I met you in this office. Now then, goodnight sir." With that, Lao Zhi left, closing the door behind him. Zaiaku looked at the books before him, sighing. "Reading.......it buuuurrrnnnsss..."

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