Starring:
Date: April 29, 2016
Summary:
Atsuro gives Hige a lesson on the Shadow Clone jutsu. Kenta attends in a medical capacity, but decides to resume his own lasped Shadow Clone training of several years.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Kenta and Hige Shadows Atsuro"
Konoha - Jounin Training Area
It's late morning in Konoha, and the training fields are sunny yet cool. At Hige's request, a training area has been set aside, and now it's time for their meeting. Atsuro and Taizen walk into the training area, and take a quick scan and sniff around for Hige or one of his nin-dogs. "I guess he's late," says Atsuro, "Surpriiise." Then, with a dramatic sigh, he leans against the nearest tree.
"Surprise yourself," Hige says as he and his entourage appears from some nearby trees. "I've been training over yonder. I didn't want to interrupt any thoughts you might be having over here by yourself." The younger Inuzuka grins ferally as he looks to Taizen and offers him a nod of greeting. Of course Konsho runs over to Taizen and gives him a big sloppy lick in greeting. "Just be happy it's not the middle of the night, hmm?"
It just so happens that Kenta was invited too, but he was doing some training in another part of the area beforehand. The young man's scent can be detected by the five Inuzuka a few seconds after all of them are gathered. It gets strong with his rapid approach. "Konichiwa!" Kenta exclaims when he bursts out of the trees, through which he was traveling. The young man lands on the ground and immediate bows deeply to them. "Umm… sorry about being late, everyone. Atsuro-senpai said that you want a medic around for this training? Just in case of chakra depletion?"
Atsuro turns around and tilts his head. "I'm pretty sure the point of that expression is that you /are/ surprising yourself. And considering that we arranged to meet you here, I don't think you had to worry about me interrupting. I'm not here to think /or/ be alone, as it happens." He raises a finger, "And if it was the middle of the night, I'd have sent a clone… to murder you." He looks over to Kenta. "Hi," he says, "Thanks for coming. I'd originally thought it would be good to have you in case Hige depleted his chakra, but it's also good to know that I can throttle him and you'll be able to revive him."
"Hmm, well, that could've proved interesting," Hige says in response to Atsuro's murder threat. He looks to Kenta when he arrives and offers a nod in greeting. "Kenta." Of course Konsho is /much/ more excited and runs over to Kenta, tail wagging quickly back and forth as he sits in front fo the medic. "Hi Kenta!!!" Hige looks from Kenta to Atsuro, then just shakes his head. "You're getting old ojii, I think you're starting to imagine things."
Kenta blinks at the scene in front of him. "Umm… are you two having you mock teasing thing again?" he asks hesitantly. It's always hard to tell how the dynamic between Atsuro and Hige works. Thankfully, he quickly encounters something very easy to understand. Kenta hugs Konsho around the neck when the ninken rushes towards him. Then, he steps back to give Konsho some vigorous scratching before he stops to pull out meat-flavored biscuits. "Umm… anyone else want some?" the medic-nin asks while he offers the first to them to Konsho.
"I can imagine a lot of things," Atsuro says to Hige. "Anyway, the reason for all this talk could actually be an important lesson for you. Y'see, when you make a Shadow Clone it splits your chakra in two. If you make another one, it divides it further. So if you're using a lot of clones, you're putting yourself at risk for chakra depletion. Which is dangerous." He looks over to Kenta and gives him a reassuring smile. "Don't mind us," he says. Taizen wags his tail. "I'd like one please, Kenta."
"Chakra depletion hmm?" Hige considers this before he nods, "Well I guess that's something to keep in mind. My chakra never has been my strong suit after all. Dividing it multiple times sounds like it could be a bad thing." Kizoku regally makes his way towards Kenta, sitting with his puppy nose in the air next to Konsho and letting out a single bark of acceptance of such an offer.
Kenta hands out biscuits to Taizen and Kizoku when they approach him, not giving -only- one like Taizen original requested. He looks up after Atsuro gives the explanation. "Umm… that's true, Hige. That's why the Shadow Clone technique is one of the more advance and potentially dangerous ones, even though it's not very destructive on its own. It can be taxing in terms of chakra usage." The young man shuffles his feet sheepishly. "That's why I stopped studying it after a while when Atsuro-senpai gave me lessons a few years ago. I wasn't able to handle it very well at that time. Umm… maybe I should resume, since my chakra control and reserves improved a lot over time."
"Okay," says Atsuro, "So, next question… Well, it's the first question, but whatever: What clone techniques do you have already. I sure hope you have the basic clone technique, but if you know… lightning clone or whatever, that would be nice too." He looks over to Kenta again. "It's never too late," he says, "If you wanna try it again, I'm available. I mean, I came out here for this guy, didn't I?" He thumbs in Hige's direction. Taizen wags his tail. "Thank you, Kenta," he says before he starts snapping up the biscuits.
"And here I thought this was an early birthday present," Hige says, adding in a mock sniffle. "Well then, since you're just so dragged out here we should get to it. Basic clone jutsu, beast human clone…althought that's not really the same. I never did touch on lightning clones. Perhaps I should look into that as well. Later." He waves a hand in the air dismissively. One clone at a time! Konsho is happy with his treats. Kizoku is…satisfied.
Kenta nods his head slowly at Atsuro. "Umm… I'll be attentive while the two of you work together today. Maybe that'll jog my memories. Maybe I'll learn something new and useful by watching the lesson too." The young man nods his head again, firmly, to emphasis his conviction. "And while you guys are working on this, I want to know as soon as you start feeling faint or strange in any way, Hige. It could mean the onset of chakra depletion. Umm… but you should be able to recognize the signs yourself too, so pay attention."
Atsuro shrugs. "It can be, if you like. Anyway, Beast Human Clone can sorta work as a base to build off of. You want to build the clone with a chakra base, instead of around a living thing, though. So it needs to be independent and it needs enough chakra to support it." He makes a seal and holds out his hands for Hige to see. "This is what you'll be using. So something like Beast Human Clone, but use more chakra, make it self-supporting, and use this seal." He turns to Kenta and nods. "That's a good point. I usually advise people to practice this only in short bursts. It will drain your chakra faster than you realize." After a moment, he adds, "I'd train you, if you wanted."
"Well if that's the case I was feeling faint the very instant I caught Atsuro's scent. Does that count?" Hige glances over to Kenta just to make sure before he turns his focus back to Atsuro. He actually is paying attention! One of those few times he pays attention to Atsuro! Miracles /do/ happen! He makes the hand seal while at the same time going through the idea of clones in his head including what he and Konsho can do. "It makes sense I suppose. That's all it takes to focus the chakra properly is a single hand seal? And here I thought it might be hard." He pauses, then hmms softly and taps his chin. "Then again ojii learned it so maybe not…"
Kenta blinks at Hige when the younger shinobi turns towards him. He slowly shakes his head. "That doesn't really count at all. But why would you feel faint when you smell Atsuro-senpai? You get dizzy when you smell something nice?" The young man rubs the back of his head. "Umm… let's go sit by that tree while they work on this," he suggests to the group of ninken around him. Kenta walks over to the largest tree that rings the clearing and settles down on one of its exposed roots.
"Hilarious," says Atsuro drily. "And by the way, it /will/ be hard. Even if we don't consider that you'll have to spread the training way out because of the whole chakra thing, it's not an easy technique, simple seal or no. You're going to have to practice a lot." He gestures to Hige. "Try it." He turns to Kenta and nods. "Thank you," he says, "Like most people, Kenta appreciates my aftershave. But apparently not to the extent that he understands why you would swoon, Hige."
"Kenta just doesn't have a sensitive enough nose. I wish at the moment that I didn't have one either." Hige waves a hand under his nose to try and clear the scents away. "So strong. Compensating?" Hige tilts his head then when Atsuro tells him to try it but then he shakes his head. "Shouldn't you at least do it first so I can see it? I might learn something from watching you stumble through the technique."
"Maybe you would have gotten a demonstration already if you didn't keep interrupting your training with lame barbs," says Atsuro, taking a moment to really roll his eyes right back and even lean in slightly so Hige can see it better. He makes a seal and a clone pops into existence beside him. "I thought it was hilarious," says the clone, "Have you considered stand up?"
"Yes I have," Hige cuts in to the clone's question. "But you would need to be there each time so I had fresh material." A moment later Hige makes a seal and a clone pops up next to him. Too bad it looks like something a child made out of a nightmare being half the small sized Hige and transparent. Whoops. "Hmm."
"That's weird, I've been nearby to hear all of your material and it's never fresh. Try 'warmed-over.'" Atsuro gives Hige a thumbs down. Then he makes another seal and the clone puffs out of existence. He folds his arms and watches Hige's clone. "Not bad, for a first attempt," he says, "Keep working at it. Like I said, this is going to be one of the toughest techniques you ever learn. Technically a B-rank jutsu, but it'll feel like an S."
The clone goes away and Hige makes another seal, focusing his chakra a little more. The poor clone is still half his size but is much more solid this time around, so a small improvement. "Hey, look, I made a half one." The clone kind of glares at him before it poofs. "I…hmm, such weird feelings." An angry clone poof, just means it fed back after all.
Kenta watches as the lesson continues. "Umm… I remember that," the young man murmurs to Taizen, Konsho and Kizoku when he sees the Atsuro clone appear after the Jounin Commander makes that special hand seal. And Hige's clones too, but they're not really complete ones. Partially due to curiosity and partially because working on something is much better than sitting idle, the young man concentrates on molding chakra inside of him and duplicates the same hand seal. Poof! A second Kenta appears seated on top of another exposed root of the same tree. Like Hige's unsuccessful clone, this Kenta is just about half the size of the original. It's properly proportioned despite the small stature, but shows a slight blunting of features. The clone tries to stand up… and topples sideways to lie there on the ground twitching. "Umm… This is definitely -worse- than where I left off in my training…"
Atsuro folds his arms and watches Hige's attempt, then the surprise attempt from Kenta. "Hmmm," he says, looking from one to the other, "They'd almost be cute, under different circumstances." He adds with a nod to Kenta, "And another benefit of training it a lot is that you keep the skill sharp. If I remember right, you actually weren't doing badly before, Kenta, but it's regressed." Taizen wags his tail. "It's still good that you remember that much even after all this time though," he says.
Hige glances over to Kenta when he works out another shadow shadow clone. Another mini me shadow clone. Hey, twinsies! "Hmm, so it's not too horrible then. But it does take a lot of chakra. I can already feel it starting to burn through with the incomplete ones." He makes the seal again and another even more accurate clone appears, albeit still a little on the short side. Maybe that's just how Hige sees himself? "Hey, why don't you get it right? Stop screwing up!" That's clone Hige. He's an umbra. But then so is original Hige.
Kenta's mini-clone just lies twitching on the ground. "Umm… get up… please?" the real medic-nin asks it tentatively. The clone rolls over onto its front. Then, it puffs away into thin air when it couldn't lift its face off the ground to breath. Kenta sighs softly and turns his attention back to the lesson. "I think I need to practice some more to get back to where I was… But you're doing great, Hige! That last clone looked pretty close. I think you just have to work on maintaining it next. Umm… right, Atsuro-senpai?"
"Hmmmm." Atsuro looks from Hige to the mini-Hige, then back again. "I think you might not be using enough chakra," he says, "It's a common problem. You're not giving the clone enough chakra to form properly, so it comes out small, or transparent, or too weak to stand." He clears his throat, "Of course, you don't want to also use too much chakra and hurt yourself." He looks over to Kenta and nods. "It was a little short, but it's getting there. It would be a miracle to get the technique perfect with a single training session, so don't worry too much."
"Does not enough chakra make them so mouthy?" Hige asks, thumbing at the clone before it poofs. When Kenta's poor breathless clone vanishes Hige just shakes his head sadly before he makes the seal once more, pouring more chakra into it. Probably would've been okay if it wasn't also his fourth attempt. Instead he kind of wavers on his feet even though the clone appears…then vanishes immediately after. What a waste!
Kenta slowly shakes his head. "Your clones are basically copies of you. Giving them too little chakra won't affect their personality…" The medic-nin's voice trails off when Hige starts to waver. He quickly jumps to his feet and start to hurry over. "Are you ok, Hige? You need to be careful when practicing this jutsu. Too much at once is very stressful on your body. It's better to be on the cautious side, since even -that- is pushing limits most of the time." He reaches the younger Jounin and reaches for a shoulder.
Atsuro nods, confirming Kenta's statement. "I think that's just the clone imitating its source. Pretty convincingly, I might add." He waits and lets Kenta examine Hige. "You've made a few attempts now," he says, "You could already be reaching the threshold, depending. Like I said, this definitely isn't a technique where you want to risk overdoing it." He looks to Kenta, "How does he look?"
Hige makes a note to send a clone to kick Atsuro in the shade later, but for now…well, he's kind of worn down. In fact his baby chakra system is already a bit taxed. Then again it seems like he hasn't been sleeping much either so a bad combination of things. After all it wasn't long ago his chakra system was rather messed up. "I'll show you convicingly…" he mutters.
"Shaky," Kenta immediately answers to Atsuro's question. He lifts his hand off Hige's shoulder. "No more practice for today. Hige, you need to go eat some food and get a bit more sleep before you try again. And I'd prefer if you practice with someone else in attendance at least in the beginning, while you figure out your limits." He pauses thoughtfully. "Umm… we can both practice together I guess. We'll cheer each other on. I'm also a medic, so I can take care of you if something goes wrong. I've trained enough at the Shadow Clone jutsu in the past that I know how it'd affect my chakra levels. I'll be able to tell how much to hold in reserve for emergencies."
"I mean, you just did," Atsuro points out, "I said as much just a few seconds ago." He holds up his hands. "Anyway, I think that's your body telling you that that's enough for now. Don't push it or things are going to get real bad." He walks over and nods in agreement with Kenta. "That sounds like a good plan to me," says Atsuro, "Both plans. No more practice for today, and make all the necessary precautions while you're practicing. You two are both Jounin, so I know you can handle this technique, but be careful with it."
Hige plots when the next practice session will be. Unfortunately it may not be something Atsuro is expecting. Poor guy. "Alright alright," Hige agrees with the wave of a hand to show that he'll stop. And that he's well enough for the moment. "I am kind of hungry even if Atsuro's horrible scent and humor has made me not really want to eat."
