Starring:
Date: June 5, 2016
Summary:
Jun runs into Katsumi while practicing clones. Shinjiro joins in and it starts a little rivalry among the boys, leading to some tree walking training.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Rivalry Among Friends!"
Training Entrance
Jun was dismayed. He had just had his twelfth birthday, and he still hadn't graduated from the academy. This wasn't fair! If he kept this up, he would be the lone teenage academy student, and the inevitable laughing stock of the ninja community. "I /will/ get this down," he muttered under his breath with a huff, before concentrating his chakra and activating yet another clone jutsu. This one was barely better than the rest - a little more lifelike, perhaps, but there was still only one of them. "Bake it!" he cursed, grumbling and letting it poof away before he tried it again. His efficiency with chakra was truly appalling, but he had to find a way to work past it.
With a slow breath and a heavy sigh, Katsumi made her way toward the training grounds with the idea that she would be able to practice a bit on some of her ninjutsu. She'd managed to syphon through all of her studies on herbs that she had assigned for herself - though if she was completely honest, she would be reviewing them on her way to dream land tonight. Upon entry to the grounds, the new Genin spotted her best friend; he was obviously still practicing for his academic exams. Apparently his clones were still being elusive.
"Jun!" she called out, smiling as she jogged over to where he had settled himself to train.
When he saw Katsumi, he felt a tightening in his gut. His friend had already graduated with flying colors, and here he was still struggling along. It wasn't exactly his proudest moment, and he felt embarrassment welling up in his stomach. "Um.. Hi.." He sighed silently and tried pulling together his clone one more time. Maybe having someone watching would be enough pressure for him to get it right. "Bunshin no Jutsu!" *POOF* … Beside him stood two very mediocre clones. They were both saggy, transparent dolls - but there were two of them! Hah! Jun smirked slightly. At least he'd managed to make more than one… but they still sucked. Sighing, he hung his head and sat down. "Whyyyy do I have to be good at clones???!!!"
Katsumi tilted her head as she came to pause beside Jun, and watched as he brought two clones into formation. They weren't perfect by any means, but at least he'd managed to make them! "Hey, that turned out well! But remember what Masashi-sensei said?" She eyed him, for a moment, one side of her mouth curling in a smile. She knew that Jun didn't really like listening to authorities all that often. But, alas, he'd had to do it some day. "Take what you just used to make two, and try to focus it into one. I'm sure you'll get it, then!" She always seemed to be his cheerleader, didn't she?
Jun chewed his lip contemplatively. Yeah, sure, that /sounded/ like it might work. But it was a lot harder in practice. "Yeah, I guess," he says, getting up again. Closing his eyes, he focused his chakra once more. 'Come on… Come on…' He tried channeling his chakra again, this time releasing as much as he could into forming that one clone. With a burst of chakra, Jun managed to create the one he had intended - upright, solid looking, and boasting a cocky pose of success. "Hah! Look at me, I did it!" the two Jun's exclaimed, giving each other a high five. Yeah, it was only one clone. But it was a fluffy good one.
Unable to keep herself from rolling her eyes, Katsumi still kept that little smile while she shook her head. 'Well, he got one,' she snickered inwardly, her hands going to her hips as she raised a brow. "Well, congratulations, Jun, but you still have to be able to make three. So don't get too cocky." Leave it to her to deflate an inflated ego. But he had to keep his focus, if he was going to graduate - especially if he was going to try joining Masashi-sensei's team. "Can you keep that one, and do it again? Make two that way?"
Shinjiro walks softly onto the training ground with a slight limp nagging at his steps when he spots Katsumi and the Juns. He watches for a moment before continuing on, propping himself against a nearby tree to watch the show already in progress.
Jun frowned at Katsumi with a slightly annoyed tick on his brow. "Hey, why can't you be happy I made one? Sheesh!" Grumbling, Jun sighed and focused his energies on building up his chakra. It seemed like the more he used, the better his results were. He kept building even after he had the last time, until he could feel his skin tingling with an almost electric buzz. "Bunshin no Jutsu!" *POOF* … Aha! Two more! Three clones stood proudly for a moment before the first one poofed into a cloud of smoke, leaving just the newest two standing beside him. Well, it was certainly a start.
There was a shadow of annoyance that flitted through Katsumi's eyes, when Jun asked why she couldn't just be happy for him. Hadn't she given him a congratulations? It wasn't her fault that she couldn't feel the need to jump for joy at his success. He needed to get pushed. She wasn't going to baby him with 'that was a good effort' phrase every time, anymore. "That was good," she said, and gave a mild grin. "Looks like you're getting it figured out. You should have three at once in no time."
There was a pause and Katsumi looked around to see who was around. Her eyes landed on a familiar shape, and with a slight narrowing of her gaze the girl recognised one of her other old classmates - and potential teammate. "Hey, Shinji-san!" She waved her arm in a hello, idly inviting him to come over before she turned her attention back to Jun. "Try again! Go for all three at once. I know you can do it, you're so close already."
Shinjiro smiles at the invitation and walks over, grimacing slightly as he goes, and stops a few feet away, "Hey there. Hows it goin guys? Clone training? Thats cool." He says in a tone somehow wreathed in sarcasm and genuine interest. Despite his limping there are no obvious signs of injury, though that could also just be his robes covering something up. But if anything he looks more tired than hurt.
At the sight of another of their graduated classmates, Jun scowled. Why couldn't he have been good at this like everyone else? He could feel the sting of their stares, whether or not they were actually condescending. Releasing a hot breath, Jun could feel his face flushing. He clasped his hands in a seal and gathered up a surge of angry chakra. Whether it was his heightened emotional state or his desire not to look like a dumb-cake in front of his peers, he somehow managed to pull it off. When he activated his jutsu, there were not three, but six passable clones surrounding the immediate area. Looking around himself, Jun blanched slightly. 'Wow,' he thought. Had he really done that..?
Why Jun seemed to always get angry whenever Katsumi brought around another friend, Katsumi couldn't quite figure it out. Maybe it was because Shinjiro had also been in their class, and he was started to feel vulnerable? Jealousy did funny things to people, their minds, and their energy. Even Jun's face seemed red. When the rush of chakra flowed out, and the six clones had appeared all around them, Katsumi felt her grin turn into a smirk - and it grew wide as she counted the Juns he had formed. "Well. There you go," she said simply, her brow lifting with a small giggle as she looked to her friend.
"He's about to graduate," she said to Shinjiro. "I'm hoping Masashi-sensei will let him onto his team." She didn't want to say why, though it was as simple as already having a friendship. At least, that what she told herself.
It was at that point that Katsumi caught herself frowning, and looked Shinji up and down with a spot of concern in her eyes. "Hey… What happened? You don't seem quite like yourself, today, Shinji-san. Don't think I didn't notice the limp…"
Shinjiro looks slightly surprised by the sudden clonesplosion, blinking at them a few times before letting out a chuckle, "Good job! Pull that off for the exam and you'll pass no problem." He says with a smile before looking to Katsumi, "Just remnants of a couple days of training, I'll be fine." He looks back to Jun, though which one is anybody's guess, "I'm sure Masashi-sensei will be happy to have him."
After a moment or two had passed, Jun's clones all poofed away and he collapsed to sit with a low sigh of relief. Well, at least now he knew the trick to getting his jutsu to work. Clone training, complete. Now he just occupied himself with inspecting the other male, and the limp Katsumi seemed to talking about. Honestly, he hadn't noticed. Then again, he wasn't the most perceptive individual.
Katsumi's brow raised up again with curiosity at Shinji's explanation. "Training..? What sort of training?" It probably wasn't anything that she would be able to do. After all, Shinjiro was a Hyuuga, and their jutsu wasn't like her own. Though she had come to the conclusion earlier that he would be a great person to help her practice her taijutsu.
With a glance back to Jun as he sat with a sigh, she smiled slightly and nodded. She was pretty sure that Masashi would be willing to give him a chance, at the very least. "I think we'd make a good team," she said, more absently to herself than to anyone else.
Shinjiro grins mischievously, "Special training out in the woods! Took me about two straight days to finally get it down proper. And I guess I could tell you…..Buuuuut then again, I think it'd be more fun to keep you in suspense and make you guess for my amusement!" He lets out an over-dramatic evil laugh at his pettiness.
Jun rolled his eyes slightly. Those Hyuuga people were always so secretive about their training, but he didn't have to be a dick about it. "Bet I could do your training easy," he says, his eyes sharpening on the other boy. "Just try me." He knew that Katsumi would likely end up lecturing him later about being competitive, but whatever. He was on a high, and he wasn't in the mood to be knocked down.
She had been about to say something witty, her eyes alight with humour, when Jun had interjected. Honestly, the nerve of the boy. Did he always have to try and prove that he was better than everyone else? "Jun… What are you doing..?" she whispered to him adamantly. Then she looked back to Shinji and offered a somewhat nervous and apologetic smile. "Well, whatever it was.. I hope you feel back to 100, soon."
Shinjiro gives Jun a cocky smirk, "All right drop out, lets put that to the test." He motions for the pair to follow him as he walks over to a tree, stopping in front of it, "If you can get to the top of this tree you win." He holds up a finger, "But. There's one catch." He looks back, "You need to climb it without jumping or using your hands." He looks back to Katsumi,"Thanks Katsumi-chan. I'll be fine, just need to not sit on my right side for a few days. And catch up on sleep. And food. After that I'll be just fine." He says with a chuckle.
Jun gave Shinjiro a blank expression. Was he joking? "What, do you think I'm an idiot?" he said, smirking and crossing his arms. "That's not even possible! If you can prove it to me right now, then /maybe/ we'll talk. But don't go around making stupid challenges!"
Katsumi blinked. It was situations like this that caused the girl to cringe. Of /course/ it was possible to run up a tree. All you had to do was focus chakra at the bottom of your feet, and go. Not that she had tried it herself, but she had seen it done quite a few times by Genin and Chuunin alike in the training grounds. "Jun.. You need to shut up…" she said slowly, her tone giving him a subtle warning that he was going to be barking up a bad tree if he didn't reel in his ego.
Shinjiro grins mischievously and puts a foot against the trunk of the tree, "Watch and learn, drop out." He's clearly goading Jun at this point. He lifts his other leg…and doesn't fall, his foot on the tree trunk supporting his weight at a ninety degree angle. He puts the other leg on the trunk and starts casually walking up the trunk as though he were just walking down a road like normal, limp and all. He gets about ten feet up and looks back down, "Well? Just going to stand there drop out? Or are you gonna ace my training?" He says in a tone almost literally dripping with smugness.
Jun couldn't help his mouth from dropping open when he saw the boy walking up the side of the tree. He could feel his face getting red and hot. 'Me and my big mouth,' he thought, clenching his fists at his sides. Well, now he had no choice. "Quit calling me 'drop out'," he barks at Shinjiro, stomping toward one of the adjacent trees and stopping to look up the trunk contemplatively. 'Just pretend you know what you're doing,' he said to himself, nodding assuredly. He was sure he could figure this out. Since his feet were sticking to the wood… He just needed to push his chakra out of his feet! Taking a moment to focus, Jun channeled his competitive energy as est he could. He could feel his feet humming with chakra. Lifting one foot as high as he could, he placed it against the trunk. He felt solid contact, and smirked - before the wood splintered into a deep crater and vaulted him backwards nearly fifteen feet before dropping him on the ground with a hard thud. "ACK!" he shouted, coughing a little as he tried to regain the breath that had been knocked from his lungs. "Mix it!"
Once Shinjiro has started tree walking, Katsumi let her eyes list to the side and knew the moment Jun had wished that he'd listened to her. But, knowing her friend, she had no doubts at all that he would still try and prove himself to the Hyuuga. Even if it made him even more dumb to do so.
Katsumi watched as Jun went to a tree beside Shinji's and brought a hand up to her mouth, nervously biting her nails. She knew that Jun had plenty of chakra, and that so long as he put his mind to it he could do almost anything. But… she wasn't so sure he had the restraint and control for this just yet. 'Come on, Jun..' she thought. As he lifted his foot and placed it to the trunk, Katsumi felt her eyes light up for just a second. Maybe he could do it!
But then he flew back and hit the ground hard, no doubt knocking the wind out of him. "Jun!" Quickly she went over to him, putting her hands on her knees to look him over but still giving him some space. "Are you okay!?" While a part of her wanted to laugh, she really didn't think Jun's pride would be able to handle it.
Shinjiro's eyes go wide as Jun goes flying, "Hey! You ok?" He shouts down, sounding genuinely concerned. He run/limps down the tree and hops off near the base as he hurries over to Jun, stopping a few yards away, "Hey? Are you alright?…..Want some advice?"
Jun sits up slowly with a wince and a groan, rubbing the back of his head shamefacedly. " 'mfine," he mutters almost inaudibly, his gaze purposefully aimed away from the both of them. That had been an utter failure on all counts. As much as he hated to admit his deafeat, he couldn't stand that Shinjiro knew something he didn't. "What," he says a little spitefully, shooting a sideways glare at the Hyuuga. "Go ahead, tell me everything I did wrong. Since you're obviously so much better than I am." Yeah, he was bitter.
Katsumi knew that Jun hated failure. That's why he was always so hard on himself, and she couldn't really be angry with him for trying to do things that other people told him he couldn't. Being told he'd fail was a good way to fuel the Uzumaki. It was one of the reasons Katsumi liked him - even if he didn't manage a challenge. When Jun sat up, Katsumi straightened to stand over him and put a hand on her hip with a slight and lop-sided smile. Shinjiro was going to be good for him…
Shinjiro smiles peacefully and walks over to Jun, offering his hand to help him up, "Come on. I'll walk you through it." He says patiently, "Dont feel to bad. I dont think anybody gets it the first try. I know I sure didint."
Now that Shinjiro had lost the snarky attitude, Jun's anger lessened slightly - but he wouldn't too easily forget that just moments ago, he was being called a drop out and patronized like no tomorrow. "Fine, just tell me how you did it.. I'll get it in no time, believe it." He stood up a little rickety, but quickly regained his balance and dusted off his pants. Crossing his arms, he looked at the other boy stubbornly. "Well?"
Shinjiro nods and starts walking over to the tree Jun used, gesturing for the pair to follow. When he gets up to it he points down at the splintered bark, "See this? This is what happens when you try to go full force. See, using chakra to stay balanced isint just about pouring more and more power into it, its about finding the exact amount you need and then maintaining it. Think of it like maintaining a fire. If you overcharge it then the fire burns out of control. But if you dont give it enough to fuel it then the fire will burn out. But if you do it just right…" He steps onto the trunk and walks a few feet up, "Then the fire will keep you warm and cook your food exactly the way you want it to." He says with a smile before hopping off.
Jun watches the Hyuuga work with a slowly falling face. Controlling his chakra was not his strong suit. At all. Sighing, he figured he might as well try. Focusing, he manages to charge just a /little/ bit of chakra… stepping up onto the trunk and sliding right down. "Whip it! It won't stick!" he grumbles, pulling at his hair with frustration. Maintaining wasn't his strong suit, either. How would he ever get this?
With how Shinjiro explained the process, Katsumi gave a subtle nod to herself and approached the tree Shinjiro had used previously. With a slow inhale she focused her chakra to the soles of her feet, pressing one foot to the trunk and testing to see how well it would hold. It started sliding a little bit, but then stopped just as her heel started to lift.
With a little more focus, Katsumi lifted her other foot to the tree and took a wavering step - followed by a second, and a third. After step number three, however, she started to slide back down the bark. Rather than landing flat on her back, she decided to just press off and land on her feet with a look to the two boys.
Shinjiro gives Jun a pat on the shoulder, "Dont get discouraged. You've only tried twice. Remember how long I said it took me? Two full days. This isint something you've gotta get today, or even tomorrow. Just keep practicing and you'll get it no problem, I'm sure of it." He grins, "And here's a potential motivator. Just think of how impressed your instructors will be, and how envious your classmates will be, when the see you pulling this off. You'll be the talk of the academy." He watches Katsumi out of the corner of his murky eye and gives her a smile and a nod as she looks over, "Good first try, far better than mine. Just give it a little more power, I'd say…..about seventeen percent more should do." He says like calculating chakra usage in your head is a simple thing.
Jun shrugs off the boy's hand, frowning slightly. He didn't feel like being patronized about it. "Yeah, well, I shouldn't even still BE in the Academy… I'm past my time already, frost all those people that are still in class with me.." He scowled and huffed a bit. "… Sorry… Whatever…"
Katsumi smiled a bit and nodded when Shinji told her she'd done well for a first. Though how she was going to calculate a seventeen percent increase in chakra release was going to be a tricky endeavour. Oh well, though. It gave her something else to train on and perfect. And hey, maybe it would give her an in to train with the pair of them again, sometime soon. "Thanks, Shinjiro-san. Maybe I'll have it down in less time than you!" Then again, she knew that there was always a chance that it would take her longer. She sometimes lost her focus on physical training, when her studies piled up. But anything that dealt with chakra, Katsumi wanted to be a master. Kind of like a Hyuuga was.Your log goes here.
