Four moves in half the breath it usually took. Sasuke landed with nary a sound. Measured just enough that his feet didn't crunch the dried leaves around him. His trained eyes caught the shadows of his shuriken and kunai before they vanished into the depths of the canopy.
Solid thunks echoed shortly after.
He would have been proud about it. Should have been. But he knew that the Monster could have done it without so much as thinking. Not enough. Never enough. He needed to do more. Always. In any and every aspect so long as it made him stronger. Yet Sasuke had to hold himself back. His morning routine had already been stretched thin as it were and taking it too far would have made him utterly useless during Academy hours.
Much as he preferred to get actual training to get stronger, he wouldn't be able to do so if he couldn't even graduate from the institution. Which was why he found himself having arrived on his usual time, at his usual seat, with his usual things. A bunch of notebooks. Pencils. History Books about the Warring Clans. Tomatoes. And some Uchiha grown tea leaves.
Graduation was not all that far off, and having partnered up with Daisuke seemed to at least bring some sense of normalcy in his life. He appreciated not being treated like glass. Or weak. Or just another tragic story. The least he could do was actually put in some effort to keep things as they were. Even if that meant dusting out the ancient scrolls that held his family's history before the Villages were established.
And much like every other day, majority of his thoughts were occupied with steps and plans on how to achieve his ambition. His concentration spared just enough to pay sufficient attention to whatever it was Iruka needed done. It was all so very routine. So routine that when he came back to actual awareness, he and Daisuke had arrived at the latter's home during the middle of discussing matters for the final project on history.
Seeing Manami open the door and everything though. Well. Sasuke was pretty sure it was only normal to bring house warming gifts, like those tea leaves, whenever he dropped by.
After all, his Uchiha Pride would allow for nothing less.
Mother has never shied away from buying you things that you need. Or things that you want. Or things that you expressed a small interest in in casual conversation. Or things you've looked at for slightly longer than normal. Or things that she knows you never said you wanted but that you would probably appreciate once you have them. That's why you've got three full sword sharpening kits that you never used- your blade keeps a fine edge without any effort on your part- and why you've got half a dozen hoodie in different styles that you never wear hanging in your closet. It's nice.
But one of the other things that Mother frequently brings home for you is notebooks. Dozens and dozens of notebooks. Your bookshelves are filled with all kinds. You've got handbound notebooks, spiral notebooks, lined paper, lineless paper for sketching out ideas, graph paper for math, and a bunch of other types that you barely know. It's like she doesn't feel she's finished her errands for the day unless she's bringing you home a new notebook.
You asked her once why she keeps bringing them home for you, and her answer was a smile and a shake of the head. "Because," she had said, "you have so many thoughts, my gleam! It would truly be a tragedy for you not to record them!"
That had been enough to guilt you into trying to keep a journal for a few days before you got sick of it and stopped. So besides the ones you use for class, you barely touch your hundreds of notebooks. They sit pristine in your room, waiting for you to find a purpose for them.
At least, they did yesterday. Today they finally have a purpose.
Once you sit down at your desk you start planning and sketching. You write and you scribble for hours, stopping only twice the entire night. Once, to say goodnight to Mother, and again to catch two hours of sleep; all you really need these days after your Achievements have gotten a hold of your motives. But aside from that you write for hour after hour, as the sun sets, the moon rises, and the moon begins to set in turn. You fill up notebook after notebook with record speed as you sketch out ideas, inspect them once they're down on paper, and discard them for either being unfeasible or not impressive enough.
As the sun starts to crack the horizon once more, you have your plan. For Chakra Control, you can work on Tree Walking. They got that down in the manga in like a week, and Naruto's control there was way worse than yours is now. It shouldn't take you long at all. And for your work in math, you've got some ideas involving area calculation and traps that should prove fruitful. As far as your transformation goes, you'll work on getting it down flawlessly; most people just do the look, but if you can get the posture and mannerisms down as well, you'll be a step ahead of the field.
History is going to involve a lot of research on the warring states, but you can outsource parts of it. You're ninety five percent sure you can get Kiba and Goro to do most of it if you let them bring their results to your home so they can gawk at Mother- you fight back an urge to kill with the memory that she finds their teenage crushes hilarious- for a few minutes.
But those are all pretty straight forward. The two subjects that are going to take the lion's share of your time are your ideas for Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. Plainly speaking, your abilities to demonstrate your proficiencies there are pretty lacking. You don't know a single offensive jutsu. Not one. Your only ninjutsu are the Academy Three, and the sole things you can do with genjutsu is the release. That can't stand.
Thankfully, you have ideas. Ones that you can put into practice immediately. And if you're successful, you should be able to combine the principles you've learned from class with your own natural talents into something all your own. It's not going to be easy, but it's something worth doing.
Of the two, you think that your genjutsu is going to take the most time. Ninjutsu can just be blasted out over and over again into an empty field. Sure, you'll need to work on getting them up to snuff with other people once you get the basics down, but you don't need anyone else to work on said basics. But Genjutsu is a completely different fish. The entire point of Genjutsu is to inject a touch of your chakra into someone else's system to change how they're experiencing the world. That's damn hard to do without someone to train with.
No, if you want to work on your Genjutsu, you're going to need a test dummy. Thankfully, if you're reading the sun's position correctly, you should have a volunteer any-
Your hand moves independently of your body, plucking Ino's wake up kunai out of the air with two fingers.
-there we go.
***
"Soooo…" Ino drawls out for a long moment as she glance around at her surroundings. "Want to run this one by me one more time?"
You sigh and rock back on your heels. "Again? This is time we really shouldn't be wasting-"
Ino's pupil less eyes lock onto yours. "Dai, you want to practice an untrained Genjutsu on me. I think that you telling me what you're doing a few extra times is pretty much the least I can ask for."
"Hey," you say, shaking your head. "Did I put up this much of a struggle when you wanted to practice Shintenshin on me?"
"More," she promptly answers. "And I was nice, and patient, and I understood that you may have some concerns about letting me overshadow your spirit even though all I wanted to do was get to work on it. So, chop chop Dai! Make with the explanation!"
You don't have quite the same rosy view on your weeks of playing Body Switch test dummy for her. There is less patient explanation and more "Stand here and don't move!" in your memories. But you guess she does have a point. You did drill her over and over on the ideas behind her jutsu, just to make sure she had them fresh in her mind when she did the technique. And from her point of view that has to seem pretty similar to what she's doing…
...it's exactly what she's doing. Ok, fine. You can wait another few minutes.
You glance around to make sure you're not being observed by anyone else; if this works, you don't want to have to worry about information security. Thankfully you don't see anyone else around. Not that that's a surprise; the Cadet Training Ground is usually deserted before class. It's after class that it tends to fill up, and by then you should be able to find somewhere else to train.
Still, just because the place looks abandoned doesn't mean no one's listening. There's no sense in shouting across the field. You jog the twenty feet over to Ino. "So," you start. "The Genjutsu idea I have is simple. I'm going to put a probe-"
"How?"
"...Ino, you know how Genjutsu works."
"Explain it to me anyway," she insists. "Pretend I've never even heard of it before. I'm a complete newbie. Teach me, Daisuke-sensei!"
You give her a flat look. She responds by clasping her hands and looking up at you with enormous, puppy dog eyes like a student who just wants to learn so badly what their favorite teacher has to tell them. With one more sigh, you give in; you're not convincing her otherwise while she's like this.
"Genjutsu," you begin, "is very different than Ninjutsu. Ninjutsu relies on using chakra to affect change in the physical world. Genjutsu, on the other hand, uses chakra to affect how a target observes the world. Genjutsu can generally be divided up into two type: passive and active. Passive Genjutsu are used on an item or area, imbuing it with the user's chakra and broadcasting the desired effect to anyone who senses the item or object. Active-"
"Tell me more about Passive Genjutsu, sensei!" Ino says, hand raised in the air. "Do you have any examples-"
You poke her in the forehead. She drops her hand and rubs at the spot as she glares at you with a scrunched up face. "Not important," you reply. "And don't interrupt. There will be no questions during this lecture."
"Anyway. Active Genjutsu, on the other hand, are targeted to a specific person. The user sends out a probe of chakra that the target takes in via one of the five senses. Once that probe is taken in the technique blooms into the chosen effect."
"My idea is simple. I'm going to tap my fan against my sword to create a very specific tone. That tone will be the carrier of my probe. The effect will be equally straightforward: inducing vertigo."
Ino raises her hand again. "Alright, why?" she asks, losing the cutesy tone. "There are a few already made Genjutsu that do the same thing. Why make one from scratch?"
"Ah," you reply with a smile on your face. "I was hoping you would ask that. For two reasons. First, because my combat style relies on having my sword in my hand for the most part, so I'll be unable to use too many hand seals. But the second reason is way more interesting. Listen to this."
You produce your fan and unsheathe your sword quickly before tapping the first into the second. "Listen," you reiterate. The steel of the fan hits the chakra-forged steel of your blade, producing a clear note. You do it again to make sure Ino's listening. When she nods, you move slightly and tap a different part of the sword the exact same way. The note is a little bit different.
"The sword is slightly curved," you continue. "So hitting different parts of it creates different notes! Which means that the vertigo is just the start! If I can get this down, I can use the foundation to create different effects just by changing the notes and nothing else! Just by tapping a few times, I could shoot of three or for Genjutsu lightning fast!"
Ino's eyes widen. She gets the implication. If you can reliably create subtly different Genjutsu with minimal effort, you can pretty much control what your opponent is feeling whenever you want, and so control the battlefield!
That's a big if though. This is all theoretical.
Finally, Ino nods. "Alright. Got it. So I'll just stand here and listen. I'll tell you if it works."
You clap her on the shoulder. "Thanks, Ino. You're the best."
"I know it!"
With Ino finally reassured that you know what you're doing you walk back to your position and turn to face your friend. You breathe in, breathe out, and gather your chakra. You've sketched out this jutsu a dozen times in your frenzied planning session, and you think you know just what to do.
You reverse your sword so the blade is facing down and begin, twisting your hands into seals. Hare to gather the chakra. A quick twist has you palming the items as you switch to Monkey, stabilizing your gathered energy into the slightly erratic pattern that Genjutsu calls for. Seals done, you grip your prized possessions carefully and run the chakra through them both. "Yin Release," you hiss. "Tone of Discord."
The fan strikes the blade and the jutsu is created.
It almost surprises you how easily it takes shape. Your energy warps into a slight wave, carried by the pure note of steel on steel right into Ino's ears. You can feel your chakra hook into hers and the jutsu take root. Ino, however, doesn't seem to notice a thing. "Is that it?" she asks after a few moments. "I think it was a-"
And then she tries to take a step and misjudges how far away the ground is. She staggers, and her face meets the dirt.
You can't help it. "Yes!" you roar. "Got it!"
Ino's hands form Ram. "Kai!" she growls.
The jutsu is broken and she hops back up. Thankfully, any anger she might be feeling is overshadowed by how happy you are to get it right! All those notes! All those ideas! They were all worthwhile! "Nice, Dai!" she cheers. "I couldn't even tell until I tried to move!"
"I know!" you enthuse, reserve lost for a moment. You're pretty sure your eyes are sparkling as you stare down at your sword and fan. "It came out way smoother than I thought it would! But…"
"But?"
"It took me two seal and like thirty seconds to use. That's pretty worthless in a fight."
"Then work on it!" she says, patting you on the back. "And you'll get it right!"
"Right," you say with a nod. "Get back into position. I'm going to try again."
She does and you do, striking the same note over and over again. It isn't always successful; it's very reliant on hitting the note perfectly to get the right effect. But as time passes, it motions become more and more familiar.
You're just starting to be satisfied with how Tone of Discord is coming and thinking of what the next note could cause when Ino shakes her head. "No time," she says when you suggest trying the Tone of Blindness next. She points at the sky, where the sun is now fully over the trees. "We've got to get to class."
Damn. She's right. Class should be starting in the next twenty minutes. You should be able to get there right on time if you leave right now.
Then again…
You already know what they're teaching in class right now. It's all review. But this? This is something new, and useful! And you're on a roll right now!
Maybe you could skip class today? They probably won't even notice you're gone. You can let Ino work on her Clan Jutsu that require an active target, you can get your tones down, and you get to avoid people squabbling for once.
It's not like you'll make a habit of it… or should you? There're a lot of hours in the day that get taken up by the Academy, and you're not getting much out of any of them anymore.
Decisions, decisions.
Do you decide to skip class?
[] Yes, you'll skip class today, but you won't go habitual. There're still people to see and things to learn in the Academy that you won't get on your own.
[] Yes, you'll skip class and you're going to make a habit of it! If you want to be the best you can, you need time to focus on yourself.
[] No, you'll pack up and head to class right now. You haven't missed a day yet and you're not starting now!
[] Write-In (Tag @Vesvius for Approval)
--------------
A follow up to one of the last ones. Kiba has been gawking at Daisuke's Mom for long enough without suffering the consequences. Daisuke decides it's time to show him how it feels. Kiba's got a hot older sister after all: how will the Inzukua react when Daisuke decides to bring her flowers?
Daisuke needed a sparring partner for his Kenjutsu and convinced Ino to take up the sword. But how did Ino get her weapon? And how did her Daddy take the change?
Daisuke's first exposure to Lee involved the scratch of notes being taken and the feeling of eyes on him when he was training.
Hazakura Yui loves nothing as much as she loves Kawarimi no Jutsu. But why does she love the substitution technique so much?
This isn't Ino's first time working on Jutsu with Daisuke, but usually the shoe is on the other foot. It wasn't long ago that Ino first used Shintenshin no Jutsu on her best friend. How did that go?
Jabari and Daisuke like all of their friends very much, but every once in a while they just need bro time.
In Academy Class 7-C, everyone knows that Manners Maketh Man. And if they forget, then Hazakura Yui and Satomura Daisuke are more than happy to remind them. No one wants to get on the bad side of the self-appointed Public Morals Committee!
You couldn't leave this comment alone. It somehow stuck with you over the whole day.
The sun already gone, sitting cross-legged in your backyard, you knew you wouldn't be able to sleep without resolving something.
What bothered you the most was the fact that this was true.
Despite your skills and prowess, you became something of a one-trick-pony, beating your competition with overwhelming force. This just simply wouldn't do.
Slowly an idea was forming, you were … limited … in your techniques.
As long as you were an academy student chances to change that would be slim.
But maybe the root of your problem, the reason why you couldn't sleep, might actually be the solution, too.
Yui pushed the Kawarimi no Jutsu well past its usual limitations and proved a broader use even for the Academy Three in the hands of someone dedicated.
In a lecture a few weeks back Sensei Iruka tried to prove, that with the right dedication to chakra control nothing could be impossible.
Pointing out that with just his masterful control the Yondaime was able to create his famously devastating Rasengan. This wasn't however what got your attention.
It was his little side note about Shape Manipulation.
To quote: Shape transformation is an advanced form of chakra control that involves changing the form and movement of chakra, determining the size, range, and purpose of a technique.
Even with his above average sense he could tell, that his control despite his healthy reserves was well above that of his peers, notable exceptions notwithstanding.
Flashing through the hand-seals for the Bunshin, channeling the perfect amount of chakra he saw his creation instantly take form.
Even with the perfect visuals and the lack of sunlight the fact that it was just a Bunshin was instantly recognizable. He couldn't help the frown.
Even the most exhausted genin would be able to tell the difference in a split-second.
The technique was too obvious, the surprise factor almost non-existent. This he had to change.
His opponent shouldn't be able to see his technique coming until it's too late.
… determining the size, range, and purpose of a technique.
He closed his eyes. Concentrating, his chakra was ready like a sword in its sheath, waiting to be drawn forth.
He started the same hand-seals slower, more careful, visualizing the path of his chakra and its destination.
There, opening his eyes he saw no difference yet , but he felt his technique take effect.
Slowly he raised his right hand or to be more accurate his right hands.
Following the first hand were two more hands in perfect sync.
Standing up he stepped towards one of his trusty dummies.
Concentrating, yes, the jutsu was still active. He threw a simple straight-forward punch and smiled.
Three identical fists struck against the wood with just one small indentation visible.
It's one thing to react to a Bunshin you can see from a mile away. It's something entirely different when a fist heading for your face suddenly gets company.
One second, one second of indecision is all it takes in Tai- and Kenjutsu to decide your fate.
Thanks, to Ino, Daisuke now understood why Sasuke was so eager to offer his assistance in his research project. And to be fair, his help had been invaluable. Sasuke knew a lot about the Uchiha's pre-village history, and even (though he was clearly slightly biased) about the Senju and the Hyuga.
Still, he was a bit annoyed with him.
Not pissed or angry, not really. He had to admit (reluctantly) that Sasuke was not doing anything REALLY wrong or inappropriate, and his mother was clearly fine with it.
She even seemed amused by his schoolmate's reaction if the way she sometime teased them proved anything.
Really, Daisuke had no logical reason to want to get back to Sasuke...
"Here's a few treats boys" Manami Satomura interrupted their research session, bringing with her a tray with tea and biscuits "you do need to take a break. It's been hours since you started!" she added.
"Thank you Miss Satomura" Sasuke replied, taking the tray from her, his hands slightly (was it on purpose?) brushing hers.
...but on second though, it would probably make him feel better anyway. That was surely reason enough, was it not?
"thank you mother" Daisuke replied, expression only slightly betraying his annoyance (was his mother smirking at him?) "we'll take a break then."
Maybe during this break Daisuke would come up with a good way to get back to his classmate. Nothing too harsh of course...
"You know" Daisuke started once they had finished for the day "i really have to thank you for your help, Sasuke. You could have used your time to train more, and instead you were so forthcoming in offering your help. I didn't even have to ask!"
Sasuke turned his eyes aside (was that a slight blush?), before answering, voice a bit hesitant "it was nothing... it was actually nice to share these stories."
He then turned his gaze back to him before adding with a stronger, more confident and even slightly arrogant voice "i certainly could not risk you underestimating the importance on the Uchiha clan in your paper after all"
..nah, he deserves it. Let's proceed with the plan.
"Still" Daisuke continued "i feel like i have to make it up to you. So i wanted to offer you something"
Sasuke was now curious, and also slightly embarassed "and what would that be?"
"well, you see, My Taijutsu master has recently taken a genin team for himself, but i still go to train with them from time to time. And i was thinking" Daisuke said, forcing himself to keep an evil smirk out of his face "that you might be interested in sparring with his genin, maybe even try their training routine. If you're (un)lucky you might even get a new rival out of it..."
Four moves in half the breath it usually took. Sasuke landed with nary a sound. Measured just enough that his feet didn't crunch the dried leaves around him. His trained eyes caught the shadows of his shuriken and kunai before they vanished into the depths of the canopy.
Solid thunks echoed shortly after.
He would have been proud about it. Should have been. But he knew that the Monster could have done it without so much as thinking. Not enough. Never enough. He needed to do more. Always. In any and every aspect so long as it made him stronger. Yet Sasuke had to hold himself back. His morning routine had already been stretched thin as it were and taking it too far would have made him utterly useless during Academy hours.
Much as he preferred to get actual training to get stronger, he wouldn't be able to do so if he couldn't even graduate from the institution. Which was why he found himself having arrived on his usual time, at his usual seat, with his usual things. A bunch of notebooks. Pencils. History Books about the Warring Clans. Tomatoes. And some Uchiha grown tea leaves.
Graduation was not all that far off, and having partnered up with Daisuke seemed to at least bring some sense of normalcy in his life. He appreciated not being treated like glass. Or weak. Or just another tragic story. The least he could do was actually put in some effort to keep things as they were. Even if that meant dusting out the ancient scrolls that held his family's history before the Villages were established.
And much like every other day, majority of his thoughts were occupied with steps and plans on how to achieve his ambition. His concentration spared just enough to pay sufficient attention to whatever it was Iruka needed done. It was all so very routine. So routine that when he came back to actual awareness, he and Daisuke had arrived at the latter's home during the middle of discussing matters for the final project on history.
Seeing Manami open the door and everything though. Well. Sasuke was pretty sure it was only normal to bring house warming gifts, like those tea leaves, whenever he dropped by.
After all, his Uchiha Pride would allow for nothing less.
[X] No, you'll pack up and head to class right now. You haven't missed a day yet and you're not starting now! Besides, you can work on more genjutsu during lunch.
I don't even know what this write-in is asking for. Are you trying to hang out with Naruto while you ditch? Will you be heading to class, checking for Naruto, and then leaving if he's not there? Either way, doesn't fit with the story thus far. Rejected.
[X] See if you can get your teachers for approval to work on this instead of reviewing old stuff. Prove you know it already, if you have to! (Tag @Vesvius for Approval)
Memories of the Champion Long ago, in a world far away that was nothing like this one, there was a man with a laid back attitude, a dream, and a hell of a leather jacket. We remember him.
Unlock Condition: ???
Reward: ???
Status: LOCKED
[X] Yes, you'll skip class today, but you won't go habitual. There're still people to see and things to learn in the Academy that you won't get on your own.
