Academy Days [TRAINING]

Jutsu: Clone Technique
Rank: E
Requirement: 500 Words

After weeks and weeks of jutsu theories and multiple lectures on how the chakra is used, they were finally being taught their first jutsu! It was the basic of basics - the clone jutsu. Saya was in between being thrilled and being disappointed at learning the craft. While it lacked the flashy-ness of higher leveled jutsus, the fact that it was her first jutsu ever was amazing. She couldn’t keep the excitement from taking over her body. Her weight continually shifted from the back of her feet to the tip of her toes, rocking her back and forth as she stood in the back of the crowd.

”Everyone! Make sure to spread out. At least three to five feet from each other.” Their academy teacher shouted, an exasperated expression pulling at his facial muscles. Students around her chattered and giggled, just as eager to master the technique. Saya wondered if her face was just as bright-eyed with a ridiculous smile despite her usual neutral disposition. She could feel her blood quicken when a series of claps quieted the group.

”You all know the hand sequences, right?”

The dark haired girl wanted to scoff at the question. Of course they did! Anyone that didn’t was clearly not fit to be a shinobi. Her amethyst eyes roamed the familiar faces, trying to see if there was someone who fit that shameful bill. From her position it was a bit hard for her to gage the miniscule changes, but Saya found that along with the elation came with a certain nervousness. The girl next to her began to fidget with the edges of her top while a couple of meters in front of her, the boy began to mumble to himself though it was loud enough for those within his vicinity to hear.

”Alright! Start!” Her sensei’s voice cut through her thoughts, startling her into raising her arms up in a defensive position. Doing so gathered a couple of raised brows before she tried to act smoothly by bringing her hands into the first seal - ram. The transition from ram to snake to tiger was almost seamless. Saya had practiced all of the signs religiously at home. However, it was difficult for her to rearrange the sequences.

She waited with anticipation, eyes firmly closed so that she could feel the slight displacement of air. Unfortunately, as mere seconds passed and there was a distinct lack of sound, Saya cracked open an eyelid and found that everyone else was experiencing the same thing. No one in the room had managed to execute the jutsu. Many were looking around, a mix of relief at not being the only to fail, confusion as to why it didn’t work, and disappointment that they didn’t get it on the first try.

Saya was of the latter. While it was understandable that new and prospective shinobi children couldn’t perform it, the young girl had had an unrealistic expectation of herself. Numerous times had she daydreamed of pulling off the jutsu on her first try. She would have had the attention of her peers and the praise of her teachers. Determined to make the image true Saya set on going through the hand seals once more.

Ram. Snake. Tiger. All in quick succession. However, the end result was still the same. Nothing. There was no change. Pursing her lips Saya went through the motions again. And again. And again. She tried to blitz through the sequence as if it would make any difference. The young girl was not the only one doing the same thing; with a similar fervor her classmates were trying to speed through the signs.

”Sensei!” One student finally threw up their arms and crossed it in front of their chest. ”It’s not working!”

Saya and the rest of the class looked up and waited for a response. Their chunin teacher had a slight grin on his lips, hands on his hips. He was clearly amused by their lack of success. It was as if he had been waiting for their cry for help. Heat spread across her cheeks at the revelation. Embarrassed that she had fallen in with the crowd, Saya listened intently when the teacher began to fire off questions to promote deeper thinking.

”What did you all learn about chakra?” The children didn’t need any more prompting. ”Just doing the seals won’t work if you’re not applying chakra.”

Within seconds there was a distinct pop! reverberating through the air. At the far corner of the room, opposite of where Saya was standing, were two copies of the top student in class. It was a bit obvious that the jutsu wasn’t executed properly as evident of the clone’s state of being. The clone slouched, seemingly tired. Its complexion too was a few shades paler than her classmate.

A sense of competitiveness surged through Saya. Even if someone else achieved the jutsu before her, she was resolute in being the first one to do it perfectly. Blocking off all unnecessary noise she began to concentrate, trying to feel the energy that was within all shinobi. Her breathing evened as Saya looked within herself. It was there - the tendrils of power that would inevitably make her a stronger ninja in the future.

Her hands moved through the seals, this time with purpose. She was conscious of the energy gathering and building throughout her small body. This was it! Her first clone! … Which didn’t appear. There was a tumult of emotions that assaulted her petite frame - anger, dejection, and resentment. Why! It should have worked, she thought with a hiss before trying again and pumping more chakra into the technique.

Poof!

Slouching next to the dark haired student was an exact copy of her, though the clone looked a little worse. Like the successful classmate from earlier, Saya’s duplicate was more pale than her skin tone and it definitely looked haggard. Well, she supposed that it was a start, and as she took stock of her fellow peers a wave of self-satisfaction tingled across her skin. They weren’t faring better than her though a select few (the ones that worked as hard as she did) summoned their clones with similar results.

A thundering clap grabbed the children’s attention. ”Alright everyone! That’s it for today’s lesson.” Some groaned, wanting to practice more, and others sagged in place, probably feeling the drain of using their chakra. ”Go home and get some rest. We’ll continue this practical lesson tomorrow.”

As she collected her belongings the girl knew that the day was far from over. Saya rolled her shoulders and found that she felt the strain beginning to settle over her. Her chakra reserves, despite being small, was still enough to try the jutsu a couple of more times. The moment Saya reached her house and settled in her room, her hands were flying through the seals.

Unfortunately, this attempt yielded no improvements from a couple hours earlier. For the next hour and a half Saya continued to summon clone after clone. Sometimes it seemed better than others, but most of the time she was left with undesirables. In her last try Saya ended up with a “good enough” double. Not perfect but she still had time to improve and master the technique.

WORD COUNT: 1223

Jutsu: Transformation Technique
Rank: E
Requirement: 500 Words

It was the weekend. No academy for another two days and that saddened Saya just a tad bit. Contrary for most children her age she was not missing her fellow classmates, but rather the lectures, practical drills, and theories that the school provided. Call her a nerd or even a teacher’s pet, but learning about the shinobi way was a lot more appealing than kids chattering about the most inane things. Not that she herself wasn’t prone to talking about the weather, how cute the sensei was, or how they’ll be the best ninja once they graduate.

Saya sighed, thinking about how distant she was with her academy peers. While the young girl had some pretty decent conversations with them from time to time, she didn’t feel included in their circle of “friends.” Which was why she was currently standing in the middle of an empty training ground. For a moment Saya scuffed the ground with the end of her sandals before shaking off the loneliness and bringing her hands together to form the seal of the dog.

The academy had already taught the students the clone technique and they had spent quite some time on it. A bit too much time in her opinion, but as every individual had their own learning curves it was deemed an appropriate length. Saya, however, had been itching to start up the next technique - the transformation jutsu. They had only touched upon the topic the day before, wanting the students to get a taste of what they’ll be learning the following week. She, on the other hand, had been frustrated with the limited knowledge.

Impatient and wanting to advance her skills faster, Saya had spent the rest of her day grilling her mother on how the transformation technique worked. She wanted to know how much chakra was needed and if there was some other little quirk needed to make the technique work. As luck would have it her mother didn’t have much advice since it had become second nature to her to use it. The amount of chakra she used was so irrelevant to her that it didn’t help Saya understand the amount needed for her own body to perform the jutsu.

Still, Saya supposed that she managed to collect enough information to try the technique without adult supervision. Performing such a low level jutsu held little to no danger to her. The only thing she could worry about was chakra exhaustion and passing out in the middle of the training field. With such a concern, Saya decided to change her hair color into something bright and eye-catching.

Her hands conformed to the boar and finally the ram. Saya tried to envision herself with a pastel shade - mint green. The chakra that had gathered was pushed to the crown of her head, layering over her dark locks. Did that change her hair color? She quickly pulled out the mirror from her pouch and held it over her frame so that she could see if any changes have occurred.

To her surprise and, as usual, disappointment, there was a distinct bundle of mint green amidst the strands of dark purple hair. She sighed, unconsciously releasing the jutsu. Did she have to pump more chakra for it to change her entire hair? Perhaps she really should have waited until Monday. No! No! No way. Shaking her head and lightly slapping her cheeks, Saya took a deep breath and tried to hype herself up.

”C’mon girl, you gotta get this right.”

Preparing for another attempt at the transformation jutsu, Saya went through the seals and began focusing on spreading the chakra over her dark tresses. It was a bit odd, feeling no change to her appearance but the moment she looked at herself in the small hand-held mirror, it made her feel a bit giddy at her progress. The bundle was larger but the colors clashed horribly, and it made Saya grimace as she continued to gaze at her current predicament.

How was she suppose to make it work? She let out an exasperated sigh before clicking her tongue in irritation; her hold on the jutsu had dissipated. Even though she was only an academy student and her reserves weren’t something to boast about, the young girl didn’t think that pumping more chakra into a simple jutsu was productive.

Flopping on the ground and pulled her knees to her chest Saya tried to identify the problems of the jutsu. Was it the intent? She remembered from the lecture that they had to keep the image or form in mind as they executed the jutsu. Perhaps that was where she messed up. Though Saya was unsure if she imagined the entire length of her hair to be mint green, or kept her thoughts simple and that was why it only colored a section of her hair. That made a lot more sense.

Believing that she identified her problem and feeling more confident, Saya unfolded herself and switched into an “indian style” sitting position. For the next half an hour the Kirihara child continued to attempt the transformation jutsu in full. Whether it was because of chakra issues, her imagination and intent, or something else entirely, the results varied. She let out a frustrated yell and flopped on her back.

What else could have gone wrong? ”One more try. Just one more,” Saya told herself. Her body was beginning to feel heavy from the constant use of chakra and the sun’s rays were beating down on her like an overbearing parent. She remained prone to the ground whilst her hands went through the handseals again. And this time Saya envisioned herself fully with long mint green tresses, pushing and urging her chakra to encapsulate her body.

In her mind she chanted and prayed that the jutsu had worked. Lifting the mirror to her face one last time she was floored to see that the light pastel color hovered against her forehead. Saya bolted into an upright position and pulled the length of her ponytail over her shoulder. It was mint green!

A squeal escaped her. She did it! She did it! The moment she lost concentration, however, the jutsu was cancelled and that left her in a slight confusion. What…? Her expression immediately changed when Saya recalled a piece of information from that week’s last lecture - one had to mentally keep form as they continued to emit chakra. While the piece of information irked her, Saya was glad to have reached her goal for the day. Next time she practiced, she was going to do an entire body transformation.

Pushing herself off the ground and dusting the dirt from her clothes, Saya stretched out before doing the jutsu again. Even if she did it once it didn’t quite guarantee her to do it again on the next try. But… Another squeal of excitement. Her hair, this time, was silvery and blue, and she was going to try her hardest to keep it until she reached her house.

Satisfied with her attempts and practice goals Saya meandered on home. As she walked the long street down towards her destination, regular citizens and other kids her age did double-takes at her passing frame. While she wasn't well-known or a prominent person in the village, she had frequented certain places so many times that her face was recognizable to some. That, and her new hair color seemed to attract attention.

WORD COUNT: 1246

TOTAL WORD COUNT: 1223 + 1246 = 2469
STAT POINTS: 12

CLAIMING: 12 SP + Clone Technique + Transformation Technique

Just to clarify are you looking to claim just the stat points for this topic or the jutsu as well?

Oh! Both the stat points and jutsu. Please and thank you.

Approved; please note in future that you need to state those at the bottom of the topic along with a link to their apps when making a claim

Jutsu: Genjutsu Release + Rope Escape Jutsu
Rank: E
Requirement: 500 Words + 500 Words

It wasn’t long for Saya to begin boasting to her mother about her progress in the academy. She told her mother, on a stormy night, that she had finally perfected the transformation technique. Her voice had been ecstatic as she regaled her tale on how the teacher had complimented her on how detailed she had been. While Saya was usually open with her mother, it was still unusual for the young girl to be so animated.

Rika had laughed, enjoying the rare sight of her daughter being carefree. Her spirited expressions were like a boon the woman. Since she was always working over-time at the hospital and being forced to take the occasional missions out of the village, Saya had to grow up an independent child. And hoping to make it up her absence to her daughter, she said to her, ”Have you learned how to get out of a genjutsu yet?”

Being so out of touch with the on-goings of Saya’s lessons saddened the mother. However, she kept a strained smile and offered her guidance. Even though she wanted something more “normal” to bond over with her offspring, Rika was more than happy to add to her daughter’s skills if only it would increase the chances of her survival in the future. Because there was no doubt that Saya would at least make chunin in her shinobi career.

And if Kumogakure’s current state was any indication of how bad things were, Rika knew that she had to give it her all to make sure that Saya learned all that she could from her. Perhaps it was time to start pushing and training her whenever possible.

”No, we haven’t. We’re spending a bit more time on the transformation technique, and I think we’ll start the substitution technique after.” Saya paused in shoving a morsel of meat into her mouth, curiosity in her eyes. ”Why do you ask?”

The girl’s question was only met with a coy smile and a teasing chuckle. Saya frowned when her mother simply informed her that she was to return home right after the academy.

And that was how Saya currently found herself in the middle of an empty training field the following day. It was small so she supposed they weren’t going to do anything strenuous, especially since they were only working with genjutsu and trying to get out of it. Saya shifted her weight from one foot to the other, not sure how feel about her mother partaking in her shinobi training. On one hand, she was thrilled, but she was also afraid of disappointing her if she couldn’t get it on the first try.

”You don’t have look so nervous, Saya,” Rika smiled, though it was cute that the girl before her was a bit tense. Her reassurance didn’t help, however, and Saya merely gave a jerky nod. Knowing that nothing else could change Saya’s current position, she decided to start the training. ”Alright then. Do you remember what we talked about earlier?”

Again, another jerky nod. Saya did remember the small lecture that her mother gave the past few days. As her teachers in the academy said (and reinforced by Rika herself), learning new techniques almost always required a bit of researching. One could not execute a jutsu without fully understanding how it works and what the effects were.

”Yes, Kaa-san.” Without any prompting she began to recite the key points of the lecture. ”One must be vigilant in their surroundings, be mindful of things that might seem out of place because it might be genjutsu. Be calm in all situations and disrupt the flow of chakra.”

Her mother nodded. ”Good. Ready?”

Before she could even respond with an answer Saya found herself staring into the empty field, mind a little fuzzy for some reason. Where had her mother gone? Did she already cast the genjutsu? The young girl frowned slightly, continuing to look around before the figure of her mother stepped out of the shade of the trees.

”There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Rika looked exasperated, arms crossed over her chest as she stopped before Saya. ”It’s time to go home, Saya-chan!”

Deep amethyst orbs blinked. Something was telling her that this was odd. There was something wrong here, but Saya couldn’t quite place her finger on it. She tried to recall her day, knowing for sure that she had came to the field to train. Despite remembering that, however, there were pieces of information she was missing.

”Saya-chan!” Her mother’s voice broke her out of her reverie, hand suddenly clasped around her wrist and tugging her in the direction of their home.

Saya followed in a daze, wondering what was going on. While her thoughts were still in a jumble, the moment she broke through the trees the dark haired girl blinked in surprise when her surroundings shifted. In front of her was her mother, an apologetic smile on her lips. It was then that Saya realized what had happened.

Sighing and bringing a palm up to her face, she murmured, ”You could have waited a bit more, Kaa-san. I wasn’t ready at all.”

”Now, now, Saya,” Rika began to admonish her daughter. ”Enemy ninja aren’t just going to cordially wait for you to be ready. The element of surprise and unpredictability is essential to winning a fight.” Saya’s cheeks burned a bright red. Of course. She should have known that. Just because she was with her mother didn’t mean that she could leave her guard down.

”Yes, Kaa-san. I understand.”

For an extended moment Rika regarded her daughter with a critical eye. Saya’s response was subdued, a little concerning but the determination in her eyes told her that she wasn’t one to wallow in failure. Again, without warning she cast the genjutsu on her daughter. It was a fairly low level technique, one that could hardly harm anyone or anything really. Most of the time it was used to scare normal children when they ventured too close to a place they shouldn’t be found in.

A minute passed before Rika canceled the jutsu, bringing Saya back to reality. She gave her a few seconds to gather herself before softly pinching her daughter’s cheek. ”I know what you’re thinking of, young lady, and I need you to know that it’s okay if you don’t get it on the first try.” Her daughter, if anything, expected way too much of herself, especially in her presence.

Saya avoided eye contact, ”I know.” It came out with a bite though unintentional. ”I just... I wasn’t ready again.” Just like her first attempt, Saya had not been aware that she was already pulled into a genjutsu; she simply went with the flow of the world she was put in. That frustrated the child. She had been told to be vigilant, to figure out if she was in a genjutsu.

Her mother nodded, not saying a word. Rika knew that Saya was one who worked it out on her own. And, keeping true to the promise she made with herself, the chunin placed her daughter under another genjutsu. Over and over for the next hour and a half, both mother and daughter continued to consult each other between each “break” that ranged from a minute to ten.

Finally, just as the sun was beginning to descend from the skies, Saya broke from the jutsu. She looked surprised at first before a grin took over her features. ”Kaa-san! I did it!” She tried to keep her voice down to a minimum, but she couldn’t seem to contain her excitement. ”I did it!”

Rika ruffled her daughter’s hair. ”I knew you could do it. Just remember though, that was only a simple genjutsu. You have to keep practicing, and against stronger ones too so we’ll keep this a weekly thing, alright?” Saya nodded eagerly, feeling more at ease now that she was able to break the genjutsu.

Looking at the horizon Rika hummed before turning back to her daughter. ”We still have about an hour or so before night comes. Have you been keeping up on escaping bindings?” The rope escape technique was another essential skill that the academy taught early on, and Rika hoped that her daughter hadn’t neglected it due to learning other jutsus.

The abashed expression on her daughter, however, already told her what she needed to know. Though she wasn’t quite disappointed, the mother felt the need to make sure her daughter remembered the basics. Luckily for her Rika took out a bundle of rope from her weapons pouch. It only extended about six feet but the length was long enough to bound wrists or ankles.

Saya sighed and extended her arms without complaint. ”It’s a little tight, Kaa-san.” Though she was met with a shake of a head, ”It’s suppose to be. Now, try to get out of it.” Rika stepped back and waited.

Her daughter shifted her arms, testing the restraints before executing the technique. It was sloppy and took Saya a bit longer than necessary to escape from. ”I… I could do better,” Saya immediately exclaimed once she saw her mother frown.

”Of course you can,” Rika told her before trying the rope over her daughter’s arms again, this time behind her back so it was more difficult for her to move. ”Like with everything else, you only need to keep up with practicing your techniques. Don’t let them dull.”

Until the sun had fully descended from the now dark sky, Saya was made to escape from various bindings that Rika placed on her. Once she was able to deal with one restraint Rika added another bundle of rope to tie her lower body. It was extremely difficult and tiring, but Saya had to admit that having to relearn the rope escape technique was a nice experience.

WORD COUNT: 1677
STAT POINTS: 8 SP

CLAIMING:
- 8 SP
- Genjutsu Release
- Rope Escape Technique

Approved

Jutsu: Basic Medical Jutsu
Rank: E
Requirement: 500 Words

There was always something about hospitals that chilled Saya to the core. It was meant to be a place of healing and comfort while injured. A warm place, she supposed. However, as the petite academy student entered the establishment, she didn’t find anything remotely reassuring. Though that could simply be because Saya knew that death was and has always been the shadow when miracles failed.

She wasn’t the only human being that felt that way. Many shinobi, as her mother told her, did not feel comfortable in the hospital either. Too sterile. Too white. Too bright. It was possible that the smell of disinfectants and other chemicals didn’t help in making their stay or visit any welcoming either. The acrid scent always made her own nose scrunch up in distaste.

Either way, Saya pushed onward, getting directions to where her mother was stationed. It wasn’t a long walk, merely taking her about ten minutes to reach the back building where prospective nurses and medical ninja go to learn in a practical setting. It was only after they have studied the human body extensively, of course. Saya had not been an exception.

In the weeks before this particular visitation her mother had dumped several scrolls on her lap and told her to study up. Simply knowing the jutsu could only get her so far if she wanted to master the art of being a medical ninja. So, in addition to her academy homework, Saya had to work through learning the terms and body parts as well as trying to advance her chakra control through various exercises.

”Oh, Saya. You’re here?” Her mother’s voice came from behind, forcing the girl to look over her shoulder. ”Good. Let’s start the lesson then.”

Pushing open a pair of double doors with ease both of them strode into the large room. Saya wrinkled her nose at the smell of chemicals before focusing on the arrangement of furniture and medical equipment. Counters and cabinets lined three out of the four walls while the last one had a large blackboard mounted across its length. Multiple desks (she assumed) jutted from the ground and were arranged in a semicircle around two metal beds that were bolted down to the ground.

”What are we doing exactly, Kaa-san?”

As always Rika had a habit of showing rather than responding. The older woman gestured for her daughter to move forward so that Saya could get a better view of what she would be demonstrating to her. On a rectangular pan was a bald rat, motionless and stinking of preservative liquids. Her stomach roiled uncomfortably.

Again, without warning or words, Rika summoned a chakra scalpel and made a swift cut on the back of the dead animal. The incision was only three inches long but it was hardly visible; the tip of the scalpel only slicing two millimeters of the surface of dead skin. ”We will be closing shallow cuts.” Her hand glowed a vibrant green as she passed it over the broken skin, stitching it back together. She glanced at her daughter turned student. ”Did you practice all chakra exercises like I said? It should be easy to control it now.”

Saya nodded, bringing up her hand covering her hand in blue chakra. She knew that medical jutsus were usually green, but it was still a mystery to her. From time to time the young girl had tried to experiment and change the flow of her chakra, to figure out how one goes from blue to green. Unfortunately, Saya hadn’t been able to solve that particular puzzle.

”Yes, Kaa-san. Just...” She titled her head towards Rika’s profile, brows furrowed in thought. ”I tried to make my chakra green, but see, it’s still blue.” Saya waved her hand for emphasis.

”Well, that’s not surprising. You didn’t have a goal in mind, did you?” There was an amused crinkle around her eyes before slashing at their test subject and gesturing Saya to try again. ”What you want to do is think of the wound, feel the want to close it up.”

Her mother continued to speak as she concentrated on switching regular chakra to the comforting green energy. It fluctuated around her palm. Cobalt blue to gray to some kind of contorted hue that was relatively green. ”What you want to do is think of the wound, feel the want to close it up.” A deep breath. Slowly, she closed her eyes and tried to do as her mother said.

In her mind’s eye, Saya pictured the most basic of epithelial cells coming together. And from the cells, she imagined the tissue slowly stitching themselves together. Keeping the images at the forefront, her eyes snapped open and widened when her gaze landed at the chakra surrounding her hand. It was something like a mint green or maybe a soft pastel hue. However, it seemed like it was burning brightly.

Swallowing thickly, the young girl began to move it over the open wound. Her hand shook as she tried to maintain the wholly different chakra. It felt somewhat different than her usual blue. Warmer and comforting yet harder to control. The wrinkly skin fused together bit by bit, and by the end of it there was a light, silvery scar that was barely visible.

Saya felt her body slouch in slight weariness. Healing was quite tiring if one wasn’t used to it. Rika clapped her daughter on the back, laughing, ”Congratulations! You just learned the basics of the medical jutsu.” That had the young academy student beaming. It was no secret that mastering the medical arts was a hard and arduous road. And the fact that she managed to “change” her chakra to that of healing was a large feat for her. A very important accomplishment for child like her.

”That was... easier than expected,” Saya confessed as she tried to summon the green chakra once more to her hands. ”Had it been that easy for you too, Kaa-san?”

To her question, Rika gave a hesitant nod. ”It's a lot more easy for those who read up on what they're trying to do, but other times a lot of shinobi have a really hard time learning it. I suppose it depends on how much you work into it, how you approach the jutsu, and other things.”

Saya nodded, understanding that there are always multiple factors when it came to jutsus and how to learn them.

WORD COUNT: 1088

CLAIMING: 5 SP + Basic Medical Jutsu (E-Rank)