YO THIS ONE'S MINE ♥ solo training

The young girl let out an exasperated sigh as she stared up from her book. She was enjoying the long read, but heard the whimper of the canine at her side. Amethyst eyes peered up from the pages with fine, black ink scribbled on them as she turned her attention to her closest companion. The dark-furred wolf had already acknowledged that it was not her studies that she was tending to, but rather, a vivid imagination and fantasy. Slowly, Nyju stood up and faced the smaller girl, only to nose at her book and release another small whine.

She knew what was expected, and the handsome wolf with obsidian-colored fur and bright eyes was no fool. He remained with her almost at all times, after all. “Fine, Nyju,” Tsukishira groaned as she reached out with a delicate hand to rub the top of the canine’s head and furry ears. The book of fiction would have to wait; she had spent all of her afternoon enthralled with the storyline, enough to not observe that the sun was ready to sink down and hide beyond the horizon.

Folding the corner of the page, as no bookmark was near, Tsukishira closed the book and stood up from the bench -- stretching as she did so. “What was the assignment again, anyways?” she casually asked aloud, which triggered a huff from the black wolf, who turned his gaze towards the stack of papers she had placed her book next to. “Eh, no need to remind me. I remember now. Transformation, was it? Seems fun but hard. Wouldn’t you agree, Niyu?”

No response from the wolf this time, as he hardly seemed to care. Instead, he simply laid back down beside the bench, while staring up at her with lazy eyes. “Nope! You’re going to learn this with me! No sleeping, mister~” Tsuki snapped at the wolf, who grunted in response and begrudgingly stood back up. The lavender-haired girl grinned in approval, and began to read back over the paper, where she had written her notes. Her attempts in class had not gone well, so outside practice would be mandatory if she wished to pass. “Dog, Boar, and Ram are the handsigns… though I don’t think you can really do those,” she mused as she put down the piece of paper.

Luckily, the three handsigns needed were fairly easy ones, where she did not have to worry about the exact positioning of her fingers. With one hand on top of the other, she made out the sign of the dog, followed by the boar, and ended with the ram. The image her head was clear, and before too many seconds passed, poof!

It was no longer Tsukishira standing, but another black wolf, mirroring Nyju as he growled softly, clearly displeased with her transformation. He was the only Nyju, and he did not appreciate their being another, even if it was just Tsuki in the end. “Your turn!” the black wolf said, breaking ‘character’ and using her human voice to speak to her companion. The wolf huffed, and magically, without handsigns, there was another poof! Standing in front of her was no longer Nyju, but a small arctic fox, who glared up at her with bright amber eyes. 

After a few more moments of awkward staring, Tsukishira returned to her original shape, finding relief in not using so much constant chakra. Nyju reverted back as well, with a vaguely relieved expression as he sat down. The lavender-haired girl began to walk back towards the bench, eager to pick back up her book and finish reading a few more pages before the sunlight had completely gone away. However, she paused at a soft, half-bark from Nyju, who gazed at the stack of papers expectantly. There was more to be done that was due tomorrow. Pleasure-reading was not going to be an option for the girl. Nyju was quick to dislike the procrastination, and would continue to pester his companion and charge until she did what was required. Luckily, she merely sighed and went back to her notes.

“Ram, snake, and tiger, this time,” she read aloud. The latter two were weird ones; especially the tiger. She could do them, as they were not complicated, but simply felt strange on the fingers. Doing her best, Tsukishira formed the appropriate hand symbols in their proper order, with the idea of cloning fresh in mind. Instantly, standing right beside her was a carbon copy, with lavender-colored hair, deep purple eyes, a light violet dress, and black and hot pink hoodie with adorable rabbit ears. Nyju once again did not seem to approve of there being more than one of her in the vicinity, but took a few moments to mystically try out his own ninjutsu.

Another split second, and a large black wolf was standing beside Nyju. Yet again, the spirit animal had a mirror image from himself. This time, however, it was not Tsuki, but a complete clone of himself. He gave off a low warning growl as he spotted the other wolf, who mimicked him with his own growling. Displeased with the idea of another wolf being nearby, Nyju lunged at the clone of himself, which disappeared in a poof of smoke the instant the real wolf made rough physical contact with it. 

Curious, Tsukishira poked her own clone with a clawed finger, and watched with a mix of confusion and amusement as the clone dissipated. That was what they would be working on next-- making the clones a bit more solid, and not so easily ‘popped’, like a balloon. “I think this is enough work for the evening, Nyju. Can’t we do the rest tomorrow?” the girl asked, turning to the fluffy canine. The wolf seemed to consider it for a moment, before finally giving his answer by returning to the bench side and lying down. It was too dark to continue reading, but both the girl and her canine companion were exhausted after the long day and brief training session. Tomorrow was always a new day.