target practice

Jason had been accustomed to using a bow since he was five years old. He as one of the very few shinobi archers. It was actually really rare for a ninja to use a bow. Actually, even though Jason's father had given him a special bow for graduating the Academy, he hadn't had much opportunity to practice with it. Today he planned on going to the forest and honing his skills. He grabbed all his equipment, tied on his Leaf headband and then headed straight to the forest. His friend Nami found him halfway there, sensing his intentions through their link. They arrived at the training grounds full of energy, excited to train. When they arrived, Jason immediately started setting up targets in different positions for him to hit with his arrows. Once all the targets were set up he pulled out his bow and knocked an arrow. He aimed at a target ten meters away up above on a tree. Pulling back the string he took a deep breath and steadied himself, ready to let the arrow fly. He released the arrow with a twang of is bowstring and the arrow flew true, hitting its mark in the center of the target. Good, he could still hit his targets without effort. He pulled out another arrow and knocked it, this time aiming at a target on the ground eight meters away. Again, he let the arrow fly. He didn't wait to see if it hit its mark but turned around dropping to one knee and knocking another arrow. He paused just quick enough for him to make sure his aim was true before letting this arrow fly as well. He heard two thuds one after the other and knew his arrows hit. He stood up and checked that arrows hit the center of their respective targets. They had. Jason let a grin spread across his face. He had only just begun training but he was glad to see he could perform his easiest maneuvers with no issue. Now he wanted to try hitting two targets at once. He turned toward two targets a foot apart and twelve meters away from Jason. He grabbed two arrows from his quiver and knocked them both, aiming at the targets. It had been a while since he had done this particular trick so he was worried that he wouldn't be able to do it. If he happened to miss he would just knock two more arrows and try it again and again until he was able to hit it. Jason pulled back on the string, took a deep breath and loosed the arrows. Both missed their target by at least a foot. That didn't bother Jason. He knew there was a good chance he might miss. It just made him more convinced that the training he was doing with his bow was much needed. He had really gotten rusty not using it for so long. Jason knocked two more arrows and aimed at the targets again. Once again his arrows missed their mark. They weren't as far off this time. The arrows missed by only a few inches, actually grazing the edges of the targets. He was getting closer to his two arrow attack. Jason took a deep breath and once again knocked two arrows. He pulled back on the bowstring and released. Finally, he had hit his targets. He needed to try it again. He turned to another pair of targets and aimed two arrows at them. Holding the arrows pointed at the targets, Jason searched for his next target, planning to hit it right after the first two. He found one behind him and loosed his arrows at the first targets then turned and fired another arrow at the target behind him. Jason took a quick look around and saw that the three arrows all hit the center of their respective targets. The longer Jason held his bow the more his skills came back to him. It was so easy for him to get back his archery skills. One after another Jason shot, arrow after arrow hitting its mark. Sometimes two sometimes three at a time. Every single one hitting its target without fail. Jason continued for another two hours before stopping to retrieve all of his arrows. Once he had them all tucked back in his quiver he decided it was time to test his close quarters skills. He sat down underneath a large tree and began to meditate, trying to plan how best to test his abilities. He could sense Nami watching him from a branch in the tree above. She seemed amused at his attempt to train. He decided to ignore her and continue on with his meditating. In order to practice his close quarters combat he needed an opponent. Obviously he would use his shadow clones for this. He could practice different maneuvers such as blocking and countering with his bow, maybe pull an arrow from his quiver and use it to stab at an opponent. He needed to know how much time it would take him to shoot and arrow at an opponent right in front of him. It wouldn't do him much good to be in an actual battle only to find out he couldn't hit an enemy right in front of his face or get blindsided because he overestimated his skills. It was important that he have a realistic idea of his abilities so he didn't do anything foolish and get himself injured or killed by trying something he wasn't sure he could do. Sure Jason could imagine himself in battle with an enemy but controlled imaginary situations and real time battle conditions are completely different. Still, he wanted to make a mental note of what he could do, or what he thought he could do, before actually trying them. He knew at least his reaction time was above average and he could hit up to three targets at once, within reason of course. Could he also hit one target with three arrows at close range? Maybe that was asking too much of himself. Jason remembered back when he had first chosen the bow as his main weapon. His father had urged him to choose another as it was impractical to try and fight another shinobi in close range with a bow. Jason had refused, his heart being set on mastering archery and proving himself capable of holding his own in a fight with his favorite weapon. He had practiced every day to get better. He wasn't very good at first of course but his quick progress soon rendered his father's concerns irrelevant. Recalling these events put a smile on Jason's face. He was an odd shinobi. Most ninja focused themselves either with ninjutsu or taijutsu but Jason liked to think his ay to victory. He was more of an out of the box distance kind of fighter. He liked to stay back and assess the situation rather than be up close and personal with the enemy. Of course he still needed to be able to defend himself in close quarters, which is why he was practicing with his bow. Mentally shaking himself, he focused now back on his training at hand. If he was going to get anywhere he needed to start by making a shadow clone to practice against.
Jason opened his eyes and stood up. He performed the clone seal and created one clone. In order to be realistic he instructed the clone to use anything he wanted in the fight except a bow. Since he would most likely be fighting against other shinobi who didn't use a bow but relied on their close quarters combat and jutsu skills that is what he wanted to practice against at the moment. He would practice archer against archer later if he had the time. This would be more difficult than shooting stationary targets. He only had forty five arrows so he had to make sure he used them strategically and didn't run out. Of course his bow had the ability for him to channel his chakra into and arrow but it was his secret weapon. Jason and his clone looked at each other for a few minutes, both eager to start the fight. Suddenly Jason shot an arrow right at the clone's head. The clone pulled out a kunai and deflected the arrow, then charged straight toward Jason. He slashed at Jason with the kunai in his right hand. Jason blocked the kunai with the bow in his left hand and grabbed an arrow from his quiver with his right. At the same time the clone grabbed a kunai with his left hand. Jason moved to stab the clone in the eye with the arrow but it was cut in half by the clone's second kunai. Jason knocked the clone back and dashed up in to the tree tops, shooting two more arrows at the clone. That meant he had forty one arrows left. He had to be careful not to use all of his arrows too quickly or this wouldn't be much of a fight. He called Nami with his mind and asked her to locate his clone for him. She did as he asked and Jason knocked an arrow. He followed Nami's directions to where the clone had disappeared to. He was hiding in some bushes, scanning the area for Jason. They noticed each other at the same time and the clone threw a kunai at him. Jason shot it down with an arrow and immediately knocked two more, shooting them at the clone. It looked like the arrows hit and then there was a puff of smoke. The clone had substituted with an exploding tag.
"Shit." Jason said as he jumped back to avoid the explosion and landed in a puddle of water. Just as he landed he realized what the clone had done but it was too late. The water became a sphere around Jason and the clone appeared next to him, his arm attached to the water prison Jason was now trapped in. Pouting about getting captured by his clone, Jason release the shadow clone jutsu and so escaped the water prison. He decided to take a break and eat some food. He always thought clearer with a full stomach.
WC: 1722
Required WC: 2500
1722/2500

Once Jason had some food in him he was able to think more clearly and decided to meditate, thinking about everything that happened in the training battle he had against his shadow clone and how not to be captured like that again. He was glad he had decided to train before using his bow in actual combat or else it would have ended up badly. As it was he didn't see much else he could have done to avoid the water prison. He sat there meditating for about thirty minutes or so before deciding to give up and go shoot some more targets. He wasn't quite ready to spar with a clone again just yet. He opened his eyes, got up from his spot underneath the tree and made his way back to where he had set up the targets earlier. Jason pulled out his bow and knocked an arrow. Taking a deep breathe he aimed at a target twenty meters in front of him. He held the arrow for a second to make sure his aim was true and then released it. It flew straight in to the center of the target with an audible thud. He would knock another arrow and aim for the same spot, intending to split the first arrow in half. He controlled his breathing and released the arrow on his exhale. With a resounding crack the second arrow split the first one and buried itself in the target. Jason didn't stop to admire his shot but immediately turned to face another target, this time knocking two arrows at once. He tilted his bow to the side so that the arrows were resting on the shaft and pulled back on the bowstring. He focused on his breathing, waiting to release the arrows on his exhale. The bowstring twanged and both arrows flew straight at the intended target. They hit the center only an inch apart from each other. He turned around to face another target and this time knocked three arrows. Again he would turn his bow sideways so that the arrows were resting on the shaft. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, centering himself. Jason would open his eyes and pull back on the bowstring, seeing the three arrows hitting their targets clearly in his mind. Once he was ready, Jason would release the string with an audible twang and watch as his arrows flew straight in to the target. The middle arrow hit the center of the target and the other two would hit either side of the first only and inch apart. Jason would take a deep breath and then walk to collect all of his arrows besides the one he had split. Once Jason had collected his arrows he would re position himself so that he could again shoot the targets. This time Jason took note of where all the targets were. He knocked his first arrow and prepared to fire. He would shoot every target in rapid succession. He loosed his first arrow and then turned and shot another and then another without pausing to see if he hit his targets. He already knew he had. He was good at quickly aiming at and hitting specific targets. Still, when he was finished he took a look around to make sure his arrows had hit their mark anyway. He didn't want to be too arrogant. Of course when Jason  checked to see if his arrows were on target he saw that they all hit their mark. He would then walk to all of the targets and collect his arrows once more. Jason decided that he was ready to try fighting against his clone one more time before calling it quits for the day. He would make the Clone Seal and create one shadow clone, ready to fight. They stood facing other, five meters apart. The clone had a kunai in one hand and Jason was holding his bow with an arrow pointed straight at the clone's face. Jason shot the arrow and the lone blocked it with his kunai. Jason shot two more at the clone and then channeled his chakra in to his bow preparing to use a special technique. The clone dodged both arrows and a dense rotating sphere of chakra appeared in his left hand and he began to charge at Jason. Luckily Jason had already formed his chakra in to an arrow so when the clone thrust forward with his rasengan, Jason shot the arrow right at it. The chakra arrow cut right through the clone's jutsu and hit him in the chest, dispelling the shadow clone in a cloud of smoke. Jason had gotten his payback for losing to the shadow clone earlier and was now ready to call it a night. He gathered all of his arrows and then left the forest and headed home.
WC: 813
Required WC: 2500
1722+813 = 2535
2535/2500 Claiming Senju Robin Hoodism skill and 12 stats

Approved