I knew you'd show up (p, Jace)

The sun was high in the sky. The training grounds a bit deserted. A few clouds scattered the sky. There was a slight breeze. Ita was wearing a gray t shirt, black pants, black sandals, and his konoha head band strapped to his waist. Attached to the back of his waist were two ninja weapon pouches containing various tools. His black hair was a bit messy and Ita’s facial expression was that of someone waiting for something.
 
It was another typical day for Ita. He hadn’t done much since his encounter with the academy student named ‘Jace’ the other day. Ita closed his eyes and tilted his head back against the tree. Ita wondered if the boy was successful in completing his Genin exam and finally graduating the academy. ‘He must have’, Ita thought to himself. The boy did seem to excel in the few techniques Ita had shown him the other day, and he was fast in doing so.
 

Ita opened his eyes and scanned the training area. Ita was actually in the same spot they had done their training before, right next to a small river. Leaning against the same tree to be exact. Why was he here? He hadn’t done much training. Maybe it was his curiosity. Curiosity for the boy he had meet. For some reason, Ita had hoped he would show up eventually. Maybe companionship was what Ita was looking for. Maybe not. Team nine had been somewhat inactive lately, causing Ita to wonder what they had been up to and why they’ve been too busy to get into contact with him. Ita just figured they weren’t well acquainted enough yet. Ita had never been the type to have ‘friends’. This fact didn’t really bother him though, as he tried to see the positive side of things instead of the negative. Maybe his curiosity for the boundless information which was untold of the shinobi world which kept him going. Regardless of Ita’s loneliness, he seemed to be doing swell as a Genin thus far, accumulating quiet an arsenal of techniques at his disposal. If the Uchiha boy was capable of passing his exam, that would mean Ita and him were of the same rank. Maybe they could train each other? Or Ita could train him for that matter. Seeing as he was a quick learner, Ita wouldn’t mind the extra practice or the company. Maybe they could be like partners in crime? Ita simply continued to wait, hopefully his thoughts were going to be answered eventually.

TWC: 421

Jace had been walking around the village for most of the day so far. He wasn't really searching for anything in particular, just enjoying the nice weather. Once in a while he would stop and close his eyes and let the warmth of the sun wash over his face and feel the soft breeze tousle his messy black hair. The village seemed to be teeming with life. Everywhere Jace looked there were civilians and other shinobi going to and fro, some running errands or making their way back from missions while still others walked through the streets holding the hands of their children. 

Jace was finally a Genin and no longer a student of the Konoha ninja academy. He had passed his exam just the other day and now he was enjoying his day before he started tackling some real training. In the back of his mind he remembered the boy Ita telling him to come find him when he had passed his exam. 'Maybe I will go look for Ita today. That crow clone technique of his was pretty impressive. I bet I could learn a lot from him.' Jace thought to himself as he sat down at his favorite ramen shop in the village. "I'll take one special please." he said to the young girl who was taking his order. He was getting pretty hungry and decided he would eat something before heading out to search for Ita. 

It didn't take long for the big bowl of ramen he had ordered to be placed on the table in front of him. He thanked the waitress and began to dig in immediately after she had left. While he ate, Jace let his mind wander. He was fifteen years old and still hadn't awakened his sharingan yet. It was the legacy of the Uchiha to use their sharingan in battle. He wondered when his would finally activate and whether having his sharingan would help him get over his social awkwardness. It didn't take long for him to finish his food. Letting his mind wander seemed to make the time fly by. Jace paid his bill happily and got up to leave the eatery. 

He made his way through the streets finally heading toward the training fields. It took him maybe twenty minutes to get there from the ramen shop, but Jace didn't mind. He liked walking among the other villagers and seeing how things really were. When Jace arrived at the training field he spotted exactly who he was looking for. In exactly the same spot they had met before, leaning against the same tree, was Ita. Jace quickly made his way over to the other boy and smiled. "Look," he said pointing at his headband, "I passed my genin exam!"
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Ita was beginning to lose hope that the boy may never show up until the outline of a person became apparent to him in the distance walking towards his location. As the person got closer, Ita could tell that it was the Uchiha that he had meet a few days ago. Other than his name and the color of his hair, Ita had actually forgotten what he had looked like for the most part because their acquaintance was somewhat short, but now that the boy was here must mean one thing, that he passed his exam and was now a Genin like himself.
 

Ita’s eyes were fixated on one thing in particular about Jace, and that was the brand new head band he was sporting with pride. Ita gave the boy a smirk as he came closer. Ita watched as the boy pointed to his head band and told him that he passed the exam. Maybe Ita was going to have someone to hang out with after all. Ita spoke, “Nice job, but anyone can pass that exam. Even though we are the still the same rank doesn’t mean nothing. You still haven’t done anything yet.” Ita proclaimed to the boy, not to be rude, to just feel him out and see how he would respond. Ita looked off into the distance before he spoke once more, “I’ll become a Chuunin soon enough.” The sentenced didn’t really seemed to be directed towards Jace, but more or less, Ita was most likely just thinking out loud. “Anyways, let’s see what you got.” Ita said while thrusting his right hand into his pocket, feeling around for something. “So whats your element? Do you know?” Ita would say as he continued to feel around, switching his attention to another pocket, then to his ninja pouches in search of something. “Fire style right?” Ita said while drawing a few pieces of ordinary looking pieces of parchment out of his pocket which were shaped like little squares. “Most Uchiha know fire element. Even I know that.” Said Ita referencing to his miniscule knowledge of his own clan. “I on the other hand, am different. Lightning was my first element, then I had to learn fire. I don’t do much with it as of right now.” Ita would listen to whatever the boy had to say and then he would extend his right hand towards the boy, in his hand one of the pieces of paper. Assuming that Jace would grab the paper in his hand and inquire what it was, Ita would follow up by holding one of the pieces in his hand eye level with him and the boy. Between his inder finger and thumb was a small square piece of paper. Ita explained, “This is some kind of paper that tells you what chakra element you are. You just apply some chakra and watch.” Ita then focused some chakra through his hand and into the paper. Moments after the paper cut directly in half, floating to the floor and then burning up. After it was done Ita would speak once more, “That means I have two element natures. Fire and lightning. I didn’t know fire at first so I had to train and learn it. Most Genin have only one element, and even most jounin. Not me.” Ita tried not to make it sound like he was gloating, as he was not the type of person to do that. To be fairly honest, most of his training with his previous sensai had been tough and he received little praise. In order to be great, it is important to push oneself to the limit out of their own desire without the need of being recognized as something special. Ita awaited to see what the result of the Jace’s test would be. Ita figured it would be fire.
TWC:1064

Jace's smile dropped slightly at Ita's response. The boy had congratulated Jace on becoming a Genin, but he had also reminded Jace that he hadn't really done anything yet. Without skipping a beat, Ita would say that he would be a Chuunin soon. At the thought of that Jace's smile was wiped completely from his face. He had become a Genin, yes, but he still had a long way to go. He still hadn't even awakened his sharingan yet. He didn't have much time to think about that before Ita spoke again however. He wanted to see what Jace could do apparently. 

He seemed to be rummaging around in his pockets and weapon pouches for something as he spoke. He had asked Jace what his element was, but didn't really give him time to answer. It seemed Ita liked to talk, which was perfectly fine by Jace. It kept him from having to try to keep up a conversation. As Ita spoke, he guessed that Jace's element was fire. It wasn't, but we'll get to that later. More importantly, Ita had briefly said he was part of the Uchiha clan. That was something Jace didn't know. He had never seen him before the other day, although Jace didn't know very many Uchiha other than his mother and father. At that point Jace would finally speak up. "Wait, you're an Uchiha like me? How come you didn't tell me before?" 

At this point, Ita would have already taken out the chakra paper and begun to explain what it was to Jace before continuing to put chakra into it to demonstrate how it worked. If Ita responded to Jace's questions about him being an uchiha Jace would listen patiently before continuing. After Ita responded, Jace would take the paper he was being handed. "My element is lightning actually." he would say as he infused chakra into the small piece of paper he was holding. It immediately cut in half the way Ita's did at first and Jace let the two pieces float to the ground. Just before the papers hit the ground, they both ignited the same way Ita's had. The surprise at that was obvious on Jace's face. Apparently he COULD use the fire element. He had never really tried before. 

TWC: 841

Prior to Ita handing the small piece of square paper to Jace, he would inquire of Ita why he didn’t tell him that he was an Uchiha before. This question kind of caught Ita off guard. Ita smiled and replied, “I didn’t really think it was important.” Ita then continued to hand him the paper. The boy then proclaimed that his chakra nature was lightning. Strange. Ita thought that most Uchiha possessed fire as their first element. He though so anyways. Well this is cool. Another Uchiha like Ita. Maybe Ita wasn’t so special after all. Regardless, knowing that the boy possessed raition chakra like himself made Ita a little bit more sympathetic for the boy. “Is that so? Well you sure did meet the right Uchiha then.” Ita smirked at the boy, letting him know that he’ll be in for a real treat once they start their ration training. Ita then awaited for the boy to fuse his chakra into the paper. Jace grabbed the paper and focused his chakra. The paper then split immediately into two separate pieces and floated to the floor. So the boy wasn’t lying. What happened next is what really got Ita’s attention. The paper then began to ignite and burn into ashs, the wind taking it away. “So you have two chakra natures?” Ita asked the boy, a bit surprised. “Us Uchiha’s are really something.” Ita then went on to ask him, “Do you know any elemental jutsu? Or are we going to have to start at the bottom?” Ita asked before speaking again. “I only know one fire jutsu so we might as well start your training now.” Ita wasted no more time before stepping aside to show the boy the first technique.
 

Ita’s target was a tree about 10 meters away. “I don’t really know too much about fire style jutsu, but this technique is an Uchiha trademark so you might as well know it.” Ita then proceeded to make hand signs slowly so that the boy could see. This time Ita didn’t bother speaking the hand signs out loud while he performed them because he assumed that Jace would now know to pay close attention. This would also train the boy’s senses to make him more cautious of his surroundings if he had trouble following and needed Ita to indeed tell him them. The technique only required two hand signs so he figured he could manage. Ita also thought that this was the best technique for Jace to start with. It was a lower level jutsu, but perfect for Jace to start with. Ita then performed the horse hand sign and then the tiger afterwards. “Most fire techniques start in the chest, where you will build up katon chakra and exhale it. That’s the best way I can describe it anyways.” Ita then proceeded to build katon chakra in his chest, causing it to appear as though it was expanding. He then released a massive fireball from his mouth. The ball moved towards the tree at about 50 speed and completely incinerated the tree before him. Ita’s attack was so fierce due to his tremendous chakra control. Ita then motioned his attention towards Jace and spoke, “Let’s see if you can even light a candle.”  
TWC:1609

Ita seemed adequately surprised to see Jace had both lightning and fire elements. Even so, he kept his cool more than Jace did. When Ita asked Jace if he knew any elemental jutsu Jace involuntarily flinched. The only jutsu he knew were the academy jutsu. He had never really spent any time learning how to perform any other jutsu. When he practiced his studies with his father he usually spent his time learning how to make split second decisions and judgement calls by playing small version war games at home. It helped to make Jace more observant than most kids his age for sure, but now he wished he had spent more time learning the Uchiha clan's signature jutsu. "N-no, I don't know any elemental jutsu yet."

As if he had read Jace's mind, Ita told Jace that he knew just one fire jutsu. He had said that it was an Uchiha trademark. Jace watched Ita intently as he began to perform a series of hand seals. He didn't do them as slowly as he had before or say out loud what signs he was performing. Maybe it was his way of testing Jace's visual prowess. Jace knew Ita was purposely making the seals slow enough for him to follow them, but it seemed like he wanted to make sure Jace was observant enough to follow along as he moved. He only made two simple hand signs: Horse-Tiger. 

"Most fire techniques start in the chest, here you build katon chakra and exhale it. That's the best way I can describe it."

So in order to perform this jutsu Jace had to first be able to manipulate his fire chakra at will. He didn't even know he had the fire element until a few moments ago. Now he was supposed to be able to differentiate between his fire and lightning element chakra and build up the fire chakra in his chest. It definitely seemed more complicated than the simple academy jutsu he had learned. Jace watched as a massive fireball formed from Ita's mouth moving at what seemed like incredible speed to Jace. It flew forward to completely incinerate a tree ten meters in front of Ita. It looked like it would take a considerable amount of chakra to be able to use this technique. 'That's amazing. He has so much control over his own chakra. Can I even do something like that? I don't know if I'm ready....No. I am ready. I can do this. I'm a member of the Uchiha clan, just like him. I'm sure I can manage to make a fireball. It might take some work, but I can do it.' Jace thought to himself. 

"Let's see if you can even light a candle."

It seemed like it was Jace's turn. He moved to stand next to Ita, preparing for his first attempt at using an elemental jutsu. He closed his eyes and tried to focus in on himself. He needed to separate his chakra into it's respective elements. He tried to focus only on his fire nature chakra. It was less difficult than he imagined. He could feel the warmth of the fire element coursing through him as he began to knead his chakra. To make things easier, he tried to imagine a small dot at the center of his chest where he wanted to gather the fire chakra. Soon he could feel his chest getting warmer. Opening his eyes, Jace would inhale and perform the hand seals Horse-Tiger. Finally, he exhaled letting the fire element chakra flow out of him. It was absolutely nothing like what Ita had done. A thin sliver of flame escaped from Jace's mouth and traveled only a few inches before dissipating. 

"I guess I need to practice a bit more. This technique seems to require a lot of chakra control."
TWC: 1481

“I guess I need to practice a bit more. This technique seems to require a lot of chakra control.” Jace said.
 
Ita smirked, knowing that his witty comments would most likely eat at the boy causing him to reach his potential. Ita thought that the best way to grow was to test one’s own capacity. If someone continues to try and push themselves to their limits, eventually they will have no limits. Barriers are only barriers if you let them confine you. Ita smiled. The relationship the two were beginning to form was a bit odd, but Ita couldn’t help that it felt right. A genin who had done more than enough to prove himself at such a rank and a boy who possessed great potential who had yet to discover it. At least they were from the same clan, whatever that meant. Ita tried to speak some words of encouragement into the boy. “Hey, that was better than my first time. Just believe in yourself. It’s nearly imposible to master jutsu at one time. It will take a lot of hard work and training. That’s what separates the great from the okay, and I want to be great.” Ita wouldn’t bother asking the boy what he wanted to strive to be because any answer other than great would simply annoy Ita.
 

Ita figured the boy would be busy with training the new technique he learned today, unless he was feeling brave and wanted to work on something else. Regardless, it would be a lot of homework for him. Ita then remembered he wanted to get some extra training done as well. Without any more talking, Ita bit his finger and placed his hand on the floor, thus summoning a flock of crows. After, ita formed the ‘Ram’ hand sign. Just as Jace had seen during their first meeting, the crows flocked together and created yet another perfect replica of Ita. A crow clone. “I have to work on my figuring out how to cast chidori without any hand signs. I’m starting to get the hang of it, but I still need to do some more training.” Ita spoke as if the boy understood what chidori was. Ita sometimes was aloof to such small details. Jace was better off learning what Ita mean on the fly instead of lingering on some of the things he said. “If you need anything else, you can refer to my clone unless it is something important, then I guess I’ll stick around.” Ita awaited the boys response before tending to his own needs. Jace was only beginning to get his feet wet in all the knowledge Ita could present to him. Someday the both of them could possibly be on the same level. Ita just hoped they remained allies if he was gonging to continue to train him. Maybe Ita will become a Chuunin leader of his own Genin squad. Wouldn’t that be something? Ita was beginning to day dream as he awaited Jace’s response.
TWC:2110

"Hey, that was better than my first time. Just believe in yourself. It's nearly impossible to master jutsu at one time. It will take a lot of hard work and training. That's what separates the great from the okay, and I want to be great."


Right on cue, Jace could feel the warmth of his blood rushing to flood his cheeks. He couldn't help smiling as he blushed. Of course it would take a lot of hard work and training. Jace too wanted to be great. He didn't say as much, but he was thinking it. He often had trouble saying out loud exactly what he was thinking. For as long as he could remember he usually kept to himself and couldn't really find the courage to speak his mind. He was always over thinking things and he was often afraid to see the reaction on people's faces if he did speak his mind. That usually lead to long awkward conversations where Jace was completely silent and only responding to the other person in his head. Of course he knew that most people wouldn't have a negative reaction to what he had to say but he couldn't keep himself from thinking they would. 

Seeing Ita bite his finger and perform the same movements he had to form another crow clone broke Jace out of his reverie. Jace didn't have to wait long to find out why he was summoning another crow clone.

"I have to work on my figuring out how to cast chidori without any hand signs. I'm starting to get the hang of it, but I still need to do some more training."

Chidori? Jace didn't know what that was, but from what Ita had said he figured it must have been some kind of jutsu. That led Jace to wonder what other kind of techniques Ita could use. He was starting to get more curious about Ita's abilities. After seeing that crow clone technique again Jace couldn't help but want to learn how to perform it himself. He apparently had to summon crows in order to use it. Jace didn't know very much about summoning techniques. What he did know was that you had to have signed a contract with a certain race of animals in order to be able to summon them. 

"If you need anything else, you can refer to my clone unless it's something important, then I guess I'll stick around."

Something important? Jace didn't know what exactly Ita would consider important, but he figured he better ask him what he wanted now before he disappeared to train that chidori technique or whatever it was. "Wait! Um, I was wondering....How is it you can summon crows and create a clone like that? I've always liked crows myself. If it's possible, do...do you think you could teach me how to do it?" Jace managed to blurt out before Ita left. Hopefully the boy would go stop and teach Jace how to use the technique. Blood rushed to his face once more as he realized how forward he was being. Jace had never really had the guts to openly ask someone to teach him anything like he had jutst done. Jace waited patiently to see if Ita would show him or not.
TWC: 2027

“Wait! Um, I was wondering….How is it you can summon crows and create a clone like that? I’ve always liked crows myself. If it’s possible, do...do you think you could teach me how to do it?”
 
“Huh?” Ita replied, a little caught off guard by his question because he was in the middle of day dreaming. Ita clearly heard his request, but was so caught off guard he was unsure of what to say. Jace was starting to speak up, which was unlike him. ‘Good’ Ita thought to himself. He’s making progress. Ita took a moment to think about how he derived his technique then he began speaking before Jace had a chance to repeat himself. “Well, if you really want to know. I had to first sign this contract thing given to me by some old bird. I could summon him here if you want, although I don’t know how happy he’ll be by me doing that. I’ve never done it before. It’s worth the try I guess.” Jace was already following in Ita’s footsteps. Ita couldn’t help but admire his ambition. It almost rekindled Ita’s ambition, giving him some energy. “Listen, try and not act all weird and shy like you’ve been acting. Be assertive. I wouldn’t wanna piss this bird off or he might not let you sign his big old dusty scroll or whatever it is.”
 
“Well, here goes nothing.” Ita, who’s finger was still bleeding from his prior summon, placed his hand on the ground once more. Upon this action, there would be a rather large ‘poof’ of white smoke. After the smoke faded, stood a rather large crow covered in gray and black feathers. The gray feathers were a result of the crows great age and wisdom, although Ita would never dare to ask it how old it was. Ita wasn’t even sure if it was a girl or a boy, although by the deep tone of its voice is sounded like it might be a male.  
At first, the old bird was making all sorts of weird squawking sounds before speaking in a human voice.
 
“Ahh, argh. Who’s there? Who dare summon me while I am trying to rest?”
 
The old bird said. To be perfectly honest, Ita was unsure of the birds name. Either the old bird never told him or Ita simply forgot. Either way, Ita sure did feel awkward. The smoke finally cleared and the bird finally addressed Ita.
 
“Ita. It was you. Nice to see you again, but what is the meaning of you summoning me in the middle of my nap?”
 
Ita raised his right hand to his jet black hair and began to scratch the back of his head, obviously embarrassed that he had disturbed his nap by summoning him here and also because he had to introduce Jace to him, a stuborn bird who wouldn’t be to found to Jace’s shy personality. Ita figured the bird was old fashioned or had a hard time hearing. Ita replied to the bird, “I’m sorry for summoning you. I promise I won’t do it again, I..uh, just have someone here who really would like to meet you!.” Ita quickly said, stepping back to avoid any more conversation with the bird and allowing for the bird to divert his attention to Jace. The old bird ruffled his feathers and pecked at the ground before fixating his completely dark black eyes upon Jace, the freshly graduated Genin. The crow spoke once more, this time to Jace.
 
“What do you want boy? This better be good. I was just about to take my mid-day nap.”
 
What the bird said somewhat contradicted himself. Ita thought he was sleeping, not about to sleep. Regardless, the bird was old and Ita knew that it was never smart to argue with old people as they are very stubborn. Ita hoped that Jace would mention he was an Uchiha. That old bird seemed to have a thing for Uchihas. After Jace would introduce himself, Ita would chime in, “He doesn’t look like much, but he sure is a fast learner. He has two chakra natures like me!” The bird would then take into consideration what the boy had first said and then Ita, then it would speak once more.
 
“Why do you seek the power and companionship of the crows?”
 

Depending on how Jace would answer this would either result in the bird summoning once more the old, rather large scroll Ita thought, or the bird simply scolding Ita once more and then vanishing into smoke. Ita was curious to see what would happen next.
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Jace was a bit surprised when Ita stopped in his tracks and respond to Jace with a short 'huh'. Apparently he hadn't been expecting Jace to actually say something to him. To be honest, Jace had been rather shy for most of his interactions with Ita so it was fair to assume he wouldn't speak up the way he did. Before Jace had a chance to repeat his request, Ita responded with an explanation about how he needed to sign some scroll from an old bird. The way he explained it seemed like a big oxymoron to Jace. Ita didn't seem too sure about the process but his tone was full of confidence at the same time. It sort of puzzled Jace to see someone act that way. He did say he would summon the bird here for Jace to talk to though, which Jace took as a good thing. That is, until Ita told Jace he should probably try his best not to be as shy with the crow as he had been with Ita or the old crow might not let him sign the contract.

Jace took a big gulp in response to that. He tried his best to compose himself before the crow was summoned. He began to go over in his mind how he would introduce himself and tried to imagine the conversation that would follow. He wasn't very good with meeting new people, or acting assertive for that matter. He watched as Ita placed his still bleeding finger to the ground and summoned a large puff of smoke. Well, it wasn't the smoke he summoned but what was inside the smoke. When it cleared, Jace could see an obviously old crow with gray feathers here and there mixed in with its black ones. It was making some kind of weird squawking noise for a few seconds before the squawking seamlessly transitioned into human speech. 

Jace watched and listened, still going over the imminent conversation in his head, as the old crow turned to address Ita. It used a familiar tone with the boy, but was obviously displeased about it's nap being disturbed. Ita managed to put some words together telling the crow that he had someone that wanted to meet him and gestured toward Jace. Finally the crow turned to face him. "Er, hello. My name is Jace, Jace Uchiha. It's nice to meet you." Jace managed to blurt out, blood once again flooding his face. Before the bird could respond, Ita chimed in about Jace being a fast learner and having two chakra natures. The bird seemed to eye Jace carefully before speaking again. 

"Why do you seek the power and companionship of the crows?"

That was one of the obvious questions Jace was expecting. Thank god. He had gone over this scenario in his head a few seconds ago, so he had an answer he thought was acceptable ready to go. "Well, I've always admired the beauty of crows. In fact, I used the transformation technique to turn into a crow for my genin exam. Ita here has shown me a technique of his using crows twice and I was curious about it myself. If you would allow it, I would like to sign a contract with you so that I can learn and grow alongside the crows." He spat out the words almost instantly, which definitely was not something Jace was used to doing. He was just grateful he managed to get that one scenario into his head. He had no idea what he would have done if it had turned out differently. 
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