And So It Begins[P, NK, Ita]

Well Jace was finally a Chuunin now and he had started to become more familiar with the arts of space-time. He still focused mainly on using genjutsu, but at least now he might have some sort of variety to his fighting style. The boy had been slacking a bit since being promoted by the Hokage. Besides becoming familiarized with the basics of space-time he hadn't really done much in the way of training at all. That was why he decided that today he would head to the training grounds to hopefully get something accomplished. It was just after noon by the time he had arrived and the training field he favored seemed to be teeming with life. Luckily for him his favorite spot under a tree near the river was absent of ninja training themselves and so he quickly made his way over there. After a moment of collecting himself he was about to start training when he realized.....he didn't really know where to begin. "Hmm. I'm not even sure what I should be training..."

Ita came into the view of the training grounds of his village. He was wearing his flak jacket, black pants, black sandals, and a gray cloak wrapped about him. His konoha headband was strapped to his waist and two ninja weapon pouches were attached to the back of his waist. On his back was his konona katana as well. Ita hadn’t seen Jace for what seemed long an extended period of time. Actually, he vaguely remembered seeing him while he was drunk that one night, but they barely interacted. Ita was beginning to wonder where they stood in regards to each other’s relationship. Regardless, in the meantime Ita had made great strides, putting himself ahead of others around his rank. Ita was beginning to slowly become one of the strongest chuunin in the village, or so he thought. Although, he did not truley know many shinobi his rank, he could not picture anyone truly giving him a fair fight. Althought, there did seem to be a formidable bunch that drunken night assembled about the hokage. A lot of strange faces he had never seen before. Ita wasn’t much of a social butterfly though so it wasn’t unusual for him to see someone he didn’t know. The sun was high in the sky and it was semi-early. A good day to get some more work in.
 
Ita now entered the training grounds, and right away he could sense a familiar chakra signature amongst others. The training grounds seemed to be popping today. Ita figured because there has been a lot of talk about rank ups lately. People trying to get the upper hand. Ita now spotted his friend Jace. Ita simply strolled towards him. Ita continued walking at a normal pace towards his friend, entering in the range of about 20 meters away and closing in. Ita would be staring at the boy eyes wide open, not blinking. At that moment, Ita activated his M.A.S.S. technique. Ita simply wanted to show off his new strengths to his friend and see what he thought. Ita hadn’t told jace that he had started dabbling in space time techniques and was actually pretty good at it. The barrier of sorts would expand outwards from Ita at a fast rate consuming everything in a 20 meter radius around him. If ITa’s presence hadn’t been sensed from those training around him or Jace, it sure was now. Some of the students within the proximity would completely stop moving, some even falling to their knees due to the pressure. Jace would also most likely be feeling the effects of the technique weighing him down. The technique was invisible so no one could truly tell where it was coming from without the aid of a dojutsu, but since this all started happening the moment Ita entered the scene and by the looks of his armor and rank, it wouldn’t be hard to tell who was behind it. Now that Ita was about a few meters from Jace, he allowed the barrier to cease, allowing for those in the affected area to recover. Ita didn’t bother to look around and see the outcome or how people were reacting the strange phenomenon, he simply was most interested in seeing how his friend Jace was doing.
 
Ita spoke to Jace, “Hey Jace. It’s been a while.”
 

Ita studied the boys appearance. He didn’t seem like the shy boy he once was when they had first met, but neither was ITa the same. The two of them were growing up, just as young ninja do. Having to take on tasks not truly meant for children made the mind grow wise beyond it’s years. That was definitely true.
TWC:615

Just as Jace was trying to figure out what he would start training he felt a strong chakra signature coming towards him. He turned just in time to see his friend Ita entering into the training grounds and coming towards the Uchiha. The boy smiled and was about to wave at his friend when suddenly he felt his body becoming heavier and his movements becoming slower. His smile quickly became a look of confusion as he searched the training grounds for the source of the strange feeling. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary and so he decided to activate his sharingan to see if he could discern anything else. Scanning the area once more he noticed a field that seemed to be centered around Ita as he walked toward Jace. How was the boy doing that? Had he too began practicing using space-time? Jace would have to ask him. 

When Ita got within only a few meters of Jace the barrier retreated and Jace could feel his speed returning to him. The weight had been lifted as quickly as it had come. Once the technique was finished, whatever it had been, Ita would say hello to the boy, mentioning that it had been a while since they had last seen each other. This was only partially true since they had seen each other on that drunken day although they hadn't really interacted with one another. "Hey Ita. Yea it's been some time. That was an interesting technique you were just using. I take it you've been training in the arts of space-time ninjutsu?" the young Uchiha said in response to his friend.

Now that the boys had exchanged greetings, it was onto the important stuff. Jace made a comment regarding the technique that Ita had just shown him and inquired if he had begun training in the arts of space time ninjutsu. Judging by the way he said it, it sounded like he was very curious to know more.
Ita spoke to his friend, “You betcha.” Ita’s eye’s examined him over from head to toe, their eyes meeting once more.
“I don’t know if you are ready for this sort of training. You are still only a genin!” Ita would say half-jokingly to his friend. Ita was aware that his friend was conspiring to enter for the upcoming exams and Ita would do what he had to to protect his friends. So maybe it was going to be necessary for him to teach Jace his knowledge of space-time, whatever he had to so that he could have some sort of advantage.

“Alright, if you are up to it I’ll show you how to do some stuff, but under one condition. You can’t show anyone unless you truly have too until the exams and you have to promise me you’re not gonna wimp out once we begin.” Ita would say to Jace. Ita was happy to see his friend and he wouldn’t mind having someone to explore such things with as there was endless possibilities. Ita would await his friends response.
TWC:853

Jace's friend answered that he had in fact started training on using space-time ninjutsu. The boy then joked about how he wasn't sure if Jace was ready for this kind of training, still being a Genin and all. Jace simply smirked at that statement. He hadn't gotten a chance to tell his friend he had been promoted to Chuunin yet. That made the pair the same rank, putting them on equal footing. In theory anyway. The other boy would pause a moment before offering to teach Jace some techniques on one condition. He wasn't allowed to show anyone what he had learned until the exams came around unless it was absolutely necessary and he couldn't wimp out once they got started. That was easy enough. Jace had never been one to show off for one, and he would certainly never 'wimp out' of anything. He had even stepped up to take on the Hokage himself when Queen had suggested it. This training couldn't possibly be tougher than that.

"Alright, deal. Show me what you've got Ita." the boy said in response to his friends words with a small smirk on his face. "By the way, Lord Kurisu promoted me to Chuunin. Looks like we're the same rank now." he added quickly before his friend had a chance to begin whatever it was he was going to show Jace.

Ita’s eyes began to study the boy more after he smirked at Ita’s joke. “Why is he smirking?” Ita thought to himself. “Is there something about Jace that I don’t know?” He followed up with another thought. Ita continued to study the boy as he awaited his response to his terms and conditions. He seemed confident enough, but Ita still required a response before they continued. Although they were still just boys, the two of them had gained tremendous confidence in themselves during their short friendship.
 

“Alright, deal. Show me what you’ve got Ita.” Ita smirked at his friend as he finished his sentence. “There you go Jace, finally you got some confidence.” Ita thought to himself as he listened to his response. Ita would watch as another smirk would come across the boy’s face once more. Ita thought to himself once more, “What is he so excited about…?” Ita thought. Before Ita could say anything else, Jace finally exposed the reason why he was so smirkish today. “By the way, Lord Kurisu promoted me to Chuunin. Looks like we’re the same rank now.” Ita was not in the least bit affected negatively by this comment. He only felt joy for his friend. Ita, although he was inherently competitive, did not feel threatened by Jace. He only felt joy for his friend. If he had been promoted by Kurisu himself he must have had to do something incredibly brave or courageous. Ita remembered his mission leaf by the Hokage himself right after he became the new hokage after something had happened to the previous Hokage, Jason, who saved him from the likes of Kozai. Ita never really got the chance to thank Jason, although it felt as though Jason’s presence was still with him in a strange way (XD). Regardless, the new Hokage was obviously incredibly strong because he was not phased during their dangerous mission, at one point so busy with reading a book he had found on the ground to even care about the ongoing battle that was taking place just meters away from his face. Ita snapped out of his momentary throw back and raised his right hand patting his friend on the shoulder before speaking to him. “Knew you could do it.” ITa smiled. “So what did you have to do exactly?” he continued. After Jace had answered him Ita would continue, “Well, now that you’re my equal…” Ita smirked, “then you should be able to keep up with this training we are about to do.” He concluded with a warm smile. “Now get ready to gaze upon my glorious techniques. Remember don’t blink you might miss something important.” Ita took a deep breath before beginning. Ita took a step back from his friend Jace. He then positioned his right hand, which was his dominant hand, although he was proficient in using both hands for whatever. He thrusted his right hand into his weapon pouch and retrieved a kunai from it. He then brought the kunai in front of him. Ita spoke, “Remember, don’t blink.” Ita then tossed the kunai away from himself and jace towards a nearby tree, probably 15 meters away. As the kunai flew towards the tree, ita performed 4 hand signs. Rat – Boar – Tiger – Ram. Ita’s pupils swirled as he focused in on the kunai flying through the air through its intended target. At that exact moment, Ita would vanish from existence, right in front of Jace’s eyes. In his place, the kunai ITa had just thrown took his place, replacing Ita and ita replacing the kunai that was just about to hit the tree. The kunai, which appeared in front of jace, continued to follow its route, moving towards the tree as if it were untouched. Ita simply extended his hand without looking and grabbed the hilt of the kunai out of the air, as if he knew exactly where it was going to be somewhere. Ita then put his hand behind his back and placed the kunai back into his weapon pouch then began to stroll back over to Jace so that he could try and explain what had just happened. As he was next to Jace again, Ita was speak, “Did you see? Did you? Isn’t that cool? I hope you didn’t miss it…” Ita would say, excited to finally show someone what he could do. “I hope you didn’t blink and miss it all..” ITa would say hopeful that the boy saw what had just gone down. ITa awaited patiently for a response from his friend.
TWC:1,611

There was a moment of silence where Jace's friend seemed to be lost in thought. It was over quickly though, and Ita placed his hand on the boy's shoulder and congratulated him on being promoted. He continued to ask what exactly Jace had to do in order to gain the promotion. "Well, Queen sort of talked me into fighting against Kurisu. He seemed so impressed with us that he promoted us after seeing what we could do." he said in response to his friend's question. After hearing Jace's explanation, Ita said something about Jace being able to keep up with the training they were about to do now that he was Ita's equal. He was starting to sound a bit arrogant. Perhaps his new strength had gotten to his head. Either way, Jace simply nodded at his friend's words when he was told to watch closely and not blink. He watched Ita as the boy pulled out a kunai from his weapons pouch and bring it in front of him before telling Jace once more not to blink.

"Yea. I know." Jace said in response as he kept his eyes focused on what his friend was doing. He was certainly curious as to what the boy could do, especially after seeing how he had bent space and time to effect Jace's movements. Ita threw the kunai at a nearby tree only fifteen meters away from the pair. Jace's eyes picked up the four hand seals that his friend performed after releasing the kunai at it's intended target. Rat, Boar, Tiger, Ram. The boy's chakra seemed to be getting ready for something as well. There wasn't time for Jace to see much more than that. The instant the hand seals had been finished Ita had vanished from view completely. He hadn't ran anywhere or else Jace's sharingan would have picked up the movements of the boy's muscles. Where Ita had been only a moment ago was now the kunai that had been thrown earlier, still following its intended flight path. Where the kunai had been now stood Ita, who caught the kunai easily when it reached him once more and placed it back into his weapons pouch before walking back over to Jace. When Ita was back next to Jace he would begin speaking again, talking about how cool that was and making sure that Jace had seen what happened.

"Yea I saw it all. Did you just manipulate space-time to switch places with the kunai you threw? That could be extremely useful. It looked like you used four hand seals to activate the technique. Rat, Boar, Tiger and Ram. Let me give it a try." Jace said in answer to his friend's excited questions. He stepped forward and pulled out a single kunai of his own, preparing to throw it at the same tree Ita had been aiming at. He paused a moment before finally releasing the kunai at it's target. As soon as the kunai left Jace's hand he performed the same hand seals he had seen Ita perform just moments ago. Rat-Boar-Tiger-Ram. He focused in on the kunai with his eyes, trying to imagine himself switching places with the thrown weapon. It wasn't obvious at first, but after a few seconds Jace noticed he was not where he had been standing before. He was two meters ahead of his original position. It looked like the kunai was transported back along its path roughly two meters as well. The boy hadn't managed to switch places with the kunai like he had intended, but he certainly did something. "Er, that wasn't exactly what i meant to do. Can you give me a tip to getting this technique to work, Ita?" the boy said as he turned to face his friend who was behind him.

Now that Ita was standing next to his friend, he had a moment to think over what Jace had said to him before he had showed him the technique.
“They must have had to really push themselves to stand a chance against the hokage.” Ita thought to himself.
Jace then went on to say that he did indeed see what had happened and asked if Ita had manipulated space-time to switch places with the kunai he threw. He then states that the technique could be extremely useful. He also recited the hand seals required to use the technique.
Ita would simply respond, "Correct.”
Ita watched as Jace stepped forward and pulled out a single kunai. Jace then aimed for the tree that Ita had done before, once he did he released the kunai and attempted to recreate Ita’s actions, switching places with the kunai. Ita watched jace perform the four hand seals before disappearing. However, Jace didn’t completely switch places with the kunai, in fact, he only moved himself about 2 meters forwards and the kunai, 2 meters backwards, it still raveling on its intended path. Jace, realizing what happened, stated that wasn’t exactly what he meant to do and inquired of Ita if he had any tips to get this technique to work. After turning to face Ita.
That was a tricky question. Ita wasn’t the best at explaining things especially complex things such as space time techniques.
Ita spoke to his friend, “I- uh. It’s kinda hard. The first time I did it, it happened by accident and the more I kept trying to redo it, the better I got. At first it started out as a random teleportation jutsu, positioning myself in random areas, but the more I practiced it, I learned its’ true potential.”
Ita took a deep breath before continuing to speak, “I think the hardest part about this technique is switching with things that are in motion. That’s probably why you had a hard time. It is even difficult with the help of the sharingan. Try switching with something that’s not in motion so you can get the hang of it.”
That was all the advice Ita could truly give his friend. It would probably be best if they both tried and practiced it. It never hurt to perfect a technique. Maybe if they finished up in the near future Ita could get around to showing Jace something else he was working on.
“I’m gonna practice with you. So we can go through the motions together. Sounds good?” Ita said.
If Jace complied, Ita would pull out two kunai and throw them upwards, making a parabola. The two kunai landing perfectly in the ground in front of the tree about a meter a part.
Ita spoke to his friend one last time before performing the technique. “Let’s start with those, shall we?”

Ita performed the four hand signs fluently and efficiently. Immediately after he performed the last one, he would disappear from sight completely, leaving nothing but a kunai where he had been standing, successfully trading places with the kunai that had just been stuck in the dirt in front of the tree. Ita waved to his friend, waiting for him to do it as well.
TWC:2,153

Jace listened to his friend as he explained how difficult this technique was. He told the boy that he had trouble with it the first few times he had attempted it himself. Apparently it was more difficult to switch places with an object in motion. Ita then took out two kunai and tossed them so that they landed sticking into the ground just in front of the tree. Apparently the two were going to practice the technique together. Jace simply nodded and then began to concentrate on performing the technique correctly this time. He focused on the kunai in front of him on the ground and pictured himself switching places with it. After a moment of concentration and taking in a deep breath, Jace performed the necessary seals for the technique. The kunai seemed to flicker for an instant before it disappeared and reappeared on the ground in front of Jace. Though it appeared Jace had transported himself as well. Both he and the kunai were halfway between where he had started. 

Sighing, he tossed the kunai back to its original position and then walked back to his own starting point. He repeated the process of concentrating and taking in a deep breath before performing the seals once more. This time, to Jace's excitement, he had managed to complete the technique as intended. Smiling as he turned to face his friend, wherever he was at this point, the boy decided to try to switch places with a thrown kunai once more. He took out another kunai from his weapons pouch and threw it straight ahead of him. Immediately after releasing the kunai the boy performed the hand seals for the technique. A second later he was where he had intended to be and turned just in time to catch the kunai he had thrown. Apparently he had managed to get this technique down without much difficulty. "Thanks Ita. This sure is a useful jutsu you've shown me." he said to his friend as he deactivated his sharingan eyes. "I think that's all I'm going to attempt today. Practicing space-time jutsu takes a lot more out of you than I had expected. I'll see you around!" Jace added as a goodbye before turning and heading home, having realized how exhausted he really was and how late it had gotten. At least he managed to accomplish learning some type of technique.
[exit]
TWC: 1,713
claiming 1k words to learn switch(half off for ita teaching and another half off for sharingan copying from an original 4k makes it 1k)