Technique Training

Out back in the recess area, the lone Academy student would place his hands together as he would recite what had been taught. Going a little bit ahead of the class, he wanted to try out the Clone Jutsu for himself to see how far it would get him with his current knowledge. The hand signs seemed to be easy enough. Ram, Snake, and Tiger. And so he would use his knowledge on handsigns according to how they were expected of him. Ram, done. It was an easier one. It was rather fun to do as well, since there was a little peephole to look through once the task had been done successfully. Tiger was even easier, since they worked too well with each other. All he had to do was put up his two fingers, the ring and the pinky, and connected them with the other hands ring and pink finger. And finally, Snake. With that, he would connect all of his fingers together before releasing his chakra. Or trying too at least... Something felt rather odd... For some reason, no matter how much of it he was trying to push out from his body, he did not seem capable of carrying out the task. Nice, so already he found himself with a problem. He's let go of the snake sign and look back into his notes. The hand signs were Snake, Ram, and Tiger. Well, not in that order of course. In the actual order, it was Ram... Snake, and Tiger. So he messed up, mixing Snake and Tiger. It DID seem a bit too easy, and now he knew why.

And so he would redo the technique again, hoping that he would not make a fool out of himself and try to force out the Chakra again. He would place his palms together for Ram, his fingers wrapped correctly before placing all the fingers together, connecting them for the snake. Finally, he would carry out a sign similar to the Ram, the Tiger. This time, the fingers of both ring fingers and pinky fingers connected together. His pointer and middle fingers were up. And now it was time to release the Chakra from his body. It would be exerted from his body, all of his energy being placed into the clones that were about to be formed. Just a little bit more... A bit more... The facial expression can show how much force was being pushed into the technique, but finally, he would be able to execute the task as not one, but two clones would appear by his sides. They had the exact same pose that he did, one that looked just as constipated before he would place his hands on his knees. Already, he felt the Chakra drained from his body, the two clones doing the same. The original one would have actual sound emitting from his lips when he would announce his victory to himself. I did it... The student would say to himself as the clones would take a few more seconds of his time, but while his Chakra was drained, there was just no way he could carry this out any further, and would have to lose the clones once again.

Today was a good day. The boy would tell himself as he felt his energy being drained. He was practically limping out of the playground and away from the scene. Water, that was the first thing he needed. And once that had been obtained, he knew that he could go back to his house. Nothing sounded better than a nice relaxing drink of water. The through drained him out enough, and so he would proceed to return back home.

WC: 620/600

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Rewards:
-3 Stat Points towards Chakra
-[url=naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t22310-clone-technique]Clone Technique[/url]

Two months after his first bit of training with cloning himself, he was able to perfect it on the first try every single time. Due to him being successful with a simple technique such as that, it would only be sensible to try something as equally simply as... Say... Surface Walking! Not at all a dangerous task at hand. According to his teacher, he was going to have to place the Chakra at his feet in order to carry out this task. Then rely on his strength and speed as the wall. If a student was able to do this, they would be able to hang onto any surface. The more control that they had over their chakra, the more that they would be able to use since it can be budgeted in a balanced manner. And so the tree climbing task begins with a lone boy and a couple of trees that are sandwiching his body. There was one simple task to do currently, get onto the surface of a tree and hang onto it without using his hands, but instead, just using his chakra and his feet. To do this, however, he was going to need to have control with his feet, and so that was where he added a little extra part into the lesson that had been prepared. The first task was for him to "Wall" jump up the two trees with his feet only. This was designed to amplify his leg strength and enhance his speed as well. It might require a bit of balance too, not that he really saw any way that could be relevant at the moment. His eyes lit before he began but jumping up.

Successfully, his right boot was able to click against the bark, obtaining a momentary grip on it before hopping off towards the other tree. Unfortunately, his pride got in the way and ended up backfiring on him. As a result, his back would slam against the tree as he unsuccessfully backflips to rely on his heel as support. Well, he at least landed on his feet, but not so gracefully as his arms would flail before actually landing on the ground properly. Not too elegant, but that was just a first attempt. Looking back up, he would smile and chuckle, not let that first attempt bring him down. All he had to do this time was not try anything fancy and he will end up fine. It sounded easy enough. And so he would adjust his hood over his head to make sure that it was secure. Once that had been placed, he would look over at the trees and try again. He pressed his legs downwards to obtain a spring effect before launching off, releasing all of his potential energy and transferring it to full kinetic energy. A light step onto the side of the first tree, he would quickly turn his back around while jumping off to bring himself a little bit higher, stepping onto the second tree with ease. Then the third hop, the fourth, and the control for his leg strength and accuracy had been perfected. Wall Hopping, already done. It did put a bit of a sore against the back of his legs, but that was just a warm up. If he was unable to take the heat from that, there was no way he could be ready to take on the tree climbing.

Chakra control, Chakra Control... To my feet... he thought, his eyes closing as he was trying to focus all of his energy onto there. His mind was very dedicated to pushing the chakra towards the soles, where he would have the most control. Surprisingly enough, moving energy throughout his body such as that was a lot harder than he expected. It was slowly being pushed, but not quite there yet. According to the teacher, it required their fullest level of concentration and Chakra since they are just starting out. It was interesting when the term "starting out" was said since many people could have started out from anywhere. Whatever, though. The Chakra seemed close enough to his feet, and so he would shrug before looking down towards the ground, then hopped from the branch of the tree and landed safely on the ground. Perfect. Before even trying to think about it, he'd just charge towards the first one he had spotted while the Chakra was at his legs. One thing that he did not consider was the concentration of its movement, meaning that what was once at the legs began to move back to all the points in his body. Surely, this did not happen too quickly, and he would still have a little bit. But it was not located at the feet, meaning that it had little to no effect. And so the result of the first climb...

Ow... Haruki would let out as he had landed on the back of his neck. The fall could have been worse, but there were many different areas that he could have landed on instead. However, there was no time to be dwelling on what can't be changed anymore. There was also another chance to try. This time, Haruki decided to clear his mind a bit more, rather than just force the Chakra down. Letting it go at its own pace, allowing it to move without being forced. It was sort of like a mobile, if it went much too fast, it would eventually start to chuck and sputter. As for a regular pace, it might not be too speedy, but it will allow things to run smoothly. Like he predicted, the energy in his body was beginning to weaken at the upper half, but strength in the lower half. His soles felt the strongest out of all parts of his body, the second strongest being his legs. And with that, he felt the Chakra flowing gently. Making sure to not empty himself and stress his body, he supplies the necessary amount of Chakra to each joint to make sure that he can function properly. Other than that, however, the main areas have been successfully injected with much energy, and now he felt ready to try climbing up the tree again.

CHARRRRRRRRRGE! The boy would exclaim as he would "calmly" pounce towards the tree, feet landing on the bark before he would try to climb. One step, two steps, three steps, failure. Once again, his balance was not quite too accurate, and his body did not stick to the tree. It was an unfortunate result for sure as he landed on his back this time with a mightier thud. The impact was greater as well since he did geta bit higher, and he also did get a feeling as to how it was like to have control, even if it was just for the moment. So what was he going to do with that newfound information and feeling? Well, recovering was the first step as he sat back up, crossing his legs. A late reaction from the impact would reveal itself as one of the pinecones from one of the trees would then bounce on top of his head, causing two swirls to appear on his head and knock him back down to the ground in the process, just for the moment. Maybe at this point, one would expect for the Pinecone to have some sort of crucial role to the training. But no, it was just some unfortunately timed pinecone. On the plus side, an idea did come to mind. The calm mind was just designed to keep the Chakra in his feet and his legs. However... If he kepts that mindset, he would also have it not be applied since nothing was focusing on it. It's like learning many handsign combinations, only for the Chakra to never be released. As a result, they can't use a Jutsu.

So if his theory was correct, he was going to have to keep a very calm mind at first, but then concentrate on the Chakra RIGHT as he begins the climb. In doing so, he would be able to get the energy down towards his feet and then lock it in place. So the downside to the forcing of it soon became a benefit. Who knew? And so he would get back onto his feet before holding up his pointer and middle finger up to his lips, his eyes closed as he would keep calm once again. Once the energy had travelled back down towards his feet, he would open his eyes again, give the trees one nice look and a smile, he would perkily charge back towards the trees. His legs sprang up, he landed on the bark and would suddenly force the Chakra in place, preventing it from moving. The first few steps however, they were the ones that counted. And unfortunately for him, the mindset did not change in time. So in return, two sloppy steps were taken before his back would lean away, right as his body changed modes. This was just simply a severe case of bad timing.

One more time, he knew he could get this down. After spending a few minutes to recover from the stacking hits that were getting on his body. Placing a smile however as he rubbed his temples from a headache, the pain would begin to ease down. The upbeat tone that he gave off would reveal how determined he was to get this down pat. And to successfully pull this off, he needed to keep trying. The last thing that was needed was timing. Calm at first, run towards the tree with a calm mind... Jump, change his mind quickly right after he jumped, and then begin to run up the bark. It was a lot easier said than done, but it was definitely possible. So with one big inhale, an even bigger exhale, and a somewhat hurting but peaceful mind, he would then rush towards the tree once again. Calm mind, calm! Must stay... Calm... And his mind would be following his orders, the Chakra flowing easily once again while he was running, a small bonus to this excersize. Legs locked as he prepared to spring, and so he would then launch upwards. Mind change. Mind change... Mind charge! Focus! This time, that had been let out from his lips rather than his mind. His lips would end up snarling like an animal before locking the Chakra in place with the new focus.

His feet were covered with blue light as he would step upwards. One, two, three, four, five, six... The steps felt all the same. Not a single step seemed harder than the other. So close, he was so close to getting towards the top! Haruki had faith in himself, knowing that he could do this! And finally... Finally... The damage that he had sustained from this venture had taken its toll. The stamina that he lacked and the amount of damage that he could take was not too good. And considering the many attempts and the many falls, he could not quite make it to the top. But instead, his body would plunge towards the ground, headfirst as well. Eyes closed as his lack of energy knocked him down. With a last bit of energy, he'd try to use the new technique discovered to twist his body, his feet barely connecting to the second tree. With his lack of Chakra, he'd slide down. However, that's to that bit, he was able to keep his feet on the tree instead of losing the grip. As the final result, he'd hit the ground on his sides, but with a softened result. He knew that when he gained the energy, he could nail it on his first try. While the results could have been much better, he learned a great amount from this session. And so he would get up, turn around, and begin to walk (Practically limp) home.

Word Count: 2009 Words

Rewards:
3 stats towards Stamina
3 stats towards Strength
2 stats towards Health
2 Stats towards Speed

Tree Cliimbing/Surface Walking Technique

Are you sure you want to do this Haru? I can imagine a few safer ways of doing this, and would honestly prefer to do it in those ways than this... Well, that was not the only concern that his instructor will be having if his continued to complain. Mainly because the hooded student was able to do it much better. It had been eight months now into his training, and not only has he got the hand signs and basics of Chakra memorized, his body had gained a bit more physical strength, and now his abilities in battle have been heavily enhanced. On top of that, a few techniques have been taught to him. But what was offense and support without a little bit of defense? In all honestly, he prefered Ninjitsu over the other types of Jutsu's. Does that make him simple? Most certainly. But the thing that made him a little more original was his lack in interest for Genjutsu. Or perhaps he would prefer to refrain from using it. In this, he might have built up a fear, and a fear does not do well for Shinobi. So this was where he took a bit of time to look further and find a simple technique in the book, something that can help him with his Genjutsu prevention. The Genjutsu Release. Once this has been found, he had been hounding his teachers to do train him on the art, instead of learning it the boring way. If he wanted to survive against the forms of Genjutsu to current exist, he needed to think big.

Come onnnn, how hard can it be? There is only one hand sign, and I know you will be casting the illusion, so what is the big deal? Optimistic as ever as a cute smile would be let out from his face. Naturally, this was not a parent, but a teacher. In response, the instructor would not be phased by it, not that the smile was supposed to manipulate any feelings in the first place. However, he knew that if the task had not been done now, the Akari would continue to swipe at the subject until submission had been shown. It was better to just get it out of the way. On the plus side, one did have to commend the fact that the boy was very ambitious, and that he was eager to learn. While many students would sleep and even skip classes, he was normally found writing in his notes. Unfortunately, sometimes, those notes would just be doodles about how Haruki pictured himself in the future. There was no end goal or anything, he just wanted to fight along with other Shinobi. Kage seemed too much of a hassle for him, and for what cost? With this in mind, he would not mind having a Jounin title. It was unfortunate, rumors spreading about murder being a requirement. And while looked down upon by Haruki, who would listen to the thirteen year old? Besides, there were probably reasons for it.

All right, get ready for it, I'm starting it and will release. When I say "one", that is when I will start weaving the signs. Get ready, and remember, Tiger! All right, the instructions were pretty clear the first time, or so Haruki would think at first. It was nice to get a reminder though, and so he will let it go before he would then wait for the countdown. The both of them locked eyes with each other, their concentrations really high. And once the countdown started, Haru would prepare to get the Tiger sign waved. It would be held up to his head, like he remembered. The goal was to not be emotionally or mentally moved by the illusions. And with this in mind, the teacher would then carry out the numbers. Three... Two... ONE! One was emphasized so that Haruki could notice the different. And the bright child would put his hands into the Tiger form. And once that had occurred, the teacher would quickly weave signs. The most that he maybe might have caught onto was the second sign being the Ox... Or Dragon? Yeah, it was probably the Ram. Or Snake? Oh well, it did not matter. His light brown eyes were open to the illusion, a mistake already, but he will learn that soon. The sudden appearance of a cat crawling on the ground on its scrawny stomach, and the innocent Haruki could not help but feel bad for it. Awwwww, poor little kitty! It is hungry! The boy would exclaim, looking at the animal. He was able to recognize it's problem, traveling on the streets allowed him to see what animals were out there, and the stray cat was one of the most common, if not the most.

A nice little wake up call would be launched at him as the scold hit him really hard. Seems like there was something wrong with what the boy had been trying to do. "HARUKI!" The teacher would exclaim, and the tone did not seem the slightest bit satisfied with what had happened. His eyes would raise before his head would tilt to the side, a very confused boy he was. Did he not do the Tiger sign like he had been asked to do? Well, his teacher was able to tell him what was wrong, but hopefully not in a mean way. To help soften the blow, the boy would then protest what he was doing and why it was not his fault. "But I did the Tiger hand sign and held it!" Which was true, but he still did destroy the purpose of the Release. The adult would shake his head from side to side as he looked downwards and had his eyes closed, a sigh emitting from his lips before he'd open his eyes once again. An instructor needed to be patient, and this was a kid that he was dealing with after all. It was amazing, how much an adult could take, even from a student that was willing to speak back just to make sure that he was not in the wrong. "Well Haru, the problem is that you were too focused on trying to find out what the illusion was that you let it have a grip. The Release will not work if you purposely try to focus on the illusion. And based on what I saw, you were quite focused on that cat, I saw your eyes pretty much goo up. So you are going to have to try better than that."

This had the boy curious. "What can I do to avoid focusing on the illusion? It could be all around me!" Haruki would announce before he placed his palms against his hips, now interested in the instructor had in store for him. The response came back rather quickly, as if it were something that had been said in class. That was impossible, considering the by was pretty sure he was paying attention to the lesson. He was 95% sure of it! Then again, the other 5% might have been the scolding that he would have received provided he did not speak up. So for now... Words have power? That was a moral that Haru could accept. You need to block the outside world, even if just for the smallest moment. That moment will dispel the illusion, all you need to do is ignore everything that it provides. If it means that you also need to ignore the real world, that is much better than suffering through the pain of illusions. The teacher would explain, placing himself in the stance for weaving once again. It was best for the boy to get ready, because round two was coming up. All right, so based on what he currently knew, he just needed to block out the outside world. But how exactly was he supposed to do that again? The hooded student would try to open his mouth, only to gently shut it. He knew better than to directly ask. Shinobi were supposed to figure things out on their own, they could not rely on the information of others unless absolutely necessary.

Two! ONE! Seems like the adult wanted to catch him in a bit of a surprise. But that was not fair! Then again, in battle, if the ninja that wanted to kill him were to ambush him, was that ambusher going to fight fair? Chances are, they most likely are not, and so he would just suck it up and nod his head before looking over towards the teacher, eyeing him for the moment before he then realized his mistake. All right, so one form of illusion was sight. And so Haruki would close his eyes and place his palms to weave the Tiger sign. With his eyes closed, there was no way that he could be swayed by something that he could not see. However, he was then reminded by a gentle bit of tears and a girls voice that illusions were not designed to fool the eyes. Surely there had to be some blind Shinobi as well. So with the crying little girl, he was very tempted to open his eyes and solve whatever she was crying about. However, this was training, and if it WERE real, the teacher would handle it rather than be silent. Teachers cared, which was very comforting. However, that was not the case since there was nothing to care about. You are not real... You are not real... He thought, giving it a bit of his focus. However, once he distracted himself with other thoughts that are pretty trivial such as his meal after this training, he was able to slowly silence the crying voice. The agony in his heart for teaching himself to grow cold when he heard something like that did hurt him, but it was not enough. And soon... He was unable to hear it anymore. His focus was on the illusion, but there was no sound. Taking a sneak peak, he could see that his teacher was still holding the stance that he did, but there was nothing that could be done. The Genjutsu had been dispelled.

Hey! I did it! YAY! The boy would exclaim as he would open his eyes all the way now before charging for his teacher, arms wide open before pouncing forward to go for a thank you hug. However, the adult would step to the side and allow Haruki to collide with the ground instead. However, that did not discourage him as a smile was placed on his face. The new Jutsu that he had learned was far too great for something like a failed hug to bring him down. The boy would scratch the back of his head and smile before looking over to the teacher. I did it! Thank you so much! And the adult would just chuckle before he would reach out a hand to Haru, which was gladly accepted, and the thirteen year old would get back up and keep himself ready for the next lesson. Or so he would expect a new one, but the teacher would then begin to walk away. HEY! NO! YOU ARE NOT DONE TEACHING ME THINGS! Haruki would exclaim. Well, maybe the teacher was. The boy tried to pounce onto the head of the man once again, but nothing came out of it as a result since the Substitution Jutsu had been used, and so his arms would wrap around a log again, and so the teacher had disappeared. Dang it... And while his voice did cut off, he did have a new idea. Ready or not! Here I come! The cheerful boy would exclaim, and now he was going to search all over the village for the teacher, because there were more techniques to be learned, and he wanted to get ready for the Genin Exam that he knew was arriving.

Word Count: 2018

Rewards:
5 Stats towards Chakra
3 Stats towards Power
2 Stats towards Health

Genjutsu Release

Well, a full year has passed and he had learned a few techniques now. So what could he do to pass the time? Well, more techniques did have to be learned, and the boy made sure that such a task would be done, even if it killed him. Speaking of things that could kill him, this next Jutsu would probably save him from things that could or could not kill him. This would require a fellow student. Well, any person would have done the trick, but the adults all turned him down on his free offer to punch him. It was a shame, he was so sure that they would have liked to obtain a bit of revenge for him playing pranks on them. Maybe they were too light? Nah, they did seem to be having a blast with them. Dropping that topic to the side, however, the boy would look over to two other classmates of his, all of them in the playground area like he was. They were all there to practice the Jutsu and fight. This was going to be a long battle if they were able to get the techniques down, but Haruki had his notes. When he got to read them was the question, but he shrugged it off plenty of times and went with the flow. It worked multiple times in the past, what could stop him from being successful now?

You sure you want to do this guy? I don't think this is the best way to carry out this task. The bookworm would explain, speaking up for the other two to hear. The second classmate was a girl that seemed just as perky as he was, and maybe he and she could have a smile on one day. However, it was time to fight. The both of them needed to learn how to use the Substitution Jutsu. The bookworm, Haruki will just call him Shu, was the one who could tell them exactly what they were doing wrong when they were trying to do the Jutsu. Of course not! That is why we are learning, so we can be sure! Yup, just as perky as she raised a victorious fist up. Haruki will address her as Freya, just because she seemed like one. And screw learning names, that will be done for his team in the future. Just the thought of having one placed a smile on his face. Or at least, one that was even bigger than before.

I am telling you right now, there are much better ways of doing this... Shu would tell the both of the idiots, who of course did not listen. They both needed to have that one friend that would try to convince them out of doing what they were doing. It was just fun for some reason. And the excuse that he actually knew how to carry out the Jutsu was why he would be able to justify his actual reason. The boy did not know why Freya invited him, but it did not matter as long as Shu was actually here. And so they would begin, but not after Haruki would reply. Why are you so boring? We have to fight someday you know. Not the most sarcastic way of saying it, but he was just too kind. Then again, he might have been a great plotter as well, and somehow those two went hand in hand with the package that was named Haruki Akari. Don't you die on me now there Haru. Well, how did he know Haruki's name again? But even more importantly, why is Shu addressing him only? Did he lack confidence in the boy? Haru's smile would become a smirk, accepting the challenge that had been presented to him. Shu wanted to save him, but how would the hooded boy understand that? They were all either twelve or thirteen anyways.

And so their little dance would start off with her pouncing at him. All right, now was the time. If he remembered correctly, the signs for the Substitution technique was... Tiger, Ox, Boar, Snake, and Ram. With this in mind, he would shift his hands to all five of the signs accordingly, successfully connecting them all. However, Shu seemed to shake his head when the final signs being weaved. Haruki did not care, he was sure that he had this down pat. He was 95% sure of it! Waiting for impact, he would wait for the fist. Once Freya successfully planted the punch on his stomach, he would end up coughing from the strong impact. What did she lift!? What did she eat!? There must be a secret to it! Also, how did he not avoid it? Oops. Sorry Haru! Are you okay? Freya would ask him, offering him a hand from above. Refusing to take it though since he wanted to prove himself, he would just push himself back up onto his feet using his palms. And with that, he would brush off the dirt from his clothes. Shu took the time to rub salt into the wound, what a great guy he was. Not only did you mess up the order of the signs, but you ended up replacing one of them with Ram. Did you even study? Shu would ask, adjusting his glasses to have them fit properly on his face. Haruki would nod his head and ball his fists as they were held up close to his head. Of course I did! I was 95% sure that I would have done it! A small silence after that, allowing his loud voice to echo in awkward silence. Finally, one of them took action. A backhand to the cheek would be performed by Freya, and the devastation of her knuckles were enough to launch him onto his back. Ow! What the heck was that for!? The boy would ask as he rubbed his face. The girl would just give him a sly smile before bending her back down, her face clearly with no regrets. The other 5%, idiot. You should have studied more! She would explain before stepping back quickly, as if he would have retaliated. That was not the case, mainly because it did not occur in his head that he had that option. But by the time he realized it, there was far too much distance between them.

So instead, he would just get back up from the grounded state that he was in previously before stretching his arms up into the air, playing it off like he did not take any damage. Both his stomach and his cheek were aching, and there was a nice little handprint that painted his face red. Remember, the signs in order are Tiger, Boar, Ox, Dog, and Snake. Then when you are touched, it should work. No Chakra flows need to be moved or anything of that sort. Shu would explain. The both of the other two students would nod their head, waiting for the first move. This went on for approximately 30 seconds before Freya would then cross her arms. You already had your turn to try, it is my turn you know. She would explain, then entering her battle stance again. And while the boy would like to rebutt to that, he knew that she was telling the truth. The boy just wanted to master substitution. It was such an interesting technique. It played quite an important role, it could have saved him from obtaining the pain that he felt on his stomach. And while the second one technically did not have to do with it, it still was the reason why he obtained the pain that was on his cheek. Well, it was time to fight back, get revenge for the pain that he had to endure.

And so the hooded boy would dash towards the enemy with a smile on his face, fists held up high to give the illusion of him planning to punch. But once he had gotten close enough, he'd aim for a quick high back kick, which was ducked under as the first sign was made. Then a second one would occur before he tried to use that same foot to slam down. While he did it swiftly, she was able to block the attack with her hands while she was using the sign. Well that was interesting, and it did not seem like she took damage to her hands either. In response, she would quickly slide her leg to the side to try to make him fall, only for him to jump. A quick third sign would be done before he spun his right leg, attempting to hit her from above. However, she swiftly moved her head to the side and successfully avoided the attack, a fourth sign being done. Once he landed, the fifth one had been done, and he tried to punch her in the stomach, only for the texture to feel completely different. Like bark. Tree bark specifically. And he would end up seeing the illusion of the fallen body of Freya disappear before seeing the real one behind him. Hi! A perky exclaim that had him react very suddenly, his fist swinging all the way around before Shu would suddenly catch it. Whoa! Whoa! Calm down Haru, if she wanted to hurt you, she would have done so by now. Notice the log? It was the Substitution Technique. And without it, you would have been able to hit her. Notice how it took time though, and she was patient. Even in the most desperate hour, you can't rush time. So it is better to take a bit more of it, but get it correct the first time.

Being patient. That was going to be the hardest task he had ever faced. But that seemed like such a small task compared to getting a new Jutsu in his little list. Eh, fine. I'll try. Haruki would explain before getting up and walking a good distance away. After the distance was obtained, he would then give a regular battle stance, two fists up. Of course, he was not going to use them for anything other than making signs. Freya would nod her head when she say that he was ready, then zipped towards him with her arms laying back. Time to think. The type of running she was doing was designed to be unpredictable. Any attacking area can be used in this scenario, it was going to be taking a shot in the dark if he wanted to block her. But dodging her won't be a problem if he just jumped back. All right, so the first sign was... Tiger! Yes, Tiger. And the first attack with a right jab, in which he stepped back quickly. What was the second one again? His hands were kind of tied, unable to move away unless he wanted to start over. Freya clearly knew this, taking shots at him from above so that blocking is a tough chore. Still, he was always such a risky fighter, and he would move his arms up to block her foot. In response, he'd kick out with his right leg and cause her to stumble. Perfect! The second one was Boar, and so Boar would be done. After stumbling was over, she would charge again. Ox. Ox was the third sign. She swung at him with an uppercut from her left hand, the target being the chin. In response, he moved his head back, but not too far back since he can't use his hands to balance. The fourth one... It was... Snake, Ram, or Dog? One of those three for sure. He kept on picking at his mind as he stepped back, only to receive a sudden swift palm to the stomach from Freya. Due to directional influence, he moved his body with the attack so that it would feel like a gentle tap. Dog! Yes, it was most certainly dog, there was no doubt about it. And so she pounced once more at him, trying to at least get one strike in this fight. But it was too late, he recalled his last mistake, the moment when Shu shook his head when he let out the Ram sign. And in the end, he carried out the real final sign. Snake. Impact had been made, and Haru may have felt something on his skin. But located a good distance away, a stick on the top of the slide, and so he would now be sitting on the slide while the stick would take his place, breaking upon impact with Freya's fist.

Hey Freya! Haru would call out while on the slide, only to be pushed down it by Shu, and he ended up sliding all of the way down. It was amazing how tall it was for children, not quite what should be done, even if they were Shinobi in training. Regardless, it seemed like he was living by the end of it, so there was not too much damage done at the end of it. It was time to go anyways, the new Substitution Jutsu had been performed. But has it been mastered yet...? That was something that he needed to be sure of before they could go yet. Wait, I might have done it one time, but I think I want to go for another round. I might have gotten lucky, and being patient is nice and all, but if all I had was one second to live, I need to make sure I take full advantage of it. The hooded boy would explain to them before placing his palms inside of his pockets, waiting for a reply from either of them. Maybe both of them. You sure you want to do that? I think if you get it once, you have it stuck in your head for a while, even without practice. Shu would explain, tilting his head. Freya seemed to have a different opinion however. Nahhhh, I don't see why not! It was fun the first time, and if Haru really is not that sure, who else can he practice with?

While she did mean well, that was taken in a way that could damage as well, acting like he had no others to interact and practice with. Then again, it was true. Besides the two of them all of the shopkeepers who barely knew him and his aunt would be able to acknowledge him. And the ones who are afraid to hurt him? That would be all of them. But keeping these locked behind his lips, he would just smile even brighter, actually letting out a white toothy grin. Shu would just sigh in response, knowing that he can't win while the both of them had their minds set on something. That was how he was even convinced to do it in the first place. All right, fine. But I'm going to join as well. Heck, I'll make a game out of it. The first one to hit the other wins. The rule is that you must have used Substitution at least one time before you can win. Any hits before that point won't count. Seems fair enough? More than fair, that sounded like fun. Freya woud beat him to the punch though as she raised a fist into the air. Yay! Let's do it! She would exclaim happily, and all three of them would separate. Provided a line were to connect them, they would form a triangle with a 60 degree angle in all three angles. Beautiful. Once that had been done, Shu would quickly start off the battle without warning, hurling two rubber knives at them. It would hurt to get hit by them, but they drew no blood. At least, if there was no force behind them. Haru had no time to focus on Freya, but himself. And so he would duck under the knife, only to see Shu in front of him. Quickly, he blocked a powerful strike from above, his arms hurting a little bit. For being the nerd of the group, his fists packed a mighty punch.

Freya seemed to have his back for the moment, capitallizing and jumping into the air, a leg swinging at the head of Shu, who in turn quickly caught her leg, forcing her to hop onto her available leg. Haru took the chance, quickly trying to sweep her off her free leg by swinging his own to hit the back of her kneecap. As an unfortunate result, her body laid limp upon impact, and would reveal a wrapper that was on the ground instead, appearing behind Shu a few feet away. While distracted, Shu would take advantage of the vulnerable hooded boy and strike him on the stomach. To try to string it into a combo, he would also try to raise a knee to strike the face, but Haru blocked the incoming attack with both palms, then suddenly raising his own head against the chin of his opponent, causing the bookworm to stumble back. Freya would kick that same bookworm's back, treating Shu like a projectile as he hurled towards Haru. It was his chance. Tiger, Boar, Ox, Dog, and Snake. All five signs came to his head so easily. Once the signs had been done, the body hit him, but did not have impact. he swapped places with the same stick that had been broken, now behind Freya.

Shu did not seem like he could go on for much longer, their barrage was quite something. but it was a game, and they were not on the same team, so the both of them would leave him alone. They both used the substitution jutsu technique once, now it was to see which one of them would land the first strike. He was given the advantage, behind behind her and all, and he knew that he had to take full advantage of that. And so he woudl attempt to strike her with a swift kick to the hip. Credit must be given where it is due, the fact that she was able to not only see him coming, but to calculate the timing and get away with it, all with simply a roll forward, and now she turned around and was safe, ready to fight back. It was amazing, he would hope to not get in a real fight with her in the future. She could really master the arts of Taijutsu if she felt. That was close, but no dice yet. Now this is where the real battle begin! She would announce. Good, now she was fired up, and they could have a fair fight without him doing anything cheap. And while it might be hypocritical for him to think it, he thought that it was probably best if it were that way anyways. So that he could win the battle in their game. It's not fun if the game was not played fair.

No one started the battle this time. They both charged at each other with their arms behind their bodies, now a game of Rock Paper Scissors would occur. In this case, Haruki chose Scissors, and Freya chose Rock. The boy tried to strike with a right jab to the cheek, in which she caught it with her left hand, then returned the favor by aiming a swing with her available fist. Haru ducked under the attacked successfully before aiming a fist upwards. Of course, she leaned her back away from him, thus forcing him to hit the air. Unforunate result, but at least he was able to handle her next predictable move, both of them lifting up their legs and collding with each other, causing Freya to stumble while Haru would smirk, jumping as he realized that there was a chance to end this fight. His legs would spring upwards, fist charged and ready for a good hit. A sudden blur would emit from in front of him, the speed being too much for him to react to as a hit would land on his body, a kick towards the side. As a result, his body would be sent flying before his feet hit the ground, his back arched forward as he slid. Looking up to see the attacker, he instead saw Shu, who seemed to be smiling for once. Looks like I win. He would announce, in which freya would call him out on his mistake.

Hey now! You did not use the Substitution Technique! She would exclaim, practically scream. In response, he'd just adjust his glasses while closing his eyes, a smile on his face before he chuckled, causing the other two kids to tilt their heads to the side. Freya would just frown while Haru would stare with a curious "o" formed from his lips. Was Shu okay? Are you so sure about that? Well of course! Not once did they see him carry out the task. How could he have done it if they did not see it? It was a question that was about to be asked, only, Shu did not seem quite finished with his explanation. While you guys did hit me a few times, you were much too focused on battle to see what I did. While Haruki used the Substitution, I used it when i was hit. If you paid closer attention, i did not resist. That was because of the illusion being dead weight. I was close to the illusion, so it did not disappear until I released my Chakra from it. And then you both got too caught up in the heat, I watched and waited for the right moment to strike. And Haru gave it to me!

No fair! I was about to win! The hooded boy would pout, his lips pressed forward and his cheeks puffed. His eyes were also half closed, arms crossed, and stance being straight as he took on a stance of proposal. He knew he lost, but he was going to fight it with all the strength he got. Yes, he was willing to fight what was actually happening. Shu just waved it off dismissively with his hand before placing his hands in his pockets. Nah, you just fell into my trap. Thanks for making it easy on me. As my prize, I want some free ramen. In which the both of them would flail their arms rashly. That was not apart of what the results were. Would he have mentioned it if the other two had won the game? Most likely not, but now it only seemed fair. Still though, an excuse had to be made, and of course, Freya was the first one to jump the gun. Nope, I have no Ryo on me. Even if I did, I was not the one who was hit, I'm not the winner, but I'm certainly not the loser either. She would explain with a sly smile before looking over towards the hooded boy. What about you Haru? Care to buy some Ramen? And there was no way to fight it as well. That was unfortunate. While he did learn a new technique, it also came with a heavier price of Ryo. Great...

All right, fine. You win. Let's go and get this over with. He would admit defeat, there was no point in fighting it. Trying to run away was a bad idea, what with the low amount of Chakra left in his body, and the fact that he was unable to move as fast as Shu, who would catch him in a heartbeat. Most likely, the only hope would be to use clone Jutsu, but again, little Chakra was left. And so he would escort them both over towards a shop where there was cheap Ramen. It was him who got to decide where they went, and fortunately for him, they were unable to tell a jounin from a student when it came to the shops. Did they lack experience? Or perhaps they stayed in their homes for too long, both of which are very unfortunate.

Word Count: 4022

Rewards:
6 Stats towards Speed
5 Stats towards Strength
3 Stats towards Chakra
4 Stats towards Stamina
2 Stats towards Health

Substitution Technique