From Noon to Twilight (P/NK)

No matter how hard the boy tried to ignore it, the buzzing was incessant. With every second it seemed to grow, until eventually, the sound was overwhelming. Hands slipped from behind his head, his eyes briefly opening before swiftly closing once again after the bright sun had temporarily blinded him. With a groan, Zanshin rolled to his side, feeling the soft grass irritate his skin as he tried to become comfortable once more. When sleep tried to tempt him again, the buzzing came forth once more. with a sigh, a hand swung outward to dismiss the small bug that created the noise, but it was to no avail.

With another groan, his eyes opened once more, the boy swinging out as he roughly sat up. Once again the fly had easily evaded him, but it did prove to be useful in waking the student up. He finally planted his hands adjacent to his sides, slightly grunting as he attempted to jump to his feet. There was a slight wobble, his balance wavering due to the fatigue, but he eventually stood tall and stretched. He looked toward the academy with a sigh, were his tests really coming so soon? He wasn't sleeping out here because of intense training or studying, in fact, he was doing it out of procrastination. Zanshin hadn't even begun to master the jutsus he'd need to perform to graduate, he could barely even remember the signs needed, so how could he possibly dream of passing? This, unfortunately, was the life the teen had brought upon himself. He was lazy at times, and now more than ever, it threatened to come back and bite him where it hurt. He wasn't doing a good job of showing it, but he did plan on graduating, and getting held back or possibly dropped from the program was unimaginable.

There was some hesitance as he made his way toward the outer walls of the academy to grab his bag, and with a little effort, he rummaged through it to find his mostly empty notebook. Zanshin wanted to record the methods of performing jutsu here, things like what conditions or signs were needed to perform them. Zanshin wasn't quite studious, but the boy did at least find ninjutsu interesting. So, with another sigh, he flipped the book open and slowly paced back out toward the field where he previously had napped. He planned on starting with the clone jutsu, something that most ninja had deemed rather simple. It seemed easier than changing his appearance, really, and if nothing else, when he learned the jutsu it would provide a way to distract the fly as he tried to drift off to sleep once more. There was a slight laugh at the thought, but with a deep breath, he attempted to focus on the task at hand: creating a clone. Signs were slowly weaved, clumsily formed before transferred to the next. When the series was completed, and his chakra was brought forth, what appeared before him certainly wasn't himself. What he saw was an incorrectly colored, almost sickly looking, shell of himself. If it was a living thing, he felt as though it'd be a stretch to even call it a human. Still, he was persistent, and as hours ticked by, the images of himself seemed to edge closer and closer to looking like the real deal. Finally, when the sun that used to hang high in the sky dared to touch the horizon and the bright blue sky was stained with red and gold, Zanshin stood feet from a perfect image of himself. Zanshin had inspected it thoroughly, after all, this was going to be examined by others, but it seemed to check out in every department.

His next goal was one he hoped to achieve before nightfall, and it was one he had already made significantly more progress in than the clone technique. He needed to transform what he looked like, something that had obvious uses in infiltration, provided that the ninja provided that they were convincing enough in their deception. When he formed the signs, whether it was because of learning or some confidence that he found during his training session, they were quicker and more uniform. Though he had a false start and needed to reform them, he knew that if there were any problems that were going to arise during his training session, they likely wouldn't be a culprit. The boy, despite all the positives he had going for him, wasn't able to change what he looked like. It felt like every picture of a notable ninja that he could summon in his mind would either vanish or prove to be too fuzzy to ever work with. Zanshin couldn't focus on the images of his friends or teachers, and though he wanted to keep the image of the village's kage in his mind's eye, it was something he simply couldn't manage. When it came down to it, he felt like he didn't know anybody well enough to perfectly copy them. There were so many factors that he didn't consider previously: dress, facial structure, hair color and style, the shape and color of their eyes, it all was just too much for him to handle at once. It reached the point where he simply didn't care what he made, as long as he was able to produce something useable. With a huff, the student fell to the ground and stared skyward. Why was he even bothering with all this? He didn't like to apply himself this much so... Why did he care so much? He didn't want to become Raikage or some legendary ninja, so why was trying and failing driving such a large knife into his heart?

He tried to remember why he did what he was doing. Was it for his parents? No... It was for himself.

"Wait!"

Zanshin sprung up once more, his feet roughly impacting the ground as his conclusion rushed forward. He did have a subject to mimic, but it wasn't a famous subject, and it certainly was no ninja. Who else did he know better than his parents? He saw them frequently enough to know their faces by heart, and with a little bit of effort, he figured that copying them would be almost laughably easy. Minutes later, as his eyes gazed at his hands, hands which he did not recognize, he realized that his theory wasn't very far off base. To any observer, he had become an entirely different person after a dramatic reveal from a cloud of smoke. He was now identical to his father in seemingly every way, and in Zanshin's eyes, that was more than enough reason for celebration. Sure, he was a bit behind his deadline of 'before sunset,' but he had managed to perform the jutsu when hours earlier he could barely even dream of how to perform it. Though the student was far less than exemplary, he performed something that dozens couldn't, and that fact alone made the act of suppressing the smile on his face nearly impossible.

Still, he realized that his task was not yet completed. There was so much more to be done, and though he was on his way home after a surprisingly lengthy training session, he knew that a little practice could still be squeezed in if he put his mind to it. Flipping through the book he withdrew hours earlier, his eyes feel to a technique that he hadn't yet given any thought. Releasing himself from genjutsu was not going to be tested, and he knew that, and for something rather out of character for the boy, (though he didn't even notice), he decided to put in a little bit more effort to learning how to perform it. If his life was going to be in jeopardy on a daily basis, learning to defend himself against one of the pillars of shinobi jutsu seemed essential. So, on his walk, his eyes traced the pages to absorb nearly every detail. It seemed simple enough, at least, more simple than the other techniques he put his mind to learning that day. Forming a single tiger seal and using it to channel chakra through his body to break whatever hold was over his system. It would entirely depend on how much chakra he could manage to make flow, and how strong his chakra was in general, but it would be a start if he could manage to at least emulate what the technique would be like.

His lengthy walk home was filled with the repetition of movements that he began to associate with training. The seal was created, his energy was merged, and chakra flowed through his body. Each time he tried, he adjusted parameters to more efficiently perform it. Though it was hard to guess that he'd be able to break out of anything, it at least felt like he was performing it correctly. The flow of energy seemed to spread a feeling of warmth through him, and there was a fatigue that indicated that he absolutely was using a decent amount chakra in his attempts.

Before he knew it, his eyes fell on the small house that his family had occupied since he was young. A smile spread across his face, and as the book was quickly thrown into his bag, he prepared to rush toward the door and show his parents absolutely everything that he had learned today. During the training, he had accepted most of the reasons he wanted to be a shinobi, and in doing so, his will to become one was reinforced. Despite this, he knew that deep down, his parents' approval was still something he could never get tired of hearing. With a deep breath, the door was opened and flung open moments later, Zanshin announcing his presence across the home moments after.

"Hey, Mom, check this out!"

(Exit)

WC: 1651
+8 Stat Points
+Clone Technique (500/500)
+Transformation Technique (500/500)
+Genjutsu Release (500/500)

Approved. I think you meant stat points not skill points however; so also approving 8 Stat points

Missed that! Will edit, thank you!

edit Approved