Learning to Clone (P, NK, Satomi)

What a beautiful day it was, just the kind of day that Satomi enjoyed most of all. Barely an overcast at all as those fluffy cotton clouds lazily drifted across the sky, the Sun just as bright and beautiful as the young academy student himself as he trotted along a path in the park. Class had just let out for the day and he was eager to meet his new tutor on the opposite side of the park. Sure he could have walked around the gardens, but why would he ever pass up the opportunity to see the pretty flora and scenery? The tree-lined path also provided just the right amount of shade to shield him from the heat as practically skipped along, there was just something uniquely comfortable to Satomi about being in the shadows of the sprawling maple trees that just let her spirit blossom even more. The acutely feminine boy slowed his pace however as he overheard a voice, or maybe two, he wasn't really sure. He spun around to get a lay of the land while nevertheless continuing towards his intended destination, and while there were others in the park, they all seemed preoccupied with general festivities.

It would be a the rustling of leaves that would eventually lead Satomi to what he was looking for, if not for the lack of a breeze he may have even been oblivious to that as he stopped in his tracks and panned upward towards the branches of a tree to observe someone lounging quite lazily among the foliage. Another village ninja from the look of it too, this one eve older than Miyamoto who he had resently met as well—or at the very least his size would indicate as much.

“Do you need a ladder~?” The beaming boy called up at the shaded individual, his voice melodic and sweet. Very gentle and girlish as he stood with a hands on his hips, certainly throwing shades of confusion as to his gender. Nonetheless his tone was almost bratty in that it meant to tease the treed shinobi, though the lack of any ill-intention behind them would lead one to assume he was merely being a playful, albeit curious child. “There are much more comfortable places to sit in the gardens!”

He took a step back for good measure, being squashed by falling shinobi wasn't exactly favorable. In fact he'd take another few small steps back just in case as he watched as the unfamiliar Hoshi-nin made a well controlled plummet to his feet from his perch. Lounging in a tree and able to land on his feet, maybe this stranger was just ninja cat in disguise, but that probably wasn't very likely. A desire to shiver overcame the short boy as he felt himself being inspected by the much taller stranger, his narrow gaze and soft tone certainly didn't seem friendly.

“I-I, uh...” The words couldn't quite form in Satomi's mouth as his own shifting gaze cataloged the other's attire, a definitely intimidating number with reds and dark colors. The piece de resistance however the strange sword that accompanied him, it was certainly unique to say the least. “I'm a boy!” He finally squeaked out, his voice not offering a lot of confidence in his claim despite how deceptively true his words may have been.

Satomi watched the older male shift his posture as he seemed to expectantly awaited an answer to his follow-up question in regards to why he bothered him in the first place. Honestly Satomi didn't have an satisfying response, just a kid being a kid. “Well... I was just on my way to see if I could learn the Clone technique.” He stated confidently. It was true after all, today he hoped he could finally achieve the final jutsu that would allow him to take the Genin Exams and graduate from the Academy. The nervous boy shifted slightly, his hands slipping from his hips to fold his arms behind his back as he anxiously waited a reply. In the best case this would satisfy Mr. Tall, Dark, and Edgy and Satomi would have a much shorter trip today, or in the worst case he would be sent on his way by the annoyed shinobi. At least he hoped that would be the worst that would happen.

‘That is one feminine boy’ The dark haired teen would say as he placed a hand on the hilt of his sword. He’d then place the other hand at the neck of the sheathe, this would put him in what most people would recognize as a decent drawing stance. Rather than attack the boy however he’d simply set the sword against the tree and turn toward the boy again. “Clone technique ey?” He’d ask as he stood in front of the young shinobi. Of course the student wanting to learn the Clone technique would prove his thought on him being a shinobi and not a civilian. In regards to wanting to learn the technique, well Valen was bored out of his mind anyway. He’d stand before the boy and harness the chakra within his body, it wasn’t much compared to most other shinobi of his level, considering he focused on the physical aspects of being a shinobi and not the spiritual aspects but it was still more than enough to perform the simple clone technique.
 

At this point he’d slowly switch through the hand seals. Rat, Snake, and Tiger, before channeling his chakra outward and allowing the hand seals to do their conditioning of his chakra. A single mass of chakra would appear next to him, taking the form of himself in the process to appear as a perfect clone. Valen and the clone would then fold his arms over his chest and stare at the young boy at the same time. “Let the hand seals condition the chakra for you, just gather the chakra, perform the seals while imagining yourself, and then push it out.” He would advise before motioning his hand for the boy to try it.


TWC: 758

Satomi's fingers twitched as he watched the much older ninja take hold of his weapon, maybe he made a dire mistake annoying him after all. Oh man, if only I had a rock!” He cursed within the confines of his mind as he prepared to take another step back. Who am I kidding, he could probably kill me before I could even move!

Fortunately for Satomi it wouldn't come to that as the sword was set aside, much to his relief. The child relaxing with an audible sigh, a smile in deep contrast to the teen's seemingly permanent scowl returned to the boy's face as the older shinobi also relented to teaching him the technique as well. Satomi however remained uncharacteristically silent from there on, still quite timid in the bigger ninja's presence. He did however follow along as the jutsu was initially demonstrated to him, it was of course much like the Shadow Clone technique he witnessed performed by the other older shinobi he had met. He was however aware that this technique's limitations compared to the more advanced Shadow Clones. Nonetheless, it was the stepping stone he needed and he was happy to be shown the way!

He waited for the soft spoken shinobi to give him the encouragement to try on his own. Standing upright with his feet together, he folded his hands into the first seal. “Rat.” He repeated to himself. “Snake, then Tiger.” He would utter quietly under his own breath each time he performed each seal respectively, repeating the motions a handful of times before he felt confident enough to summon his chakra and attempt it for real. His body seemed to me more naturally attuned to his chakra in general and with the extra training he had put in recently he felt more capable than ever. His chakra swelled, perhaps a bit more than necessary for the jutsu, but he was still young and it was his first time. Then just like that he released his channeled energy onto the world, summoning up one decently respectable clone of himself. It... mostly looked like himself, mostly. Okay, so he had to admit that it was pretty off and more appeared to look like a dumber version of himself. He didn't have to feel the shame for very long as he dispersed the clone, readying to try again.

There would be quite a few unique iterations of Satomi shown off today as he tried over and over to get it just right, each time coming closer yet it was always something different that was off. Satomi gulped nervously, sort of avoiding the older ninja's piercing red eyes. He most certainly didn't want to give off the impression that he was wasting the edgy one's time. He doesn't seem like the kind of person who likes to be inconvenienced. I better figure this out quickly. His unspoken words only driving him to be more anxious yet, it surely seemed to motivate him as his hands rand through the seals once more. He had to nail it soon, with all the chakra he'd be using, certainly his well was growing quite shallow. Chewing on the inside of his cheek he released another charge of chakra to summon yet another clone, and it wasn't half bad. It looked like Satomi, it posed like Satomi, for all but the most scrutinizing eye it was another Satomi in the flesh. The pair stared at each other, both promptly jumping in celebration as they cheered before the clone Satomi poofed from existance to just leave one boy grinning from ear to ear. “Whahooo! That's how it's done!” Of course he didn't know if he'd past his instructor's own expectations, but that wasn't going to stop him from celebrating anyway.

Valen’s crimson eyes would hold the boy under the highest of scrutiny, never taking them off as the boy made his attempts at the clone technique. He went through quite a few with Valen neither making a word or a motion that would indicate approval or disapproval. When the young boy had finally managed to get the technique down Valen would give an almost imperceptible not of his head as he closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again. “Was there anything else you needed?” He would ask with a raised eyebrow. He didn’t know what else the boy would need or want. After all most kids went off to try to genin exam almost immediately after they finished the clone technique unless he didn’t know the transformation technique yet. Which would be alright, it’s not like it wouldn’t take but a moment or two to teach the simple technique. If the boy required it of him then Valen would nod his head and slowly perform the hand seals for that technique as well. Channeling his chakra to look like that of the young boy’s himself, before appearing as such. He’d look at the boy with his own appearance for a moment before letting the technique revert.
 

“The the key to that one is to focus the chakra over your body and focus on someone as you do. It isn’t that hard to do and I’m certain you’ll get it much faster than the clone.” He would say as he would move to lean on the large tree he’d been laying on, “Now then, is there anything else I can do?” He would ask. If not he would grab his sword and go do his own training. Intending to get some things done as quickly as he could manage. He had been lazy enough today, so it would now be time to better himself rather than sit around doing nothing. This was of course assuming that Satomi actually needed to be shown the Transformation. If he didn’t he’d simply shrug and go off to train after giving the boy a nod. Leaving the young genin hopeful to do whatever it was he wanted to do.


[exit]
TWC: 1125


Claiming my 5 stats please.

Approved balen

Settling down, he grew a bit concerned as his trainer hadn't said a word since Satomi completed what he felt was his best clone of the bunch. Even his adorable smile drooped as he folded his hands in front of him while daring to meet that shinobi's penetrating red glare. It was a good thing that he had or he'd never noticed the subtle nod of acknowledgment before he was asked if he needed anything else from the older boy.

“I-- Well, no.” He muttered, shuffling his feet as he nervously chewed on his bottom lip. He perked up soon after though as the other moved again, this put Satomi on guard once more. Even if he had just gone out of his way to show him the last technique he needed to learn, there was something about this other ninja that made the young academy student uneasy. He was again proven wrong however as a technique familiar to him was demonstrated by the cloaked shinobi. Satomi didn't have the heart to tell him that he'd already been taught the jutsu by another recently, so he showed him instead. His hand seals flowed into one another with barely a hiccup before a rather stern woman stood before with the usual theatrics at play, it was unmistakably one of the Queensguards. Now standing eye level with the teen boy, her brow narrowed and gaze sharpened. “Actually, as a matter of fact, you can come with me. We've been looking for you.” Her voice was somehow quite authoritative despite its femininity. A moment later though, the illusion was over and Satomi dropped the transformation to reveal himself again. “Haaa! No, but really, I'm fine now. I think I have just what I need~” His voice brightened again, his smile even returning despite still being in Mr. Edgy's presence. He did good enjoy a good joke, but he wasn't willing to risk death by pretending to be an elite village ninja looking for the guy. With no further business however between the two, Satomi spun on his heels and hastily made his way in the opposite direction of the dark, scary ninja. He didn't even get his name, man people were bad at introducing themselves in this village. Satomi was no exception. Social skills are important to a shinobi too... I think.