Shadow of the Earth, Shadow of the Dragon

Satomi looked a mess as he squirmed as he fought the with the bedding entangling his legs, his hair resembled the wild style of the famed Inuzuka clan that originated in Konohagakure. His usual clothes revealed to have been replaced with his cloud patterned pajamas as he struggled to peel away the dreadfully uncomfortable blanket and sheets, the ruckus the boy caused was enough alert the attending nurse that just happened to be passing by at the time. The young medical-nin couldn't have been less amused as she poked her head into the room, the rest of her body following not long after. She had a scowl that could scare the stripes of a tiger as she managed to scold the bed ridden genin without even a word. Satomi just offered his patent pending charming smile of gap-toothed heart melting adorableness only to be forced to slink back into the uncomfortable hospital bed as not even his best attack could break the woman's stoic gaze. She did however crack a smug smirk in her victory however, giving the boy a satisfied nod.

“This'll teach you to be more careful out there. Now get some rest.” Her angelic voice finally broke the silence. Satomi found her caring motherly voice rather ironic as he crossed his arms as he crossed his arms, his nostrils flared as he snorted in admittance of his defeat. The Nara boy had to admit, however, that there was something uniquely appealing about the young woman's stern attitude. He wasn't entirely convinced it was a negative quality, perhaps he was maturing a bit as he released wistful sigh as the nurse excused herself.

She was right though, Satomi had a growing habit of pushing himself too hard in his training for the chuunin exams. Even he could see that, but he continued to remain unsatisfied no matter how much he improved. The doubt still remained, deeply rooted in his psyche.

The scene changed as Satomi's mind wandered back to a few days prior, the determined genin sat cross legged atop a large flat stone as he slowly and calmly breathed in the arid air. The nature reserve wasn't all forest and lake like one might assume; as it met edged towards the Earth Country's mountainous border the terrain grew rough and rocky. The grass gave way to dirt and gravel, the lush vegetation replaced by plants with waxy leaves, thorns, and spines. The trek all the way out there wasn't a walk in the park either, even with the ability to increase his speed it was still was along ways to travel. Satomi made it intact and had made the trip several times since learning of the region, all to further hone his earth chakra.

While the fear of what he could encounter in the chuunin exam was largely responsible for why he was out there, he couldn't ignore that an old Iwagakure scroll he had been studying had been almost as equally inspiring. Though the author remained anonymous as far as the scroll being attributed to anyone, Satomi had done some cross referencing with known events from around the same time period the scroll was dated and he had a small inkling that he may have been studying the personal accounts of Onoki, Iwagakure's third Kage. It was of course entirely conjecture on his part and very well could have just been wishful thinking on his part, but he chose to believe none the less as he sat and meditated in the blistering heat.

'One is most at tune with the earth when together they are still.' Satomi could almost hear the gruff voice of an elderly man as he recalled the passage from memory. The passage was vague, almost as if it were left open to the reader's own interpretation. For Satomi he took it to mean that he should take time to appreciate the life given through the soil and display of raw power by the tallest mountains. He could feel his chakra resonating with the environment, his invisible aura a whirlwind as it slowly swirled around his peaceful form.

“Satos--”

“Satomi, please.” The young boy politely corrected the nurse as she addressed him, offering a smile to show that there was no ill will. It was the name nurse from before, this time she was holding a small metal tray. On the tray appeared to be two small pills, a generic white one and a clay red pill that was slightly larger than the other. A glass of water provided as well, no doubt to help swallow the pills.

“Well, Satomi, this should help you recover a little faster.” The medical-nin actually smiled with a pleasant hum as she set the tray down across the child's lap before stepping back with her hands folded across her lap in front of her. Satomi's face scrunched as it became clear that she was going to stand there until he took his medicine, Her smile seemed more like a threat than a display of her current state as she motioned with her hands for him to go on and take the pills already, his whole body cringing at the bitter taste hit his tongue. He was quick to follow up with water to rid himself of the torture of that classic medicine taste, chugging the crystal clear fluid as if his life depended on it. Satisfied with his choice to take his medicine like a good boy the nurse collected the tray and glass, excusing herself with a bow. “I will be back in a few hours to see if there is any improvement.” Her voice trailed off as she exited the room to again leave Satomi to his thoughts.

It was a later day this time, but the sun had settled high in the sky to signify the midday. A circle was being forced in the stony dirt as Satomi dragged a large sun-dried branch by his side as he walked the the path. His choice of tool for this task was a sun-dried branch he had scavenged from a tree that had long met its fate to the unforgiving climate. The branch was attached to a sturdy length of rope acting as a lead, which itself was tied to a second piece of wood positioned at center of the circle, firmly embedded in the ground to act as a pivot to help cut out the guess work when it came to keeping his circle straight. The genin would return to the center of the circle upon it's completion and left the found lumber to the side along with his etching tool, taking a moment to give his body a chance to relax as he sipped water from a large canister he had brought with him.

Satomi would position himself at the center of the 20 meter diameter circle, his eyes closed as he as stood as still as the stone spires that towered in the distance across the border. The subtle breeze helped to evaporate his sweat, cooling his skin in the process. Over head the the cries of buzzards echoed unimpeded in the cloudless skies; death's call for an unlucky critter. As for Satomi, it was time he tested just how in tune his chakra's natural element as become. Relaxing his body he allowed his chakra to swell and build inside his body, dredging a large concentration of the earth element as he pushed it out into the ground below him. The ethereal essence driving deep under the surface as it infused all earth it touched, his chakra control had improved noticeably in the past months of his extended training. He wouldn't take all the credit himself for his growth, there were many who helped him reach this critical point in his development. The most prominent figure was Miyamoto, a fellow Hoshigakure-nin that had taken Satomi under his wing as a student since stumbling across him on the schoolyard before he had even graduated the academy. The chuunin's ability to control the earth was not only an inspiration to the genin, but a blessing that he would be found by someone who shared the same element.

While some may find old memories distracting, Satomi willingness to embrace them seemed to only strengthen density of his chakra as the warmth of knowing he had people who cared about him filled his body. Every interaction, every mission, all the training, it was all enough layer under the stone he started as. Satomi had plenty of mountains to look up to, but his ambitious eyes had their sights set on the legacies of the many Tsuchikage. His chakra seemed more than eager to help him build his own legacy as he began to strip away the top layer of earth, the ground quaked and rumbled under his feet as if a monster lied disturbed in the depths below. Satomi could feel that he was still just scratching the surface of the jutsu even as he poured his chakra into the earth to coax out the slumbering beast.

“A'yo, Sato!” A mile-wide smile filled Satomi's face as his father's voice brought the boy back to the present. The salt and pepper haired man making an entrance as only he could, the clashing colors and patterns of his bright and vibrant clothes turning a few heads as he marched with large exaggerated steps down the hall. The eccentric man carrying delicious goodies in one hand and the family's dusty old Shogi set under the opposite arm as he entered Satomi's hospital room. Satomi's father wasted no time setting up the board on the near by bed table before revealing the three course meal of grilled meats and veggies with fried rice. “So are a ready to beat me today, Sato-chan?” Takatoshi grinned with an endearing chuckle.

The smiling child simply nodded as he shared a giggle with his father before promptly stuffing his face with his provided lunch. The game had gotten a whole lot harder since his father had taken off the kid gloves, so hard in fact that Satomi had only come close to beating his old man on a few occasions. Those occasions were becoming more frequent as their weekly games progressed, he could sense victory in the horizon.

“Sato, I know I told ya that I would try ta worry less, but ya need ta be more careful.” Takatoshi sighed as he brushed a few loose strands of gold hair back over his son's ear. “Now c'mon, ya can have tha first move. An' don't spare tha tales.”

Satomi felt weird being the one with the fantastic tales of adventure for a change, he remembered when he was the one sitting awestruck at the exciting stories his father would recall about his travels across the continent. His story would pick up a few days after his after his initial attempt at a new jutsu on an especially unforgiving day as he once again found himself at the center of the circle. He had long abandoned any hope of keeping his damp blonde locks from sticking to his face, his hair in an awkward state of being too long and too short at the same time. The genin did his best to ignore his frying flesh, his mind focused  on channeling his inner chakra and kneading it into a more appealing form of bait. The tremors grew more violent he looked for the right mixture of spiritual and physical energies, gauging which the beast preferred. It was like cooking for the world's pickiest eater, each combination having just something off about it.

“Why. Can't. I. Do this!?" Satomi's composure began to show cracks as the dirt and dust settled around him, his body slumped forward while his chakra fizzled. Experience and training may have helped his skills improve exponentially since he graduated for the academy, but in nearly a year since then he was still a child and prone to a child's impatience as he huffed sharply and stomped his foot. Luckily he was alone or it might have been embarrassed to be caught whining. In his stubbornness, Satomi dropped his chin to his chest to shoot a defiant glare at the earth, but when it was time to confront his foe he felt something in his eye. His gaze softened while his eyes trained down at his feet instead, the boy biting his bottom lip to stop it from quivering. “It's so much easier when someone else is there to help you...” Satomi fought back a sniffle as the fissures of frustration widened, every day was just another failure and it had the genin questioning himself. For everything he accomplished he always remembered how he was a late bloomer back as a academy student, grasping the basic techniques only with the help of Miyamoto and another frankly creepy village shinobi only mere days before the genin exams.

At the same time he had never given up hope, his dream, to become a ninja of the village hidden in the stars. Now here he was sulking in the middle of a barely hospitable craggy landscape letting self-doubt threaten the foundation of his resolve. But why? He'd ask himself as he lifted a dusty arm to smear a light coating of dirt across his face as he wiped away any tears that may had formed. Just because they aren't here physically doesn't mean they aren't here to help me. Satomi's fingers tightened into a pair of fists as, his eyes narrowed as his feet dug into the earth. All the training sessions, all of the knowledge he gained through reading and studying hard work contained in the books and scrolls in the Hoshi archives, it was all a rock solid foundation to support him. The valves fully opened, chakra poured into the child's body as a wild cross wind swept his hair from his face to give his a clearer view of his surroundings. His mouth moved, but no words came from them as he mouthed along with the movement of his hands: Horse → Dog → Bird → Ox → Snake  The turbulent torrent of energy spilled from his body, cycling through the earth before returning to him. Satomi could feel the bond as his physical and spiritual chakra infused  the dirt and stone with his essence.

As with each prior attempt the ground shook and fissures rippled across the surface as the land tore away from itself, but something felt different to the Earth Release natural as the ground shifted. A chill ran along his as he slowly adjusted the two battling chakra types within him, he could have sworn something was moving below like a large fish under a boat. Satomi's stood defiantly as the ground tried to topple and toss him, the determined child's chakra never ebbing for a moment as he called out to the beast below.

It was all at once that the ground quite literally exploded in a display of raw power, the violent ejection of earth having launched Satomi through the air with a surprised yelp. The genin's chakra fading on impact with the ground as he crashed down just on the out side of the circle, the resulting dust cloud from the explosion washing over his motionless body as he attempted to collect his thoughts. They must have been scattered to all across Haven given how long it took him to get back to his feet, or his knees anyway, the young ninja gently patting his chest to let his heart know everything was okay.

Satomi pushed himself up onto his feet as he squinted into the setting dust, his first instinct was that the shadows were playing tricks on him as a dark figure appeared as the cloud thinned. It wouldn't be the first time he'd been fooled by a shadow at least, but it became obvious as the dirt and debris cleared that there was indeed a new formation. It would seem that in his practice he had unearthed a long dormant stone from deep within the ground, but as he sauntered towards it, the shape seemed strikingly distinct from any stone had seen before. The stone was split right down the middle and the jagged shards lining the crack were almost too uniform to be natural as Satomi's ear touched his shoulder as he tilted his head to one side in attempt to capture the unique creation from a different angle before he'd repeat this, but to the opposite side.

“It--” The black of his pupils quickly engulfed the blue of his irises as his eyes slowly widened, the rest of his face was unable to convey exactly what he felt at that moment. “The ground...” He continued to mumble, his entire body began to tremble as smile started as just a small crease in the corner of his mouth before eventually swelling to take up vast real estate across his face. “The ground tried to eat me!” Satomi hooted and cheered, chirping to the sky and beyond as he hopped and skipped circles around the partially unearthed maw of his would be predator. It was a surprisingly intricate formation given the construct was of dirt and stone, but there was no doubt that this was the gaping maw of a fierce predator—one which nearly turned the celebrating child into a snack. Skidding to a stop he decided to get a closer look, but no sooner than did he take a step towards it did the statue-like draconic figure disintegrate into an unrecognizable pile of dirt. Without Satomi's chakra to support it, it seemed that the earth beast was little more than the sum of its parts.

“Better luck next time, Sato.” Takatoshi chuckled as he again emerged triumphantly over Satomi. “Ya definitely had me their for-a moment thar though.” The young boy may have received most of his looks from his mother, but he without a doubt had been gifted his father's infectious smile. The pair all smiles as Satomi's father cleaned and packed up, signaling the end of visitation for them. “A'yo, Sato--” The father paused, his expression of amusement shifting into one of pride as he looked upon his child. “The things ya have accomplished... I only ev'r wanted fo' ya ta be happy, y'know? I fought so hard against sendin' ya to tha academy because I didn't want tha same thing dat happened to ya motha happen to ya too.” Satomi remembered the numerous arguments they had about it and even then it was obvious to Satomi the reason behind why his father was against him becoming a shinobi, but this is the first time he ever heard his father admit it directly to him. “Ya motha would be proud of how far ya come, but she would neva want'cha ta hurt yerself.”

The tick of the clock above the room door could be heard in the deafening silence as parent and child shared a silent understanding, both also sharing a small smile as Takatoshi bowed his head with a charming salute into a wave before turning to head home. Nearly out the door the graying man to turn back over his shoulder, “By tha way, tha lady at tha front desk said ya could be out in the next coupl'uv days.” Satomi wanted to lodge a complaint, but he could tell that the moment still had its old man, no matter how genial smile tried to hide it, was still caught up in it.

Or maybe it was just a self projection.

There wouldn't be any more visits that day and it was a real drag not to have anyone to distract him from the prison of the hospital bed, his only solace was the view outside his window. Some of the tallest trees of the forest were visible over the roof tops of Hoshigakure from his third floor room and beyond them the mountains from across the border towered over them; somewhere in the middle was his dragon nest. Flopping to sprawl out across the bed with a sigh, Satomi stared blankly at the ceiling as he thought back to what his father said. Mom... Satomi wasn't old enough to remember his mother before she was taken from him and his father and it one of the few topics that his father never talked about, as a result what lead to her death remained a much a mystery. What he did know was that she herself was a Shinobi like he was now, of course he knew his mother had been at least a chuunin from the pictures—the flak jacket always gave it away. Strangely her headband was never visible in the few images his father would share with him, her village never seemed to come up either when his father shared the little bits of information he did feel inclined to share with Satomi.

The longer Satomi thought about it, the more gloomy the room felt. Rolling his eyes towards the wall above the door he let out a disapproving groan, time just seemed to stand still whenever there was nothing or no one to distract him. Letting out an annoyed huff tried again to free himself from the bedding, fortunately the covers decided to put up less of a fight this time to allow him to slip out of bed. Sitting up he swung both legs around to let them hand off the side of the bed, so far so good. Sliding forward he allowed his feet to lay flat on the floor, resting firmly before attempting to stand. The floor creaked as he put his weight on it, but it might as well had been an alarm wired directly to the nurses brain for as fast as she rushed through the door with fire in her eyes and fist raised and clenched. Dragons nothing, he'd rather take his chance with one than take on her fury.

“I just wanted something from my things!” Satomi pleaded as he scrambled to sit back in bed, his hands flailing furiously in hopes to ward off any wrath. The next moment the nurse appeared to be all smiles and rainbows, her sweet and charming voice putting Satomi's own to shame.

“In that case you should have called, deary. I can get that for you, no reason to stress youself.” The nurse casually strolled to a small wardrobe cabinet and opened it to reveal Satomi's personal belongings. They were even washed and neatly hung in an impressively organized manner. “What is it that you wanted?”

“Oh... well, there's an old dirty scroll in my satchel.” The nurse nodded as she fished around through his bag with a cheerful hum.

“Hmm... y'know, I remember thinking that it looked pretty old and warn and I threw it out.” Satomi's heart sunk as he stared in disbelief. That scroll was on loan, from the national archives, he was so dead. Before the dread could fully set in the sadist of a nurse erupted into what could only have been described as a witch's cackle. “Don't worry, sweetie, I have it right here.” The nurse spun around to reveal the scroll to Satomi much to his relief.

Satomi just cocked a deadpanned gaze at the nurse as he reached out to take the scroll as it was offered him, he thought she was suppose to see that he was relaxed and rested. For a moment Satomi wondered if she was like this to all her patience or if it was just him she tortured for her own amusement, but honestly he'd probably rather not know that answer. The child opting instead to open the scroll again, maybe there was passage on how to deal with insane nurses.

It was the day that lead to his hospital stay, Satomi had the scroll draped across his lap. His eyes absorbing the text and diagrams as he studied it all intensely. Several sets of partially eroded footprints were visible in the pile of dirt at the center of the circle he created his first day, dotting the rest of the boundary were several more deposits scattering the area in various stages of erosion. They all varied in size from being smaller than the original to forming a trail of dirt several meters long, each one marked a different day and a fresh attempt at taming the jutsu. All except for the three fresh and largest mounds of rock and earth stretched around Satomi, he managed all of those before noon. The cost was a huge dent to his chakra supply, leaving the boy to feel half drained after only those few attempts and why he was taking a break to study some world history, or at least history through the eyes and opinions of one Iwagakure-nin. His brash nature and disdain for the other villages seemed self defeating and short sighted to Satomi, but it wasn't the child's place to judge. He however still held to hope that before he reached the end of the man's stories that something will lead to a change of heart.

After he felt that he had recovered enough Satomi was back to putting his nose to the grind stone, standing where the mountains themselves could watch as his hands flashed through the hand seals. “Horse. Dog. Bird. Ox. Snake!” He didn't miss a beat as he directed his chakra in a single point near by,  but at a safe range from him as the surge gave rise to the beast he had been chasing. Satomi stared in awe as the dragon rocketed towards the sky with a deafening roar, but its cry only signaled its death like all the ones before it as it almost immediately began to deteriorate. It's jaws splitting apart mid-call, the resulting cracks quickly spreading down the body as the two halves crumbled into a shower of dirt and mineral over the land. The fine particles coating Satomi heavily in the beast's refinements.

Satomi continued attempt after attempt, bringing life to the beast over and over only to watch it wither and die right before his eyes. Argh! It's just so darn hard to control it! Satomi cursed, his hands already forming the seals again for yet another attempt. The need to see the jutsu to completion; to find it in himself to overcome failure became a necessity with each additional failed attempt. The need clouded his mind and made him oblivious to how closely he was to depleting his chakra until he realized he couldn't muster anymore as stood slumped over and panting under the moonlit sky. Without the lights of the village he could see even more stars than usual, or at least he did once he managed the strength to straighten up and let his head roll back so he could admire the glimmering beauty.

One more time, he just needed one more chance, he could feel it. His head felt extra heavy as he let it fall to survey the land again, the genin turning slowly on the spot to look over all his past attempts. “I... can do this... j-just hold it together, body.” It was a struggle to speak, all he wanted to do is lie down in the dirt for a nice long rest by this point. He wasn't going to allow himself to do that as his arms slowly climbed before him, positioning them right in front of his chest as he managed to work through the seals. "Horse... Dog. B-Bird. Ox--” Some how Satomi managed resolve to dredge up enough chakra deep inside of him for another attempt, but at the same time he felt increasingly tired as he focused it into his preparation for the jutsu. “Sn-Sna-- ...ke.” Satomi was helpless to watch as he formed the last hand seal and summoned anarchy. “Earth Release: Earth Dragon!” He somehow managed to call the beast by name as dirt and stone exploded into the air and the land collapsed in on itself, a wide breach violently unzipped the earth towards the young boy. As exhausted as he already was and standing on weak legs he was unable to find the strength to keep himself balanced amid the earth seismic chaos and opted to simply given in and fall flat to ground on his back as an indomitable roar filled the sky.

The limited light of the night only allowed for silhouettes, but it was still one of the prettiest scenes Satomi could remember seeing as the dragon itself burst from the crevasse and into the sky over head. It's massive form almost appeared to be eating the stars themselves before... like before, it let out a one more defiant roar as it exploded and crumbled to pieces and with it's demise the tremors too stopped just as it appeared that Satomi would by the freshly formed fissure. The child's eyes grew heavy with his body as he laid in the dirt, a quiet calm tempting him to let the impending darkness embrace him. The shower of  fine particles of dirt, minerals, and sand from the decomposing beast glittered  and sparkled in the pale moonlight as it gently settled back to the earth before the blackness took him.

The first thing he saw when he woke was a bright sun beam which made a valid attempt to burn out his retina, but the next thing was his father slumped back over the backrest of a chair at his bedside. Satomi frowned as he looked over his father, making note that he was still in his kitchen attire. Food and restaurant related grime had stained and dried on into his apron, his gray-peppered hair and beard unkempt and ragged.

He's not been home... Satomi felt his heart sink a little, a small gasp of surprise escaping past his lips as his father stirred and slowly came to.

“Sato...” A small smile curled Takatoshi's lip as his steel gray eyes brightened up at the sight of his child awake in bed. “They found ya on tha doorstep—ya've been out of it for nearly two days.” The concern in voice of Satomi's father was enough to down out the groggy croak of a man who stayed up up all night until the sweet call of sleep became too much for him to resist.

Two days? I've missed two days... Satomi melted back onto the bed with a sharp exhale through his nose. That was two days he could have used to practice, he had to get back out there. Try as he might his body refused to fully comply with his orders, still exhausted and wanting nothing more than to rest Satomi was reluctantly forced into giving into his body's demand for rest.

“Rise and shine!” A songstress's voice rang through the door as time caught back up with a new day and while respecting Satomi's privacy, the nurse was more than willing to assert her authority as a medical-nin of the hospital to barge right on into Satomi's room. “How are we doing this mo--” The nurse interrupted herself with a banshee's screech, water sloshing out of the glass and onto the tray as he hands trembled while she attempted to set the unoccupied bed on fire with her burning glare. She wasn't completely crazy though as she frantically placed the tray down on the small table next to the bed and proceeded to go bloodhound as she probed the room for signs that maybe he just went to the restroom, she wasn't that heartless. The nurse nearly fainted however as she opened the standing wardrobe to reveal all the child's things to be missing. Her eyes scanned across the room until she came across Satomi's point of escape, a single open window. On the windowsill sat a modestly pudgy black feathered avian whom in turn mocked the nurse with her call before returning to dine on a piece of bread.

Fortunately Satomi was far and away from any potential meltdown, having left before sunrise to drag himself out to train. He was feeling quite refreshed and ready despite what the hospital might have thought. His chakra was all ablaze and already surging as the genin took his place at the middle of the circle, just adding a touch of chakra into his hands as he clapped them together before placing them to the ground. Moments later the child began to rise atop a one meter squared platform of earth, Satomi stared as he towered five meters from the flat land below. As the air washed over his exposed skin he had to admit that the few days of rest may have done him more good than harm as his chakra seemed much more respective to his manipulation as it swirled through his system, though he hated that he had to admit that the medical-nin and his father may have been right.

For now, as all stubborn children liked to do, Satomi would conveniently forget that little caveat as he cleared his throat and raised his hands before him. While there was no orchestra, he was preparing to conduct, his hands quickly forming a now familiar set of hand seals—Horse → Dog → Bird → Ox → Snake—Satomi's chakra flared and dove deep down through his earthen perch and down into the crevasse he left behind that fateful night. “Earth Release: Earth Dragon!” As if unsatisfied with the child's own announcement an ominous growl echoed up through the narrow chasm, a  harbinger of its own arrival as the genin's chakra fused with the freshly unearthed bedrock. In an instant he was nearly knocked off his podium as something rocketed skyward, the boy fighting to hold it together as a feral roar scattered the local wildlife. Satomi and the land around him was cast in an impressive shadow as he turned skyward to witness the birth of a monster, it's body slender but too long for him to accurately guess, but it had to be between 5 and 10 meters as it snaked through the sky.

Satomi gnawed on his bottom lip as he conducted his summons in a series of field tests as he defied the previously defined outcome of his past attempts. Boulders that had stood the test of time were obliterated as the massive stone beast ran headlong through them while its fearsome jaws made short work of others, chewing through them like candy. With the genin's chakra coursing through it's stone veins, it seemed little could stop the magnificent creature of the earth. However, not wanting to level the entire landscape, Satomi summoned the creature to him. The dragon circled around the child as it descended upon him to eventually come to hover loom face to face with him, the beast and the boy stared at each other in silence as Satomi timidly lifted a hand. It took some serious self convincing, but he placed the hand on the dragon's protruding snout.

“You're big, you're magnificent... but for now you sleep until you're needed.” Of course Satomi new that the dragon was just a manifestation of his jutsu, but sometimes a child can get caught up in the moment. With his parting words the magnificent beast began to crack and crumble once more, without Satomi's chakra to give the dirt and stone life it collapsed back into the chasm below. It was almost a sorrowing moment for the genin, to work so hard to have to watch the it slip through his fingers again. At least he this time he knew it wasn't forever, a mighty addition to jutsu. If he started keeping a record now, then perhaps one day someone will read and learn from him long after he was gone too.

But for now, as he turned towards the village as he stood atop his perch, Satomi picked up a rather sheepish grin. “Now what do I do about that dragon of a nurse...?”

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