Snooze Your Day Away [NK]

Sorey was currently at the library, using his free time to expand his knowledge rather than focus on improving his body. After all, he had spent the majority of last night meditating, practicing his chakra control to the best of his ability. Was it an intelligent decision? Well, he would say it depended entirely on who you asked. But let's be honest—it was not.

With such lack of sleep, the youth was left feeling rather exhausted, far more than usual considering he's always out and about. He struggled to maintain focus, eyes slowly fluttering as they glanced over the current page he was on. The numerous words laid out before him slowly became incomprehensible as his vision went in and out. ... Maybe closing my eyes for a little would help... he thought to himself, furrowing his eyebrows in mild frustration. Yeah. It'd be just for a moment, and then he could jump right back into the swing of things.

The young boy yawned and leaned back into his chair, gently setting his "Basics of Chakra" book over his face. Just for a moment...

It did not take long before quiet snores left his tiny frame, his breathing slow and his mind finally at ease.

Normally, Sorey struggled to fall asleep, as the idea of leaving himself vulnerable to outside threats... bothered him. Heavily. So, he trained his body to operate on limited amounts of energy, and to sleep as lightly as possible. There were even nights where he was forced to use sleep medication in order to fully relax, as his mind often refused to fall into a sense of security. Today was a special case however. The boy had been so mentally drained that he knocked out almost immediately, therefore completely unable to detect the stranger closing in.

Unbeknownst to him, the chair he was situated upon was suddenly tipped over, his body rapidly descending along with it. It was only after he met the hard ground that Sorey's eyes snapped open in pain and shock. With speed certainly not normal of an academy student, he scrambled to his feet, grasping the book that landed next to him on the way up. Immediately, he lifted his arms into a basic defensive stance while... apparently holding up his book like some kind of weapon. Burgundy eyes rapidly shot back and forth, the pain he felt on his side having amped up his adrenaline. Was he really under attack? Who? Where? Why was it so quiet? Wait, wasn't he supposed to be in the libr—

The boy froze.

Slowly, his gaze eventually met with that of a redheaded man, one that seemed to tower over him. However, that was not the main thing Sorey was focused on. Rather, he placed an abnormal amount of focus on the headband this stranger proudly displayed. A... shinobi? he wondered, with awe, confusion, and embarrassment all hitting like a tidal wave. In that very order.

He quickly straightened himself out, the book in his hand being treated less like a sword this time around. Not quite sure why a kumo nin of all people had chosen to approach him, the youth settled on merely bowing in apology for his... less than graceful actions. (However, he was hardly able to fight off his excitement at the same time. After all, he held the ninja of his village in high regard.) He then rose up and tilted his head in confusion, a silent message aimed at the newcomer. Why?

Was he meant to be a witch then or something?

Sorey was somewhat off-put by the stranger's initial response, which certainly did not help his already present confusion. (Was it some kind of saying? But then again, he could recall many times where other kids his age had taken naps during their classes. Were they witches too? ... How strange.) Although he subtly tensed at the man's sudden movement, curiosity shone within those reddish purple eyes of his. So he allowed the man to grab the book from his hands. A small part of him figured it would be more trouble than it was worth to do anything otherwise.

At the kumo's nin displeasure over his book though, he couldn't help but fight off a sense of agreement. After all, chakra was an enigma; it was amazing in it's own ways, yet infuriatingly complex in others. Even if he was only an academy student, feeling out his chakra was a challenge, and trying to learn/memorize all its different applications was... troublesome, to say the least. On top of that, he would later on need to conduct his own experimentation and find out which specific usage of chakra worked for him, and only him. Sorey was not stupid. He knew that it was overall a somewhat daunting task. Ah, but back to the matter at hand.

The stranger's questions were quick, but Sorey was completely focused. His fall from earlier had an effect similar to caffeine: it forced him to become more alert. As such, he responded with small, universally understood gestures. Are you an academy student? He nodded his head. Are you learning the basics? Once again, he nodded. Do you know any jutsu yet?

"..." he had faltered with his response, shame practically slapping him across the face. It was a topic he'd been teased about in the academy, seeing as he tried so desperately to achieve academic success. But how could he possibly reach his goal when he hasn't even grasped the basic academy jutsu? Lowering his head somewhat, the youth shook his head 'no,' not even acknowledging the book in front of him. Obviously embarrassed, he brought his hands together and played with his thumbs, not exactly keen on admitting his shortcomings in front of a village shinobi. The very group of people he looked up to... what a mess.