Upon hearing his teachers introduction Juko produced a slight giggle, partly based on actual humour and partly on a desire to appeal to the Anbu.
Thank the heavens, he doesnt seem to be to starched. Boy, when i come back to the academy next time Maru is so gonna get it with my new secret Anbu Skills! His eyes quickly glanced across the many windows of the nearby ninja academy hoping to catch one or two other students watching them.
Preferably girls, heh. When his teacher told Juko about this first lesson chills ran down the boys spine. Looking up and into the face of the man that had been standing before him and was now circling around him he stared into the empty seeming eyes.
His eyes show him many things? He does seem like a Hyuuga? I wonder if i can learn to do that too.
Yes, Sir! I will give it my best, i swear! Following the gestur of his teacher with his eyes Juko took one of the wooden dummies into sight. Impressing the Anbu would surely be more than just a simple test of skills, he needed to show finesse, taste and cunning and even then he knew that there were probably multiple layers of inspectation.
Fully turning towards the mannequins Juko started rotating his shoulders to loosen up a bit, he could feel the excitement coiling around in his body like a giant scaly snake, ready to burst free and drench his whole system into adrenaline. He took a deep breath.
Relax Juko, youve done this already a few times for the other teachs at the academy. Give him a clean taste of what you can do, show him a solid basis that he can build upon! carefully he started manipulating his chakra, sending it into all the corners of his body to calm down and power up at the same time. He could feel his empty stomach rummaging for food and grimaced with closed eyes.
Really shouldve eaten some porridge before leaving, i hope this wont make me weaker than usual now of all times!
Dropping the thought he jumped into action, his blonde hair following him like a large flag and flowing through the whistling air. His first moves felt sluggish as he hit the pole with two clean strikes, one after another. Rotating around the wooden training dummy he followed up with a kick to the stomach and winced.
That one was bad... Pain spread through his ankle and when Juko resumed his stance he could feel his foot giving in almost immediately. Time seemed to slow down for him as his thoughts raced and his body tilted towards the ground.
No, no no nononono dont even think about hitting the ground now! Stupid body, follow my orders! Reflexively he stretched out his arms and turned the falling motion into something akin to a cartwheel and used the momentum to kick with his healthy leg against the puppet. This time he made sure to slow the movement down slightly and focus on a clear move rather then speed.
When his body was coming back to his initial stance once more Juko made a decision.
I cant stop now, if i stop now he will probably think i am useless and i wont be taken in for the Anbu! I cant let that happeN!! Twisting his upper body he landed on his one healthy leg and kept the wounded foot in the air. Without stopping he entered another rotation and pushed himself away from the ground with his one good foot, while simultaniously starting to do finger seals. His foot touched the ground just when the young student finished doing the jutsu and with a confident look in his eyes Juko exhaled.
Instead of the expected plume of fire he produced a small sized cloud of smoke, causing him to enter a violent coughing fit. The trembling motion forced him to put down his right foot on the ground, which immediately made the wounded limb give in and made Juko collapse on the ground. Tears filled his eyes as he coughed a few more times and the sad taste of ash and failure filled his tongue.
...this cant be happening... i... failed! I couldnt even get this one fucking jutsus done! Right now when i needed it most! The sitting boy didnt look but he could already hear his teacher approaching and telling him to scurry off.
Am i really unfit to be a ninja? Could it be that Maru and all the others where right, that i am indeed useless as a fighter? Juko blinked slowly.
No. I am not! As he released the chakra that had been bottling up withhin him the excitement that had been gradually building up withhin him unloaded like a spring, filling his body with a newfound enegy. He could still feal the pain in his foot as his body protested the action but it had become dull and faint as if reaching him through multiple layers of mud.
One more time, one more! His muscles tensed as he tapped into his secret and his shadow seemed to dash ahead a moment before Juko followed. Jumping from both legs he summersaulted over the wooden pole, intercepting his flight for just one moment to land a punch on the flat top of the training dummie before landing on the opposite site. He could feel his ankle swelling now but ignored the feeling once more, instead forming finger seals again. This time he managed to finish the jutsu albeit it was a different one and with one brisk exhale he blasted the wooden backside with a compact ball of air before ducking away from an imaginary counter attack and revealing another secret skill. His fists loosened and opened up as chakra streamed from his arms and formed two translucent blades that seemed to extend straigh from his open palms.
With a circular motion he cut the wooden pillar at the base, once then a second time, almost cutting straight through it before he felt his chakra already reaching its limits.
The last bit of it he used to press his foot against the puppet and push himself away a few meters before he fell down on one knee.
Panting he looked at the teacher back in the training fields.
's that good, Misser?
WC: 1065