Tomo sat in his favorite tree, observing his surroundings. This was his preferred place to train, away from the bustle of the training grounds and out in the forest. He had come here many times to practice his archery, but today felt a little different. He brushed away a stray blonde hair as he looked up through the treetops. He could see something flying by, and his eyes seemed to automatically focus on it. It was a bird, probably a swallow. Tomo could see its feet, its beak, its eyes, and each individual feather. By the time the bird had past, Tomo had seen every detail, and had calculated every shot he could have taken along the way.
Tomo shook his head, returning his mind to relaxing. He had spent the whole day shooting his bow, Astrosigil, and calculating all the shots he knew. There was the curve shot, one he had mastered a little bit ago when training at the academy. Using his skills in wind jutsu, Tomo had taught himself to guide his arrows with wind when he needed to change their trajectory. His critical shot had taken a while to learn since he had to research the human body and where its weak points are. He also had to keep up with the common and not so common armor designs, memorizing where their weaknesses were. His snipe shot had been easy enough, since it wasn't too hard for him to focus on a single thing, unlike his hyperactive twin. His detonation tip practice was a bit hazardous, which was why he only did it out here. Tomo would have felt horrible if he had injured someone on accident. However, he had recently learned how to control the timing of his shot, and could implant the arrow in a way that the point would shatter either right upon entry or a while later, when the target had moved in just the right way to snap the tip his or herself. The later was hard to practice, and Tomo had to use his ink creations to help him. It was difficult for Tomo to shoot them, more in a mental sense since he could usually control how and where they moved. However, his ink creatures couldn't feel pain and could easily be redrawn, so he swallowed his guilt and used them as targets.
Tomo let out a breath and looked to the forest floor. Below was a squirrel, picking through the dead leaves for fallen nuts. Tomo's eyes seemed to glaze over as he calculated every move the squirrel could make and judged based on its movements that the squirrel would likely run to the left if Tomo tried to shoot it. Tomo put a hand to his eyes and rubbed them. "Yeah, I've spent way too much time training today...but there's so much more to learn." Tomo thought about some of the techniques he had read in one of his books, Hawkeye: A Path to Mastering Archery. He still needed to learn Quickshot since he had focused more on precision than speed. He also needed to work a little more on his strength so he could do more damage if his targets were tougher than most. Tomo had practiced a little with shooting while moving, but he certainly wasn't a master of it yet. There was another move he'd read about called a bounce shot. He had tried it a few times, but couldn't quite get it yet. It was in the works though, and he believed he'd have it down within the month.
Feeling a bit spontaneous, Tomo let himself fall backwards on an overhanging branch and watched the world from a different view, his fedora falling to the ground below him. He smiled to himself. "Now this would be an interesting way to train. All of my calculations would need to be reversed. Hmmm..." Tomo pulled Astrosigil out and took an arrow from his quiver hanging on a nearby branch. He focused on a dead leaf fluttering on the ground. His mind ran through the usual procedures, but he reminded himself to switch some things around. He took in a breath slowly, and released his arrow.
The arrow landed just to the right of his target, and Tomo let out a sigh. "Huh, I could have sworn I calculated it right...Oh! I probably need to switch g and w instead of g and d. Maybe divide u by three. Yeah, that should work." Tomo took another arrow from his quiver and notched it. He watched the leaf move, and let his arrow fly. This time it hit, though it pierced the leaf a little to the left of the center and a ways down. "Not bad, not bad. Going to need to perfect that though. With that much inaccuracy, I could miss my intended target. I'm still not calculating g correctly I think." Tomo was about to take another arrow when his vision blurred. He felt himself get a bit woozy before noticing his legs straighten. Realizing what was about to happen, Tomo reached for a nearby branch, but it snapped. As Tomo began to plummet, he made some quick hand signs and a gust of wind blew from under him. It only had time to position him on his back before he made contact with the earth. "Oof!" The air left Tomo's lungs and he rested on the ground, gasping for breath. After a minute, Tomo's breathing became normal, but he still didn't move from the cold earth. He brought a hand to his forehead and began to massage his temple. Yeah, way too much training.
After five more minutes of immobility, Tomo rose to his feet. He swayed a little and placed his hand on a nearby tree to balance himself. When his head cleared, Tomo noticed his fedora, crushed from Tomo's fall onto it. He frowned. "That's the second hat I've lost this month. At this rate, I'll go bankrupt." Tomo picked it up from the ground and shook it out. He placed it on his head, planning to take it off when he got to the village so no one would seem him in it. He had to keep his image up, and a crushed hat would make him seem irresponsible with his things, definitely a negative to women.
Remembering he was missing something, Tomo looked up to his quiver and shook his head. "Yeah, I'm not climbing up there again." He took out his ink well and scroll and quickly drew a hawk. It popped from the page and cocked its head at Tomo. He motioned to the quiver in the tree and the hawk took flight. As the bird flew up to get the quiver, Tomo picked up Astrosigil and made his way to the two arrows sticking up from the ground. He pulled the first one out, then the second, tearing the leaf off the tip. He heard fluttering behind him and turned to see the ink hawk holding Tomo's quiver. He thanked the bird and slung the quiver over his shoulder and returning the two arrows in his hand to their rightful place. Tomo motioned for the hawk to sit on his shoulder, and it obeyed, letting out a sharp screech. Tomo winced a little at the sound, but gave a laugh. "I don't get why you're so excited, we're just going home. And don't act like I never let you on my shoulder, this spot has been taken up by you more than the others." Tomo began the trek to his uncle's house, rubbing his sore back and talking with his inky companion. "Tomorrow I think I'll focus on my observation skills. Why don't you help me with your 'hawk eye'?" The ink hawk grabbed Astrosigil from Tomo's hand and began to fly away towards the village, shrieking in disapproval. Tomo took off in a sprint, his hand stretched out in an attempt to grab his bow. "Hey, come on! You know that was funny!"
WC: 1,338
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Tomo shook his head, returning his mind to relaxing. He had spent the whole day shooting his bow, Astrosigil, and calculating all the shots he knew. There was the curve shot, one he had mastered a little bit ago when training at the academy. Using his skills in wind jutsu, Tomo had taught himself to guide his arrows with wind when he needed to change their trajectory. His critical shot had taken a while to learn since he had to research the human body and where its weak points are. He also had to keep up with the common and not so common armor designs, memorizing where their weaknesses were. His snipe shot had been easy enough, since it wasn't too hard for him to focus on a single thing, unlike his hyperactive twin. His detonation tip practice was a bit hazardous, which was why he only did it out here. Tomo would have felt horrible if he had injured someone on accident. However, he had recently learned how to control the timing of his shot, and could implant the arrow in a way that the point would shatter either right upon entry or a while later, when the target had moved in just the right way to snap the tip his or herself. The later was hard to practice, and Tomo had to use his ink creations to help him. It was difficult for Tomo to shoot them, more in a mental sense since he could usually control how and where they moved. However, his ink creatures couldn't feel pain and could easily be redrawn, so he swallowed his guilt and used them as targets.
Tomo let out a breath and looked to the forest floor. Below was a squirrel, picking through the dead leaves for fallen nuts. Tomo's eyes seemed to glaze over as he calculated every move the squirrel could make and judged based on its movements that the squirrel would likely run to the left if Tomo tried to shoot it. Tomo put a hand to his eyes and rubbed them. "Yeah, I've spent way too much time training today...but there's so much more to learn." Tomo thought about some of the techniques he had read in one of his books, Hawkeye: A Path to Mastering Archery. He still needed to learn Quickshot since he had focused more on precision than speed. He also needed to work a little more on his strength so he could do more damage if his targets were tougher than most. Tomo had practiced a little with shooting while moving, but he certainly wasn't a master of it yet. There was another move he'd read about called a bounce shot. He had tried it a few times, but couldn't quite get it yet. It was in the works though, and he believed he'd have it down within the month.
Feeling a bit spontaneous, Tomo let himself fall backwards on an overhanging branch and watched the world from a different view, his fedora falling to the ground below him. He smiled to himself. "Now this would be an interesting way to train. All of my calculations would need to be reversed. Hmmm..." Tomo pulled Astrosigil out and took an arrow from his quiver hanging on a nearby branch. He focused on a dead leaf fluttering on the ground. His mind ran through the usual procedures, but he reminded himself to switch some things around. He took in a breath slowly, and released his arrow.
The arrow landed just to the right of his target, and Tomo let out a sigh. "Huh, I could have sworn I calculated it right...Oh! I probably need to switch g and w instead of g and d. Maybe divide u by three. Yeah, that should work." Tomo took another arrow from his quiver and notched it. He watched the leaf move, and let his arrow fly. This time it hit, though it pierced the leaf a little to the left of the center and a ways down. "Not bad, not bad. Going to need to perfect that though. With that much inaccuracy, I could miss my intended target. I'm still not calculating g correctly I think." Tomo was about to take another arrow when his vision blurred. He felt himself get a bit woozy before noticing his legs straighten. Realizing what was about to happen, Tomo reached for a nearby branch, but it snapped. As Tomo began to plummet, he made some quick hand signs and a gust of wind blew from under him. It only had time to position him on his back before he made contact with the earth. "Oof!" The air left Tomo's lungs and he rested on the ground, gasping for breath. After a minute, Tomo's breathing became normal, but he still didn't move from the cold earth. He brought a hand to his forehead and began to massage his temple. Yeah, way too much training.
After five more minutes of immobility, Tomo rose to his feet. He swayed a little and placed his hand on a nearby tree to balance himself. When his head cleared, Tomo noticed his fedora, crushed from Tomo's fall onto it. He frowned. "That's the second hat I've lost this month. At this rate, I'll go bankrupt." Tomo picked it up from the ground and shook it out. He placed it on his head, planning to take it off when he got to the village so no one would seem him in it. He had to keep his image up, and a crushed hat would make him seem irresponsible with his things, definitely a negative to women.
Remembering he was missing something, Tomo looked up to his quiver and shook his head. "Yeah, I'm not climbing up there again." He took out his ink well and scroll and quickly drew a hawk. It popped from the page and cocked its head at Tomo. He motioned to the quiver in the tree and the hawk took flight. As the bird flew up to get the quiver, Tomo picked up Astrosigil and made his way to the two arrows sticking up from the ground. He pulled the first one out, then the second, tearing the leaf off the tip. He heard fluttering behind him and turned to see the ink hawk holding Tomo's quiver. He thanked the bird and slung the quiver over his shoulder and returning the two arrows in his hand to their rightful place. Tomo motioned for the hawk to sit on his shoulder, and it obeyed, letting out a sharp screech. Tomo winced a little at the sound, but gave a laugh. "I don't get why you're so excited, we're just going home. And don't act like I never let you on my shoulder, this spot has been taken up by you more than the others." Tomo began the trek to his uncle's house, rubbing his sore back and talking with his inky companion. "Tomorrow I think I'll focus on my observation skills. Why don't you help me with your 'hawk eye'?" The ink hawk grabbed Astrosigil from Tomo's hand and began to fly away towards the village, shrieking in disapproval. Tomo took off in a sprint, his hand stretched out in an attempt to grab his bow. "Hey, come on! You know that was funny!"
WC: 1,338
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