Web of Shadows

[Okada Kaji]

Previous Chapter: Stealth 101

It was a new dawn in the hidden stone village. An orange glow still spread across the sky, and rooster crows echoed through the neighborhood. Only the early-shift workers stirred at this hour: the farmers and tradesman.

Somewhere in the darkness, the racket of that crooning cock continued. It sat alone on the roof of a dormitory by the academy; most-likely perching there as the pet of a bird-brained ninja. Creeping along in the shadows, a figure stalked the rooster, and sought to put an end to it's song. The unsuspecting foul was pecking on its own droppings until a spiralling web solution pelted it. The bird barreled down the roof tiles, and fell into a bush. Jomei stepped into the light, revealing himself in a new outfit. A half-mask hid his identities below the eyes as he crept through the twighlight. His eye-lids sagged from a short night's sleep, and hours of experimenting with his new ability.

It appeared as if Jomei was developing as a shinobi at an astounding rate. A latent ability had surfaced and he couldn't stop fiddling with his new talent. However, Jomei was nervous about how others would take his new ability. There weren't many web-slinging students or ninja for that matter, and the evidence of his webbing was uncanny. He'd have to be careful or else he'd gain a reputation for being a freak show. For example; Jomei could hawk up a ball of web while sneezing if he wasn't on guard.

Dropping down from a crawlspace hatch, Jomei returned to the classroom where class met yesterday. The morning glow tinted the room amber placing Jomei into a visual work of art as he crossed the room to his desk. Hours still remained until Yuki required his attendance, and he came early to get a jumpstart on his studies. It was an effort to impress his instructor. Within a half-hour's time, his textbook on incursion recon became a pillow as he slept. Even his face mask sagged into a makeshift turtle-neck; unimpressive to say the least.

 

[Yukata Yuki]

A dark haired girl in a red and black skirt walked calmly into a room to find a young boy snoozing quite peacefully upon his textbook. His new attire almost threw her off as she finally recognized him. Right, she invited Jomei to come get an early lesson before anyone arrived. A private tutorship for his own benefit rather than an actual school lesson. She liked this trainee for his efforts despite his comical failures in yesterdays class. He had a bright mind from what she could sense, he just needed practice to excel. Yuki was surprised he had arrived so early though, it was earlier than she planned the meeting. His dedication would surely make him great.

He would snooze on for another ten or so minutes while she prepared some paperwork, did her morning preparations, and then of course as she headed out back and prepared the targets. The commotion should eventually wake him, though it was not very loud, he was a ninja. If it did not wake him, she would come gently nudge him awake. "Training time Jomei san"

The Yukata girl walked outside into the rising sun and looked up in greeting of the morning. It bounced off her eyes cascading them in emerald lighting. She loved mornings! The targets were set up, the boy was ready to learn, and the barrel in the middle of the clearing held every possible projectile imaginable! And in plenty amounts at that. "When your ready we will begin by choosing your preferred projectile and working on the basics, then we will progress onto some ranged concepts that may be new to you. But only once your style is fine tuned" she smiled at him and motioned to the barrel for him to have fun picking through. Everything was organized in the safest manner for grabbing. But sharp objects could not be made entirely safe. This, she hoped he was mature enough about by now.

 

[Okada Kaji]

By the time Jomei had awakened, Yuki was outside admiring the target course she arranged for him. He made a weary approach to the clearing Yuki chose, marveling at the setup all the meanwhile. She had arranged targets in various positions, most of which offered quite the challenge if Jomei meant to hit them at some point. As Jomei made his approach he cleared the dust from his eyes and gave a meeger yawn. Yuki's excitement startled him as she amplified the desire to start their task. She went through the trouble of providing countless dangerous trinkets from him to play with: a barrel of death, if you will. A normal student would've been just as eager as Yuki to plunge into that barreled, but Jomei was apprehensive towards the plan. In fact, he weighed upon whether he should've shown the new ability that he achieved only the night before, or keep it to himself.

"You don't expect me to hit most of these, do you?" Jomei arrived at her side, skeptical of his ability to use the weapons Yuki provided; all ten-thousand of them. But how hard could it be? "I might need something bigger if I'm going to make these shots" he added. Wooden slots lined the barrel walls, creating several shelves for various assorted projectiles. There was enough to supply a small army. Larger weapons such as spears, bows, and arrows stuck straight up, sitting within an organized rack. "And by bigger, do you think we can wheel a cannon out here? I might be able to hit something with like that."

Targets hung from anything tied down: from the highest tree branches to the lowest nooks and crannies in the grass. Each bullseye stood out so that Jomei could learn something about hitting a target and developing his accuracy. Today the ninjato was gone. Jomei also neglected his web-spinning talents in exchange for more traditional weapons. He figured that his accuracy and hand-eye coordination would carry over from his web-shooting. It had to amount to something. As he browsed through Yuki's weapon collection, Jomei took his time and examined each tool with a careful eye for detail. He'd pick them up and give them two takes like a music snob in a record shop.

"Sensei" he said, "thanks again for spending this kind of time on me." Still browsing through the barrel, Jomei could feel himself searching without rhyme or reason. He was stalling so he could gather his wits in front of Yuki. He felt his emotional exposure and rushed to collect enough random palm-blades to suffice for the lesson.

"Um" he had to follow up and clear his name, or just the air. He had to conceal. "I know there are a lot of students in the academy, and your time is super..." He began to choke up and lose his train of thought. "Super valuable."

There was something about his instructor that made Jomei feel vulnerable around her now, and it was so sudden. He didn't come from an environment where trust was a thing, in fact he had never learned to confide in others. Though Jomei was not a stranger to the compassion of others, he thought it was quite a rare sight. The world had been a cruel mistress to him since he learned to crawl, and he never knew another way until that day. She wouldn't realize it quite yet, but Yuki was changing Jomei's understanding of nindō in a major way.

WC582

 

[Yukata Yuki]

Yuki laughed at his response. "Of course I expect you to hit them all, with my coaching and proper throwing techniques, I can assure you that you will hit them all with ease. The hidden moving targets is another story entirely. she smirked at him about that last comment. He would need a demonstration. She made a few senbon out of ice in her hand as if it was a natural movement, and such it was for her. She took aim almost immediately and threw them. Ten needles struck the center of ten different targets. "It is all technique I promise you. Once you understand the throwing technique, the aim takes time. But it comes quickly with practice. Especially if you have good eyesight. If not, we can develop that too she assured him.

The brunette smiled at Jomei as he all but choked up over her help. "Dont sweat it. I'd like to think you will be protecting me all too soon. The stronger you are, the better for me, the better for the whole village in the future. Every one of us need eachother to be our best so that we can all live happily pursuing our dreams." She spoke with a bit of awe as she spoke about the village. Her fiath and loyalty were evident.

"Don't worry about my time. You need anything and I will show you. Now she me what you know before I alter your technique" she instructed, her tone getting back to teacher-ish sounding.