Welcome to Gaia! ::

Nemu woke up the next morning, and found she couldn't move. This had happened several times before, so she didn't worry. It didn't last long, usually just a minute or three. She waited patiently as her mind finished waking up. Going over the activities from the past few days, she was utterly shocked at the sheer amount of progress she'd made, compared to her track record.
Finally, she felt the sleep paralysis wear off, and she slowly began to get to her feet. Very slowly, as her entire body felt as if it was made out of wood or stone. Even with Sagi helping her stretch after all that running, she had still overtaxed her body, and now she was paying the price. Very slowly, she began to do some simple stretches, trying to limber up for the day's training.
A good hour later, she finally felt back to more or less normal. She had a simple breakfast, taking a note from Sagi's book and eating vegetarian. Fixing her clothes, she grabbed her tools and was off, locking her house up as she left. She took her time walking to Sagi's place, making sure to give her body every chance she could to take it easy before training resumed. Even so, she arrived after just a little while, and looked around to try to see where Sagi had gone to.
She went down to the stream, he wasn't there. She checked the clearing, not there either. She checked his house, peering inside the windows, not there either. Finally she just wandered deeper into the forest, where she'd practiced with the leaves, and she finally found him. He seemed to be waiting for her, leaning against a tree quietly. She came to a stop just a little bit away from him, confident he'd notice her arrival like he did every other time.
"You are at the end of the first leg of your journey. You have acquired all the basic skills to be a ninja, but without experience you will find yourself outmatched, even against weaker ninja. What you must do now is expand your horizons, learn from life itself, and gain skill through practice and competition. For your last training exercise, you will fight me."
"Fight you? Sagi-sensei, there's no chance I could ever beat you, it's impossible."
"I didn't say you have to beat me, just fight with me."
With that, Sagi went into a ready stance, with an ease that spoke of years of experience and a quiet, calm and utter confidence in himself. Nemu felt unnerved, she was supposed to fight that?! She knew it was hopeless, he'd even said as much. But she couldn't shirk now, he'd said it was her last training. If he allowed her to pass this, then she'd really become a ninja!
"Well okay then, here I go!"
Nemu had never really fought before, she wasn't too sure how to start. She knew the basics of self-defense and the like, from Iruka's classes, but still, she was a complete novice. She wasn't going to let that stop her from at least trying, though. She moved her arms out a little, clenched her hands into fists, and charged!
(Sparring: 1/3)

Nemu dashed towards Sagi, letting loose a hurried right hook. Sagi dodged easily, just leaning back and letting her fist miss completely. Nemu put her weight on one foot and twisted her body, pulling in her leg to launch a piston kick towards Sagi's midsection. Sagi was already moving, though, somehoe he was already behind her. It had appeared he was standing still, he made it seem so effortless! With her back to him, Sagi raised one hand, extended a single finger, and poked Nemu in the back of the head. With her one leg already raised to try to kick, she was off-balance and tipped right over. Nemu managed to catch herself and spring back up, however, trying to use the momentum to tackle Sagi. She lurched towards him, her arms outstretched to try and catch him.
He dodged again, jumping neatly back. Nemu nearly crashed to the ground with her failed tackle, but recovered. Straightening up, she knew she had to pay more attention, not just charge in blindly. She thought for an instant, and came up with an idea. She jumped right towards him, leaping high to get some extra distance. Even so, she fell short, but this was part of her plan. She held her hands in front of her, using them as a springboard to push off the ground and flip over, sending her feet-first towards Sagi in a steeply-angled dropkick. Sagi was a little surprised by this, but didn't move, he just used a hand to shove her feet higher and to the side, causing her momentum to die. She crashed to the ground, hitting hard.
Nemu coughed a little, the wind had been knocked out of her with that impact. And he hadn't even attacked her yet, he was just avoiding her hits! She wanted to hit him at least once, otherwise she didn't think she could consider herself a ninja, even if he did pass her. She got up, breathing hard, and tried to think of something else. He obviously had superior hand-to-hand skills, and he had more experience. But even so, she still had to try. She felt just about recovered, so she readied herself for another charge. She dashed towards Sagi, but didn't actually ready an attack. Maybe if she only did it at the last second, she could slip it under his defense and hit him?
She tried closing the distance between them, but Sagi kept moving just out of reach. Nemu grew frustrated, and tried moving faster. It was still no good, Sagi was faster than her. She didn't give up, she tried using the terrain to back Sagi up against a tree. It seemed to work, but just before he would have hit the tree, he leapt up into it. Nemu stared up into the tree, and sighed. She wasn't good enough to leap up into a tree like that yet, and if she tried climbing, she'd be a sitting duck.
(Sparring: 2/3)

Nemu stood back from the tree, trying to see Sagi so she wouldn't be caught by surprise. It seemed physical attacks were more or less useless, but were ninja techniques allowed? He'd never said they weren't, but still... She didn't want to cheat to hit him, but if she didn't do something, she wouldn't hit him at all. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice when Sagi leapt out of the tree and landed behind her, poking her in the back of the head. She stumbled forward a step, and lashed out in a mule kick, but predictably missed him.
She whirled around, but it was no good, he was already moving again. She stood still, trying to predict where he would move to. Behind her again? She tried another mule kick, but didn't connect. Straightening up once more, she finally made her decision. She gathered her chakra, and did a few hand seals. In a puff of quickly-dissipating smoke, she performed the Bunshin no Jutsu, creating a second and third her. Now three people strong, Nemu renewed her attack, trying to use her superior numbers to hedge Sagi in and be able to strike him. She moved in and out, switching places with her clones to hopefully confuse Sagi, and soon the three of her surrounded Sagi.
Sagi, however, didn't appear worried, he just clasped his hands together and performed a jutsu of his own. In a puff of smoke, the jutsu he had done was revealed. He had done the Bunshin no Jutsu as well, only now there was seven of him! Nemu audibly groaned, he'd turned the tables on her again! Her trio of selves didn't attack, and thankfully neither did the Sagis. Nemu thought hard about something she could do, some jutsu or technique that he couldn't copy. What else did she have? Henge no Jutsu? She could transform into Sagi, maybe slip in with his clones and catch him off guard? No, he could do the same, she wouldn't know which clone was hers fast enough to identify an imposter. Water Walking, or Tree Walking? No, what good would that do? Substitution? Eh, maybe, but probably not.
That just left the two techniques she'd learned on her own. There was her own secret technique, but she hadn't really used it yet, she couldn't be sure it would do any good. That left just one last technique. The Kage Mane no Jutsu. If she could use her shadow and grab his shadow, then she could hit him, even if it meant hitting herself.
Well, nothing left to do but try, so she, and her clones, all clasped their hands together, looking like they were almost meditating. Surely Sagi knew she was up to something, but he seemed willing to wait and see what it was. Nemu gathered her chakra and unleashed her technique, saying it's name as quietly as she could. Her shadow flickered and lengthened, as it began to crawl towards the septuplet Sagis. The fallen leaves and tree cover helped her, it made it a little harder to tell her shadow was moving even if someone were to look at it.
She tried to not let any expression appear on her face, nor any indicator she'd already moved, hoping Sagi wouldn't notice her shadow until it was too late. There! She touched the shadows of the first two, but didn't immediately paralyze them. No, she couldn't do that until she was sure she had the real one, which meant all seven. There, the next two! And another two! That left just one more!
Nemu was breathing a little harder, her chakra was already getting kind of low from using this jutsu. She did one last push, and snagged the last Sagi, then activated her jutsu.
"Kage Mane no Jutsu! Shadow Possession!"
Suddenly, all seven Sagis seemed to freeze, before going into the same position as Nemu. Nemu dared to look, had it really worked? Yes, all seven seemed to be caught! Now, how could she figure out the real Sagi? Maybe...
Nemu raised her arms, stretching them out straight at her sides. Her two clones, along with all seven Sagis, did the same. Turning slowly, she did a full circle. What was the purpose of this? The seven Sagis were all much closer to each other than she was, and Bunshin clones disappeared after being hit once, even if it was a good tap like this. Sure enough, a sextet of smoke puffs erupted as the six clones vanished, leaving just Sagi.
Nemu sighed with relief, she'd been worried they had all been clones. Her chakra wasn't decreasing as fast now, with only one person frozen, so she had a little more time to act.
"So you managed to catch me. Now, what do you do?"
Nemu didn't answer, she'd let her actions speak for her. She slowly moved forward, making Sagi approach her as well. Soon, they stood face to face, and Nemu raised a hand. Sagi did the same, and they both pulled their hands back as if to throw a punch. Two fists flew forward, one aimed at Sagi's chest, one at just above Nemu's head. Was that her plan, since she was shorter than Sagi? No, she hadn't even noticed that. She stopped her punch just before it hit Sagi, and he did the same. She barely hit him, really just a tap against his chest, then released the jutsu. Her chakra was virtually gone now, she was exhausted.
"That's it, I've got nothing left. I did manage to hit you, though. I'm done."
Nemu collapsed against the ground, breathing hard, and her two clones puffed out of existance. Sagi straightened up a little, stretching a little as he made sure he wasn't under the effect of the jutsu anymore.
"Impressive work, Nemu. You showed a decent skill at improvisation and strategy. If you keep at it, you will be quite the impressive kunoichi. Congratulations, you pass."
Sagi pulled an object out of one of his pockets, and tossed it to Nemu, who barely caught it. She looked at it confusedly, until she finally recognized it for what it was. A Hitai-ate, a ninja headband? Had she really done it?
"Sagi-sensei, does this mean...?"
"Yes, you are now officially a ninja. A Genin, the lowest rank, but still a ninja. Your training is not over, however. A ninja never stops learning, never stops trying to perfect themself. Keep going, get stronger, and come back to see me whenever you like."
"Yes, of course Sensei! Thank... zzz...."
Without warning, Nemu fell asleep, her head tilting down to stare at her knees. Sagi chuckled a little, and picked her up, carrying her back to the village proper. This Genin would bear watching, if for nothing else then at least for an amusing show.
(Sparring: 3/3 complete! Academy training: complete!)

Ichigo rushes to class and enters. he heads for his seat.

"Ichigo, ur late!" Iruka go over to Ichigo and hits him in the head."where did we leave off of yesterday"

"u were going to teach me to use chakra control to walk up the tree." Ichigo gets up.

"oh yea." he heads outside and goes to the tree they used yesterday."hurry up Ichigo."

"im coming."Ichigo runs over to the tree."now can u teach me what ever u were giong to teach me yesterday."

"u have to uses a steady rate of chakra from ur feet to the tree like so." Iruka's feet begain to glow with a blue color. Iruka starts to walk half way up the tree. he turns around."now u try."

"alright."Ichigo begains to charge up chakra. his feet began to glow with a black color. he begans to walk up the tree. he gets about a few feet higher than yesterday and stops." i think im starting to get the hang of it now."

"u still have about 20 more feet to go.so come on"

Ichigo walks up as far as Iruka, he struggled here and there but made it to him."that wasn't that bad."

"u made it to me."Iruka was surprised. then he jumped down."u still have about 14 more feet to go.so go come on" he laughs as he falls.

"but i made it to u."

"u have to make it to the top. that was just a demonstration. if u get to the top, u pass.

Ichigo go walks up 10 feet. "Im running low on chakra." he struggles to stand where he is.

"u shouldn't have stoped to tell me that and stoped earlier when u meet me on the tree. its wastes more chakra to just stand their because ur not moving

Ichigo runs up the last four feet." i made it." Ichigo passes out and falls down the 40 foot tree. Iruka catches him.

"u passed." Iruka takes Ichigo home.

the next morning ichigo wakes up with a note by him. it says:

"u passed. for doing an out standing job u get the day off.(acutally so u can restore ur chakra.)"

Ichigo jumps in the air."yea. i passed."
(Tree Climbing 6/6 completed)

(it has to be atleast 5 lines long to count)

Kai woke up and realized that today was the day that he would start his training with his uncle. He walked out and saw his uncle standing in the middle of the garden.He had his hands crossed "...Your late.... " He said in a tone which a general would give to his soldier.

Kai stepped into his sandels and walked towards his uncle. " ...sorry... " Kai said, then bowing. His uncle sighed " fine...lets start our training. " He said then looking at his young nephew. ....lets see if your ready to train under me... he thought to himself. He did acouple of hand signs in slow motion so that Kai would see what he had done " Henge " POOF smoke surrounded Kais uncle and before him, was Kai. The fake Kai canceled the jutsu and before him stood his uncle, he then crossed his hands " That was called Henge no Jutsu " He paused before continueing "...and its your turn to preform the jutsu...unless you want me to do it again for you." he raised his eye braw and smirked.

Kai shook his head " I dont think that would be necessary. " Kai said then preforming the same hand signs as his uncle did and POOF "henge" a cloud of smoke appeared around him and as the smoke cleared, a copy of Kais uncle stood there with his hands crossed, like the original. Kai then canceled the jutsu. His uncle smiled....he just saw me do it once...truly gifted... he noded and told kai to do it again, he wanted his nephew to master the jutsu. In three tries he was able to master the jutsu.

((henge no jutsu 3/3))

Tai sat down in the half-filled classroom waiting for his personal teacher. A man walked up to his seat and said "Iruka Sensei is busy at the moment so i will be teaching you the Henge No Jutsu." The two went outside to practice the technique. "This is one of the most basic techniques a ninja must learn. You must visualize the person you are trying to mimic, focus your chakra, and release it." The sensei then put his hands in the form of a seal and a blue arua formed around him. Suddenly there was a poof of smoke and the sensei had transformed into Tai.

((Henge no jutsu 1/3))

"Don't worry about it. Nobody gets it on their first try. You have to remember to visualize every thread of clothing and each strand of hair." the sensei said. "I'll give it another try" Tai said with a look of annoyance. Tai make the hand seal once again and focused on his sensei. "focus, focus, focus," he thought to himself as a cloud of smoke appeared. When the smoke cleard, there was a perfect copy of the sensei. "Very good," the senei said "You have mastered the Henge no jutsu" Tai transformed back with a look of triumph on his face. "Now on to the next technique" he said to Tai.


((Henge no jutsu 3/3))

"The next technique that you are going to learn is the Bushin No jutsu, or the cloning jutsu. These clones are only visual clones. They are primarily used for distraction or confusion." The sensei perfomed the seals and said "Bushin no jutsu!" Suddenly with a cloud of smoke, 3 clones appeared at at his side. "You are required to create 3 successful clones in order for me to pass you. Its very quite simple once you can create one clone so start with one." Tai nodded and began making hand seals "Bushin no jutsu!" he declared. Suddenly a cloud of smoke appeared next to Tai. Him and his sensei waited for the smoke to clear to see if it was successful.

((Bushin no jutsu 1/3))