Chapter 7: Learning the basics
I tried to hold the kunai like the memory showed in my right hand, and aimed at the center of a large tree that was about ten feet away. I let the kunai fly the short distance and heard the satisfying sound of it lodging itself inside the tree. The metallic weapon didn't make it to the center like I was hoping, but I wasn't complaining. A hit was a hit after all. I slid my left hand into my weapons pouch and grabbed my next kunai.
I took the same stance again and tried to adjust my aim a little more to the left. The second kunai was flung and once again I saw it dig into the bark. "It looks like I threw it too far to the left this time." I grabbed my third kunai and adjusted my position once again. The final kunai that I brought was thrown and landed to the left of the center, but a bit closer to the middle than the others.
I smiled at the small accomplishment, and walked the short distance to retrieve my kunai. This process went on for another twenty minutes before I decided to back up another three feet from the tree. "I know that I'm getting better at this, but I feel like Anko would laugh at my less than perfect throwing skills. We're probably supposed to have at least a basic grasp of the skill in our last year in the academy. I have no clue how good the other ninjas-in-training are in my grade level, but they should be pretty proficient at throwing kunai by now."
I began throwing the kunai from my slightly further position for about an hour before I took a break. I gathered them up again, put them in my pouch, and plopped down next to my backpack. Two containers and a water canteen were taken out of the largest pocket before I zipped it back up again. I enjoyed my cold water with a large portion of cherry tomatoes, fresh green beans, and a white rice ball on the side for my main snack. Then I took out two sticks of hanami dango from the second container and munched on those for my dessert.
The containers were stored away into my backpack before I stood up to stretch. Then I went back to my solo training with a satisfied stomach. I got an idea when I was eating, so I began to test it out instead of immediately going back to basic throwing. I stood about ten feet away from the tree again, gathered my chakra, and then quickly released it. The kawarimi no jutsu was activated and I hurled my kunai at the trunk right as I appeared on the opposite side of the tree.
The results weren't amazing per se, but I at least hit the right side of the trunk in my haste to get a shot in. I smiled as I thought of the many possibilities that this jutsu could have. "An even better jutsu to learn would be the shunshin no jutsu though. I could travel a lot farther with it, and not have to worry about exhausting my chakra from using it. Maybe I could get Anko to teach me something useful like that after a while."
I incorporated the kawarimi no jutsu into my weapon training from then on, and continued practicing for another hour. At this point I was starting to get exhausted from using two jutsu continuously for so long, so I pocketed my kunai and walked towards my backpack again. I picked it up and slowly began to make my way towards the food district with it safely on my back. Business in the area is booming, and I realized why once I saw that it was a little after one o'clock in the afternoon. I started to look around when I noticed a restaurant that caught my attention.
I entered the restaurant named Yakiniku Q and got in the slightly long line to place my order. A few moments later I noticed a worker of the restaurant off to the side. She was glancing over at the seating area, and walked over to our line of people once she saw a group of four get up to leave from a booth. "Is there a group of four or three waiting in line?" What looked to be two different groups raised their hands before looking towards the rest of the line.
The four person group further up the line immediately walked towards the waitress after they noticed each other. A few minutes later the waitress came back over and asked if there was a person or couple that wanted to be seated. I raised my hand and stepped forwards while checking if anyone else was before me, and smiled when there wasn't anyone. Therefore, I was surprised to receive a soft tap on my left shoulder as I made my way over to her. I gave a small jump at the contact and quickly turned around to see a familiar face.
"Of all the restaurants I could have picked… Well now I remember why this place was vaguely familiar. He was a regular customer here." None other than Asuma Sarutobi was standing beside me right now in his uniform. He smiled at me and gave a small wave as a greeting. "Hey there, would you mind if I sit with you? I'm really hungry, and I promise not to bother you too much."
"Sure, I don't mind." We followed the waitress to a low table that had two soft green cushions on the floor for seats. She left our table right after while saying, "I'll let you both look through the menu for a bit, not that you actually need one, right Asuma?" I slowly sank into the comfortable seat and looked up towards Asuma. He let out a soft chuckle and looked to be right at home. Just like the lady said, he wasn't taking a glance at the menu. "So, do you have any recommendations on what to try here? This is my first time coming to this place."
He looked up in surprise at hearing me speak to him before he quickly thought up an answer. "This place has a popular dish that I always get every time I come here. I'll order it for the both of us and you can tell me what you think once you try it. I'll even pay for your meal myself if you don't end up liking it, so don't worry." The waitress walked over to our table right after he finished speaking.
"He must be pretty confident that I'll like the dish. I guess I'll just go with it then." She turned towards Asuma first and said, "So what'll it be today? The usual?" He nodded at that and told her, "Yup, and the kid over there's going to get the same thing as me." She told us that she'd notify the other workers of our order, and left the table once again.
Not long afterwards a male worker came out from the kitchen, placed two cups of water on our table, and set our plates of meat in front of us. I stared uncertainly at the dish once the worker left, and heard a short, barking laugh from the man across from me. "It's not going to bite you kid. Here, let me show you how you're supposed to cook it." I handed him my plate and settled back down in my seat to watch him prepare it on the grill.
Asuma was cooking the meat with such a practiced eye that there wasn't any doubt as to him being a regular here. He knew exactly when to flip the raw meat, and before I knew it the dishes were done. The plate was placed back in front of me again, and I'm still not sure what exactly I'll be eating. "I've never eaten a dish like this before…" I looked over at Asuma, to see him watching me with a small smirk.
He made a 'go on' gesture towards me with his hand and continued to look at me. "Fine. I'll try it, okay? Just stop watching me already." I looked back down at my dish with nervous trepidation. I eventually worked up the nerve to try the mystery meat, and I was pleasantly surprised at the results.
"It tastes really good, but the texture is kind of weird." I continued eating my meal without any problems, which seemed to please Asuma. He focused on eating his own food once he saw that I was enjoying mine. After we both finished off our food we exchanged names before he told me to follow him to the pay area. We walked back towards the entrance of the restaurant and stopped at a desk that one worker was sitting at.
Asuma handed the worker a small slip of paper and handed some ryo to her. I looked over at him and said, "So how much was my meal?" I began to take out Gama-chan as I said that, but he stopped me before I could grab any money. "It's okay Haru. I already payed for it."
"Really? Thanks Asuma." After that we walked out of the restaurant, said our goodbyes, and went our separate ways. I traveled back to my apartment to rest for a while, and continued where I left off in 'The Tale of The Utterly Gutsy Shinobi'. I stopped after I finished the next chapter to continue training. I started by brushing up on my chakra control exercises for a half hour.
That evolved into using my limited living space to practice my jutsu. I randomly switched between using the henge no jutsu, kawarimi no jutsu, hidden transformation jutsu, and even the oiroke no jutsu. I was glad that I could practice my limited repertoire of techniques in my room rather than traveling back to a training ground. "I think I've been outside for long enough today." I eventually tired myself out enough to take a break from training, so I walked over to my bathroom to take a shower.
I relaxed under the soothing hot water, and let it take away any lingering tension from my body. Once the water began to run cold I got out and put on a pair of boxers and pajama pants, but nothing else. "It's not like I'm leaving my place later tonight anyways." Supper was a short affair that consisted of instant ramen packets with a glass of milk. I passed out not long after eating, and that will help me out in the long run. I'm really going to need the extra energy for what I plan on doing tomorrow.
