[Nara Shikajin]

the worst case scenario is you

No training, no missions, plenty of time to attend to various clan activities. It was where Shikajin found himself most at peace, being able to attend to the deer. The animals weren't nearly as finicky as people and definitely didn't talk anywhere near as much. A perfect balance of understanding and caution. Granted, that only came about after many, many years of building bonds with them and even then the cycle would begin anew whenever a new fawn was born. It was an endless, nearly thankless job but being able to be close to the animals without scaring them off was a great benefit.

Shikajin sat on the raised boardwalk that surrounded the clan compound, a pack filled with various containers and tools lay next to him as the chunin stared off into the distance. It had been some time since he had been able to just relax and take in the world around him. There was always some task --shinobi related or otherwise-- that required his attention and as his skills and responsibility grew his free time shrank. Some called it balance but it seemed more akin to the great lie of adulthood: more freedom and ability yet little time to enjoy either.

In years past the Nara wouldn't have given so much thought about throwing himself into his work, in fact it was one of the few things that kept certain memories at bay, yet he found that working less and less as of late. Suppressing and repressing memories of that day were becoming more difficult, more time spent wandering the forests in the middle of the night. However, this precipice was now opening his eyes to life being more than a neck's deep amount of work to drown oneself in. Was there even a possibility of doing such without shirking one's responsibilities in the process?

Nara Shun @two @three | ### | whoop whoop

KRATOS

[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

VII - I

-  t h e  t a l e  o f  -

A  S H A D O W  HERE, A  S H A D O W  THERE

---

It had been a good day. The raven haired Nara had started her day like every day – with a marathon at sunrise then a meditation session. Gradually, the academy student could feel herself getting stronger and it would fill her with more excitement daily – it felt like she was capable of more. However, it still hadn’t helped her master the clan jutsu… While there was no deadline, the girl had run into a dead end and she could do nothing more but do the suggested exercises and try to work on her chakra control. She had even trained how to use chakra to climb trees after she found it described in one of her ninjutsu books. It didn’t really help that her parents never struggled with something at all. Her mother had been a borderline prodigy and her dad would succeed in most things he did even if he was incredibly lazy.

Sigh…

The girl walked down the boardwalk while finishing a piece of honey lemon she had in her hand. There was an untouched piece in her other hand. After practice, the raven haired student had stopped back at home for a snack. She picked some up for the road but it seemed Shun had overestimated herself. There was no room left for the last piece of fruit.

”Oh! Hey! Mister!” she called out to Shikajin after spotting the man. The girl would then close the distance with them with a jog.

”Do you want this melon? I took this extra piece but I can barely finish the other one. Mom will talk my ear off if I waste food and I think she uses her ex-ANBU skills to know if I’m trying to hide something.”

---

Tag: Nara Shikajin
Shun: 496b36

[Nara Shikajin]

the worst case scenario is you

A voice would cut right through the thread of thought Shikajin was traveling along, his dark hues focusing on the source: a little girl. He hadn't committed every clan member to memory but she did look vaguely familiar; one of the up and coming students who would one day get the torch passed down to them. At least the chunin hoped she was part of the clan, he was pretty over having to escort visitors away from the compound though he highly doubted this girl would be anywhere near as much a pain as Sada.

"Good afternoon. Something I can help you with?" Shikajin would ask as the girl approached him. She didn't look to be in any kind of hurry or in trouble which probably meant... conversation. The chunin had been making it a point to work on his bedside manner to uh... better connect with his patients and not make them more depressed than they already were for being in a hospital. It would also hopefully help his social skills in a similar manner and perhaps he wouldn't look as bored with small talk as he usually did, though there probably wasn't a cure for the boredom he experienced during menial conversation.

Whatever the girl needed hopefully wouldn't take too long to resolve as daylight was burning and Shikajin had quite a few things on his to do list that he wanted to complete before day's end. Well, it technically wasn't all that much but the precision and care needed when collecting and handling samples from the deer ended up taking a lot of time and the last thing he wanted to do was fiddle around with instruments and samples in fading light; that was a recipe for disaster.

Nara Shun @two @three | ### | whoop whoop

KRATOS

[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

VII - II

-  t h e  t a l e  o f  -

A  S H A D O W  HERE, A  S H A D O W  THERE

---

”Here. Honey melon.” she stretched out her hand holding the extra piece of fruit to Shikajin and waited for him to take it. The young Nara peered at the young man with her grey eyes and a warm smile.

Shun was dressed in a pair of dark grey ninja boots, a pair of grey cargo pants that cut below the knee and a light moss green t shirt with large white hems. The Nara symbol was clearly shown on her left sleeve if the arm she offered the fruit to Shikajin with. Her waist long raven black hair were left loose but braided back at the sides of her face. However, a few strands would still hang at the right side of her face.

”Did I catch him in mid-thought?” the academy student thought to herself. A part of her couldn’t help but wonder what the guy might have been thinking about. She herself would wonder off in thought quite often – it was one of the reasons she hadn’t made a lot of friends at the academy yet.Shun was always there but not always present.

The young teen squatted down on the boardwalk next to the sitting Nara man and stared at him from close proximity for a few moments. ”Hmmm…”

…

”I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Nara Shun. You are…?”

---

Tag: Nara Shikajin
Shun: 496b36

[Nara Shikajin]

the worst case scenario is you

The offer of a treat was unexpected but Shikajin was rarely one to pass up on honey melon, and though it wasn't as sweet as some of his preferred treats it would suffice. As he reached for the piece of fruit he couldn't help but notice the clan symbol on the girls sleeve: she was indeed one of his kin. His hunch about her being one of the new generation was correct which pretty much took the mystery out of why she was showing up here. Well that was certainly a load off the chunin's mind.

"Thank you." He'd reply before taking a bite, just as delicious as he remembered. The medic wondered for a moment if he had seen the girl somewhere before, perhaps the one day he had gave a lesson to Kazui's class, but unfortunately he couldn't match her face to any of the students who had attended that day. There was also the fact that none in the clan had brought it up at any point after so there was little chance that there were any other Nara present that day.

It wouldn't take long for the girl to introduce herself and it was hard to miss her unusual name: Shun. The distinct prefix that adorned what Shikajin believed to be all of his clan members names was absent with Shun which, to be honest, was throwing the chunin for a bit of a loop. It wasn't a definite law that the clan had to abide by but it was odd none the less. "Shun? That's an interesting name for a Nara to have, why no Shika- prefix?" He would ask in an inquisitive tone while taking another bite of melon.

"Oh, I'm Shikajin. Nice to meet you." The chunin added. A thought crossed his mind for a brief moment, an opportunity to be precise, but it required cooperation.

@one @two @three | ### | whoop whoop

KRATOS

[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

VII - III

-  t h e  t a l e  o f  -

A  S H A D O W  HERE, A  S H A D O W  THERE

---

”Mhm” the raven haired girl gave with a smile and a nod as Shikajin took the fruit. Good! It wouldn’t get wasted after all. Her mom wouldn’t be mad at her after all. This was going to be a good day after all, it seemed. The young Nara was even getting pumped to train more afterwards.

”?” The older Nara asked a question and it made the girl tilt her head curiously at first and then look up at the sky while tapping her chin with an index finger as she searched her mind for an answer.

”I see your point. I know it’s unusual and my father is named Shikarui as is tradition…” Shun paused to try and remember if her parents had told her anything that helped.

”Ah, I remember! Dad said it was because there’s no use arguing with mom. I kind of get what he means. Mom can be quite scary, haha.” the girl laughed heartily as she imagined how her dad might have brought it up. The man couldn’t be bothered to do anything troublesome and he wouldn’t do a lot of things that didn’t have favorable consequences.

”I know that the heir family has to abide by these rules much more than branches. There are people without the Shika prefix. I think my parents said it’s alright if every generation has a couple of Shikas already. Our clan’s not too forceful with rules.” The grey eyed girl offered her view on the situation as hung her arms over her knees in her squatting position to be more eye-level with the sitting man.

”Shikajin? I’ve heard that name…” Shun blinked a couple times and remembered her encounter at the canal with the Senju who found her after she tried a fire release technique and almost blew up. The man mentioned a Nara Shikajin.

”Oh! Kazuto-san, this really serious looking man, said he has a closest friend named Nara Shikajin! Is that you? Or are there more Shikajins?” she asked in an excited manner. It was always fun to gain more information and put faces to names.

”He’s a really kind man – that Kazuto-san. He also has a lot of old people wisdom. I respect that.” She spoke about the new friend she had acquired with a happy smile on her face.

”Also… why are you sitting here, Shika-nii?” The girl felt safe in the clan compound and around the man so she went ahead and added a bit of flare to the one. For all she knew, they could actually be related on some level. There were many families in the Nara clan but some were connected.

---

Tag: Nara Shikajin
Shun: 496b36

[Nara Shikajin]

the worst case scenario is you

The chunin was more than interested to hear the reasoning behind the young Nara's name, and though exceptions could of been made every once in a while the last thing Shikajin would have expected was for the prefix to be one of them. He wondered what the conversation must have been like when the powers at be in the clan heard of the unorthodox name and if there had been any pushback. He supposed that they couldn't really force someone to change the name, and if the girls mother really insisted on Shun being the name then well... there wasn't much you could do change the mind of a Nara woman.

Still, he hoped that the girl was prepared for a lifetime of explaining her prefix-less name to those who were familiar with the Nara, because it was never going to end. "Hmm, well I suppose it can't be helped now. I suppose it'll be easy to remember." Shikajin would reply as he took another bite of the melon. A sweet treat before a hard days work always made the task go by just a little smoother; now he just actually had to get to work.

Then, a most interesting development: the girl mentioned Kazuto. How a young girl had managed to come across the secretive Senju was a mystery but with her primary descriptor being that he was super serious there was little doubt that she had crossed paths with the man. "As far as I know, I'm the only one with that name." The chunin began as he brought a hand to his chin. "Hmm, that does sound like Kazuto. Nice, but kinda boring. He'll talk you to sleep if you let him." He added with a small chuckle. Still, it was... nice, to hear that someone thought of him as a close friend. Even after all the time they hadn't spoken their friendship hadn't wavered in the slightest. "So how exactly did you end up meeting him?"

At the next question Shikajin would shift his focus to the pack sitting next to him. "I was about to go collect samples from the deer. Have you had a chance to meet them yet?" The man would ask further pivoting to a certain opportunity. One day it would be Shun's responsibility to care for the deer in one way or another but for that to happen she needed to not only have knowledge of them but be comfortable around them as well. Granted, not every member of the clan had nor needed such a desire for this type of fieldwork, and to be honest if the Nara wasn't a medic he probably wouldn't have gone to visit them as often as he did, but the clan had made a pact with the creatures in more ways than one so it was each and every one of their responsibilities to see that the deer were taken care of.

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KRATOS

[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

VII - IV

-  t h e  t a l e  o f  -

A  S H A D O W  H E R E,
A  S H A D O W  T H E R E

---

Certainly, it was something to think about. The girl had heard of the Ino-Shika-Cho tradition between three of the Konoha clans. She certainly knew about it but never imagined herself in one… Could she even be in one? Would it be an Ino-Shun-Cho formation then? There was probably no such thing.

”Oh, satoshi doesn’t have "Shika” in his name, too…” she thought out loud while humming around the words. This would be something she could ask others about, certainly. Perhaps, it was time to dig into more clan history. There had been times where she just kind of got lost in thought during Shikarui’s often lectures. One time she was preoccupied with following a butterfly with her eyes – maybe he told her something important then.

”Pffff.” Shikajin sounded so honest and the raven haired girl couldn’t help but imagine getting talked to sleep that she started laughing. It was a lighthearted laugh and she nodded. ”Hahahahaha! He is very truthful. I think it’s great!”

The older Nara clansman asked how they met and Shun took this as an invitation to tell the story. Her eyes gleamed with determination and she looked up at the snacking young man: ”Ok, so it happened like this:” The girl sat down on the boardwalk too and crossed her legs in a lotus pose to get more comfortable.

”I had read about these elemental release techniques and wanted to try one because I got bored with the regular stamina and academy jutsu training. So I went to a somewhat secluded place near the canal to try a katon ninjutsu. It was for the great goal of knowledge!" Mostly, her curiosity.

”I tried to do a jutsu and, well… it exploded in my face and I flew in the water. Kazuto-san was nearby and heard the noise so he came to check when I had gotten out of the water. He said that there are "better ways to fade away” if I’m not mistaken and then we talked about what it’s like being a shinobi. And I found out that he’s only twenty one years old even though he talks like he carries the wisdom of the world. He told me to focus on fundamentals and said he’d teach me something, too.”

The girl described the entire ordeal quite quickly.

”And then we sat there and watched the lake and talked about reasons for fighting. How greedy reasons are supposed to be weaker than honorable reasons. I don’t think I understand that completely, still… if a person honors their life above everything else then wouldn’t their idea of honor become a selfish reason yet it’s still honorable so – I have no idea where it would be on the reason scale. All I know is that all the possibilities got a little confusing when I thought about it on my way back home.”

She sighed as she decided not to dwell on the idea. The girl’s eyes traveled to Shikajin’s attire. Then she leaned to the side to peek at the bag he had next to him on the other side. It was for the deer then? It looked quite big. Was he going to camp there?

”I’ve been around them a few times but I haven’t spent much time there. Dad’s more familiar with the terrain and I couldn’t always go with.” A genius idea did strike her. Deer were really cute and Shun could learn more about them and Shikajin in the process.

”Ooooooooh, why don’t you take me with you? Maybe I could help. I think that sounds like a great idea.” Shun grinned sheepishly while rocking back and forth slightly to move and release some energy.

---

Tag: Nara Shikajin
Shun: 496b36

[Nara Shikajin]

the worst case scenario is you

Another example and another moment of reflection. Satoshi hadn't even crossed the chunin's mind when he thought about clan members without the 'shika-' prefix yet in a matter of moments Shikajin now knew two people who for some reason or the other went against the grain. Structure and order were supposed to be the building blocks for a peaceful existence and the medic believed his clan was a shining example of such yet it was becoming clear that his family suffered from the same shortcomings as anyone else. He wondered if the Akimichi and Yamanaka had to deal with similar issues? "Mm, yeah I suppose it's a little more common than I thought."

He'd listen to the girl speak about her chance meeting with Kazuto, how it started with a failed jutsu attempt that could have cost her dearly. Shikajin wanted to be upset yet mildly annoyed was current state. He had seen far too many people end up in the hospital for just wanting to 'try out' some jutsu that were beyond their years. Some were forever scarred, others like Shun lucky to just be a bit embarrassed. Granted, dying via a failed jutsu almost sounded better than receiving a stern lecture from the Senju but if there was anyone who could get across the dangers of doing risky stuff it would be Kazuto. He'd perhaps talk your head off in the process but the message would get across none the less.

Alas, there couldn't be good without a little bad and as Shikajin heard that the two of them began to talk about greed in the world and honor which seemed far too heavy topics for a young child and it was obvious that Shun hadn't been able to quite wrap her head around the concepts. Granted, there was no guarantee that Shikajin would have been able to, either, given how long winded Kazuto could be at times. "Well it sounds like you hopefully learned a few lessons that day, but in case no one's said it please try and be more careful. I don't want to see you as one of my patients for something like this." He'd reply.

Shun had been around the deer a couple times but not in any extensive capacity, expected but not the end of the world. Before he could even offer the opportunity Shun would ask to tag along. Well, that had been a lot easier than Shikajin expected. Granted, Shun didn't exactly know what they were about to get into and while it would probably slow down his efforts, being able to teach a member of the clan about the deer and how to care for them; and perhaps most importantly how to properly collect samples for use in various medicines and other remedies.

"Sure, but I'll let you know now we're going to be working for a while." The chunin would reply before standing up and grabbing his bag. He'd wait for a few moments in case Shun decided to back out but eventually he'd begin walking as he needed to get to work.

@one @two @three | ### | whoop whoop

KRATOS

[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

VII - V

-  t h e  t a l e  o f  -

A  S H A D O W  H E R E,
A  S H A D O W  T H E R E

---

”Ah!” The girl could feel blood rushing to her face. It was true that, at the time, she hadn’t thought much of trying a new jutsu. It was just something to satisfy her curiosity.

”I’m sorry… I’ll be more careful.” Shun bowed her head and looked at the ground beneath her. The young Nara was suddenly a little ashamed. No matter how clever she thought she was – there were things that she still didn’t consider at all. Good thing she hadn’t told her parents exactly what happened. She just said she fell in the canal.

”But you know. I just wanted to try a new thing. I had read about it and I thought I could do it.” Unknown to her, she would learn to have a natural affinity for fire release techniques. It was just by luck that she had tried one of such type. Had it been something else and she’d tried to force it, the day would have ended quite differently.

Something did catch her attention, however: ”Patients? Shika-nii, are you a doctor?” Shun perked up a bit as she posed the question. She didn’t know any medical ninjas yet. Shikarui, her father, had told her that the Nara clan had an extensive gathering of medical information and that they help the medical faculties often but Shun was yet to meet an actual representative of the branch. The doctors she had met were just that – doctors, not shinobi.

”That would be so cool. Healing all the injured comrades in a second. I wonder what that looks like…” The dreamer couldn’t help but imagine a variety of scenarios of Shikajin gloriously saving people on the field and saying something really cool while he did it.

Shikajin agreed to her tagging along and Shun got up after he did. She had a wide and happy smile on her face. The grey eyed girl lifted her hand to her forehead in a theatrical salute towards the older boy.

”Yes, sir. Understood.” A slight giggle escaped her throat and she lowered her arm. The raven haired academy student was ready to follow Shikajin – and she did just that.

”Do you go visit the deer often?” Shun would ask after running a couple steps to walk next to Shikajin.

---

Tag: Nara Shikajin
Shun: 496b36

[Nara Shikajin]

the worst case scenario is you

Curiosity was normal for everyone, it arguably was the driving force behind civilization getting as far as it had and the reason shinobi existed. His clan probably would have not existed if some curious individual didn't try and control their literal shadow. Curiosity was innovation but the rush that came with it often led to what befell Shun. There were rules set in place to lessen the chances of injury but that didn't stop everyone and sometimes people ended up setting themselves on fire and having to be fished out of a lake. He'd have to thank Kazuto for his help the next time he saw him.

"Yes, I'm a medic." The chunin would reply. Most of his days were accounted for between field work, hospital work, and clan duties and had been the case lately the man found himself spending an increasing amount of time in the walls of the village hospital. Nothing serious, thankfully, but it seemed that every day a tenth of the village needed a check up which ended up pulling him into clinic rotations more often than he liked. It was rare that a patient he saw actually needed to be admitted for a more serious issue but the sheer amount of people was the bigger issue. Konoha was a large village and in an ideal world would have had a medical force large enough to handle such tasks, or at the very least enough non-shinobi medics to handle clinic duty. Alas, the study of medicine was not an easy one and neither was it quick to pick up. Medics were constantly going over new information and different ways to approach healing so it was always going to take more time to rear up a new group of medics than just about any other profession.

Dark hues would shift from the girl as she gave a salute and verbalized her understanding that they were going into the forest to do work, not just pet the deer. Of course, there would be that too, but it wasn't the main reason for that visit. In addition, it was another opportunity for Shun to familiarize herself with the deer and vice versa as one day she would be tasked with protecting and nurturing them herself and a foreign scent was only going to make that task more difficult. Shun would pose a question and it dawned on Shikajin that he probably did spend more time with the deer than he should have been, but it was just a happy accident when the forest was his calming spot after yet another sleepless night. They were skittish creatures but a familiar scent and a bit of food went a long way in not scaring them off in the middle of the night.

"I do. It's calming being out here with them and it helps to build some familiarity." The man would reply as he continued his trek. Their journey would take them away from the clan compound into the deeper parts of the forest. It was more or less a straight shot so it wouldn't be difficult to find their way back but as deer were roaming creatures that grazed wherever they could find food there was always a bit of mystery as to just where they would be. "Here, take these. When you see them try not to be too loud. Approach slowly and hold that food out for them. It might take a minute but they will eventually come up to you." Shikajin would speak as he rummaged through his bag before bringing out a pack of brown pellets, handing a few to Shun before taking a couple himself. Even after all these years of being around the deer there were times he'd still have to offer a treat to get close to them which probably meant Shun would definitely need them.

Nara Shun @two @three | ### | whoop whoop

KRATOS

[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

VII - VI

-  t h e  t a l e  o f  -

A  S H A D O W  H E R E,
A  S H A D O W  T H E R E

---

”Oh! Wooow! So cool!” Shun exclaimed upon getting confirmation of her guess. Medical shinobi seemed like such well-rounded people. She had never met one so her mind was racing with questions she could ask to the older Nara.

”What’s that like? Have you saved people on the field? Oh-oh! Your chakra control must be amazing, Shika-nii! I’m told mine is really bad… but dad says I have more chakra than others my age…” For a moment, the raven haired girl trailed off in thought. It was true that she struggled with exerting too much chakra on jutsu and her reserves were ample. Perhaps it would balance out her lack of control? However, she had met so many people who excelled in control that she couldn’t help but start feeling inadequate. It showed on her face as her lips formed a pout and her brows drew closer together. There was a hint of sadness in her eyes and a very heavy sigh escaped her.

”I don’t think I could be a medic. Maybe I can become pretty strong though and keep my team from being hurt just like that.” The dark eyed girl spoke out as she tried to find a brighter outlook on her technical flaw.

”Then again… I can’t even do the hidden jutsu yet so I don’t know how long that will take.” Shun sighed heavily again. It appeared the kid had put a lot of expectations on her own shoulders.

”It’s weird, isn’t it? I learned how to walk up trees but I can’t sustain shadows that I stretch because I pour too much chakra in them. "Shun” is supposed to mean speed or talent – maybe mom got it wrong, hahaha!” She laughed cheerfully as they walked. ”Did you always want to become a medic? Did it take you long to train? Can you heal people in a matter of minutes? I guess medical ninjas need to know a lot of herbs – do you have to memorize them all or is it ok to carry books around?” Maybe there were too many questions but Shun felt her curiosity take the best of her again.

The couple clansmen ventured deeper into the woods and Shun would observe the gradual decline into darkness. Mind you, she could still see everything – it was just full of green and dark earthy colors. The sky was pretty much covered by trees and, while some might feel a bit anxious, such a shadowy environment just made her feel more at home.

The girl nodded as she received the treats from Shikajin and stretched out both her hands together to take them. Her heart started racing a little and she couldn’t remember if the animals could sense how nervous she was or not but tried her best to calm down. It seemed like such an exciting thing to do though.

They would walk further for a while and Shun would stay quiet – she tried to listen to her surroundings more than anything else. Moments passed and she could hear a rustle from the Northwest. The girl looked over and spotted a few deer in a more cleared area. With the pallets in one hand, she reached her other hand up to tug at Shikajin’s to notify the older boy. Of course, he would’ve heard it, too, probably but Shun was letting her childish nature get ahead of her. The girl looked up at him as if expecting permission to approach the deer.

She would do exactly as instructed – maybe her approach would even be a bit too careful and she would feel her heart in her throat for the first few steps but, after gaining a smaller distance between herself and the creatures of the forest, the girl would reach her hand holding the food forward and bow into the motion a bit. It almost looked like she was bowing.

---

Tag: Nara Shikajin
Shun: 496b36

[Nara Shikajin]

the worst case scenario is you

He knew the onslaught of questions were coming and there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop them. People's brains ramped up to a mile a minute whenever they heard about specialized professions and any and every question they could think of came out all at once. It wasn't pleasant but Shikajin was used to it and given that it was just a kid he couldn't get too upset. "It's a lot of work but being able to help people is nice. Nothing too serious in the field but I've done some patching up here and there." Ironically, it was because he couldn't help someone in the field that the Nara decided to venture into the medical arts in the first place. "Don't get too beat up over it, less control just means you have more opportunities to get it right." There were plenty of times when the chunin wished he had been born with higher reserves of chakra as it would have helped him be able to heal more people for longer periods of time, though not being able to delicately control his chakra when messing around with the human body was a recipe for disaster. There were trade offs in every part of life and it was up to people to figure out how to best utilize what they had.

"The medical arts aren't for everyone, but everyone has a role to play in making sure your squad makes it back in one piece so just find what you're good at and stick to it." The Nara would reply, and what that was for Shun was a mystery to him (and probably to her as well at such a young age), but she had plenty of time to figure it out. She'd probably learn the clan hijutsu in a few years time, maybe even wander into the taijutsu style that had been developed, but there was no rush. Her focus at this point should have been on understanding the basics of shinobi life and getting the mechanics down, the rest would come in time. "You'll get there eventually, it just takes practice. Use the knowledge from your academy lessons as the foundation and go from there. Our clans techniques aren't going anywhere and there are plenty of people here that will help teach you when the time is right."

The girl really had a penchant for rapid firing questions and for anyone else the Nara may have gotten annoyed but surprisingly he had more patience than in years past. Perhaps the increased focus towards better bedside manner was paying off? Maybe it was because he was talking to another Nara? Whatever the reason, Shikajin was content with answering the questions as quickly as they came. "No, not always. It wasn't until I was maybe fourteen or fifteen that I decided to study medicine. It took years to even become somewhat decent and even then I'm still learning how to get better. If I'm working in the hospital then I can bring some books and scrolls with me but in the field I have to go off of what I know. The enemy isn't going to wait around for me to read through a book to figure out how to heal someone, now are they?" He would ask in return. There were some small field guides that medics had been known to carry around from time to time, but chances were if a procedure called for something more than medical ninjutsu could fix then that person probably wasn't going to make it.

As the two traveled further into the forest Shun seemingly began to realize that making a bunch of noise wasn't going to help them and in an instant the rapid fire questions came to a halt. She was nervous about getting close to the deer which was only natural, Shikajin had been the same way his first few times and was even cautious to this day. They were skittish creatures that were deceptively powerful if they felt threatened. While the group of deer they were near didn't recognize the girl they could smell the treats in her hand and slowly one of them would walk up to her, its nose sniffing around for the source of the smell and licking at the girls hand as if to say 'open up.' "Once they focus on eating you should be able to pet them, but take it slow." The chunin would advise as he set his pack down. Getting the girl familiar with the deer and vice versa was important to establishing a new generation of relationships but they were also here to work and work they would do.

Nara Shun @two @three | ### | whoop whoop

KRATOS

[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

-  t h e  t a l e  o f  -

A  S H A D O W  H E R E,
A  S H A D O W  T H E R E

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The shorter Nara could feel the deer’s breath on her hand first and her heart nearly skipped a beat. It was very exciting and she bit her lips together to stay calm and slowly looked up. There was a stag close to her now and pushing its mouth into her hand while taking a couple more steps closer. The girl also felt the animal’s saliva on her hand but it didn’t matter one bit. While the girl had been in the forest a few times already, she had only seen deer from afar. This was her first real experience interacting with them so the child in her couldn’t help but feel very, very excited.

Shikajin gave the green light for trying to pet them and shun shifted her weight to one side so she could pivot her body a bit and calmly reach her other hand up to, hopefully, stroke the animal. The contact was a success even though she could feel herself get quite nervous right before touching it – the girl even held her breath. ”Oh wow...” she let out softly. ”It’s so warm.” she looked back at the older Nara with one of the widest smiles and excitement gleaming from her eyes. Shun felt it important to let Shikajin know they were warm - in case he had forgotten...

It wasn’t clear what she had expected but their fur was a little less soft than she had imagined and it also felt quite thin. It was as if she could feel the stag’s skin. The girl somehow thought she’d feel more fur than anything else. Or she thought that they’d seem less full of life for some reason but they were bigger, warmer and beautiful.

Another one of the pack had made its way closer and bumped its nose against the small human’s side. This nearly made Shun jump but she assumed the deer was after more food. It was getting a bit more crowded and the youngling looked towards her clan-mate. ”What should I do now?” She said she’d help out but had no idea what it was she was going to do. ‘Collecting samples’ sounded like a straight-forward thing but she wasn’t going to guess Shikajin’s process nor did she know what exactly was to be sampled.

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Tag: Nara Shikajin
Shun: 496b36

[Nara Shikajin]

the worst case scenario is you

Shikajin would watch as Shun and the deer became more acquainted with each other, and so long as the girl didn't get too jumpy it would only be a matter of time until the animals saw her as just another source of food, well, for now at least. In time she would be tasked with taking care of the deer as all Nara did but for that to happen she'd need to spend a considerable amount more time with them in addition to learning quite a bit more about what exactly the clan did in relation to caring for the deer.

Another would make its way up to the young girl, this time nudging her in the side in search of food. Mostly docile as they were some of the deer could get a little spoiled when they became used to getting fed but aside from acting like Sad-- er, a diva they wouldn't become aggressive. "It's alright, they just really like the treats is all. If you've got enough to share then go ahead but if you feel overwhelmed just take a couple steps back and come find me. Just keep them occupied a bit longer while I go collect some samples." The chunin would reply with a nod.

While it was true that they did collect samples from live deer from time to time, that was probably something Shun wasn't really ready to see just yet and her focus needed to be on building a bond with the creatures. For this Nara, however, he needed to get a start on collecting samples and crossing certain things off of his list. Having Shun here to occupy the deer with snacks would save him time and if Shikajin was lucky he'd be able to finish in record time. Well... probably not considering at some point he was going to have to explain to the young Nara what everything was and what it was being used for. Mmm, this was probably going to take a lot longer than normal come to think of it.

A bit away from his younger clan mate the man would find what looked like thin strips of red bark laying around the base of a tree. Closer inspection would reveal that it was in fact antler sheddings which was normal for this time of year and incidentally one of the most valuable parts of their namesake. Shikajin would begin to scoop some into one of empty containers he had brought with them while listening out for any signs of distress from Shun.

Nara Shun @two @three | ### | whoop whoop

KRATOS