[Uchiha Miroru]

Uchiha Miroru

Konohagakure No Sato

Academy Student Extraordinaire!

Hyūga Shigure | 240 | notes

"Hey, has anyone seen the linens for the nurse's office?"

"Nope."

"Huh. They're all missing."

"Doesn't Shigure have a tutoring lesson today?"

"..."

"..."

"I'm sure she'll put them back after."

---

The classroom was full of ghosts. Awfully shaped ghosts. Every desk was covered by one of the sheets or blankets from the nurse's office. Presumably, beneath one of them, was the mischievous student here for her tutoring lesson. It'd be easy to use his Byakugan and pick out which one, to be sure.

But she wasn't there!

In fact, Miroru had hidden in the rafters above the door Shigure usually used to enter the classroom area, hoping that he wouldn't start scanning around until he was closer to the classroom. Obviously, if he started beforehand, he'd catch her up there, but it was, at least, a novel attempt!

If, by some miracle, he didn't check- or at least didn't give away checking- until he was closer to the room, there would come the telltale signs of someone sneaking in the hall, followed by a familiar redhaired head peeking through the doorway, sure to be caught. As soon as she was, she scampered down the hall out of sight- but notably without the sound of new footsteps... giving away her hiding place over the doorway by sheer deductive logic.

"Just don't give up on me! We can figure this out!"

Template by: Monkey

[Hyūga Shigure]

"vanishing act". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." NOT TODAY Shigure was already a careful individual, he had to learn to be this way living in the Hyuuga district as someone who would both inherit the clan, and also believed the clan's dogmas needed to be fundamentally changed. He had this constant feeling that people were watching his moves - and they were - so that created the habit of trying to anticipate potential threats, and people's intentions. And in an odd way, his life as an academy instructor helped him sharpen that already natural alertness he had, for Miroru was always trying to pull a prank on him. So, before every class, he would use his Byakugan to scan the place and make sure he could react accordingly. Part of him wondered if she would be able to one day take the best of him, but he had made a bet with himself to not allow that to happen during her academy years. He had his pride as a Hyuuga after all. And just as he expected, there she was, hiding in the rafters above the door. The young man shook his head as he made his way to the classroom, and as he approached and opened the door, he moved with his full speed to his desk. His movements way too fast for the average academy student to be able to follow completely, as he moved like a blur. He would then turn around to face the Uchiha girl, with a triumphant smirk on his face. "Seems like I win once again, Tricky Miki!" he teased the girl, chuckling lightly. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Academy Lesson Cloak of Invisibility Technique [Uchiha Miroru] [263 words]

[Uchiha Miroru]

Uchiha Miroru

Konohagakure No Sato

Academy Student Extraordinaire!

Hyūga Shigure | 223 | notes

FLUMP

"DANG IT!"

Miroru's voice came from the hallway, above the door he'd sped through to head into the classroom at full, unapproachable speed. The redhead dragged herself off the floor and stomped comically into the room, proclaiming, "Woe is me, to be cursed with a Hyuuga sensei! Too fast to catch, too smart to trick, and worst of all, CHEATY EYEBALLS!" As usual, she wasn't actually mad. She came into every challenge planning to win and prepared to lose, so she simply marched to her desk and sat down- on top of the draped sheet, leaving her looking rather absurd.

"Seriously, how am I supposed to sneak up on three hundred and fifty nine point nine degree X-Ray chakra vision?! I'd say the obvious answer is stink tag under the pillow, but nooooooooooo, you live with A WHOLE CLAN OF X-RAY PUNKS! It's a Trickster's worst nightmare, I tell ya!" She huffed, wriggling in the sheet until she was wearing it like a hooded cloak.

"Oh, well. I know why I'm here! It's cuz I suck at invisibility cloaks! It's up to you to fix me, o great and wonderful sensei! Teach me like you've never taught before!"

"Just don't give up on me! We can figure this out!"

Template by: Monkey

[Hyūga Shigure]

"vanishing act". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." PRACTICAL EXERCISE Yes, the reason he was there was because Miroru, and some other students, needed some help mastering the Cloak of Invisibility Technique. To be completely fair, it was likely part Shigure's fault they were having a hard time mastering it; for the Hyuuga, that technique was basically useless, so it was hard for him to even comprehend much of its usefulness, but he knew that out there, many people didn't have any sensory ability, much less the Byakugan. "I admit this is not my forte. With the Byakugan, this technique seems rather menial, but for those who lack any sensory ability, this can be rather useful, especially during espionage." he said with a light shrug as he shook his head. "And it is in the curriculum, so in order to graduate, you all need to master it. Now... Follow me to the training area so we can start practicing it." and after saying that, Shigure would guide the students to the Academy Training Grounds, where they would a larger variety of environments to test out the technique. The area had tress, bushes, fences, walls, as well as some boxes and barrels, all that could be used by the students in order to try and conceal their presence. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Academy Lesson Cloak of Invisibility Technique [Uchiha Miroru] [210 words]

[Uchiha Miroru]

Uchiha Miroru

Konohagakure No Sato

Academy Student Extraordinaire!

Hyūga Shigure | 237 | notes

"Eh, it's okay. Everyone has weaknesses, sensei. Even if most people have a much more debilitating weakness than "I am so good at seeing things, this simple hiding technique that my baby cousin Nene-chan could see through it". I think you got a good deal, if you ask me!" Miroru stated, collecting the sheet she had around her shoulders and following after. She'd read enough about the technique to know you needed a literal cloak for the invisibility cloak technique!

"Hey, sensei? Has anyone ever made something of themselves without mastering all the Academy techniques? Like, what if someone had a really smart parent that taught them privately but started them off learning, like. The cool little elemental jutsus I see kids using sometimes? Could you get from there to learning serious jutsus?" It was a realistic question. It didn't really have any serious pertinence, of course, but as a matter of intellectual curiosity, knowing whether prominent ninjas might have skipped their schooling entirely was an interesting thing to consider!

"Maybe it'd be even more effective that way! Or maybe people would get hurt. Are there chakra spirits that get mad if we don't learn stuff in the proper order? Or are there basics in the Academy techniques that everything else is built on?"

"Just don't give up on me! We can figure this out!"

Template by: Monkey

[Hyūga Shigure]

"vanishing act". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." STEPPING STONES Shigure scratched his chin upon hearing Miroru's question. He tried to search in his memories for a name, but none came out. "Not that I can recall... I don't think it would be impossible, but it is very rare. And if someone learned more advanced jutsus before covering the basics, they could get bad habits that would be hard to get rid off in the future. And they can hurt their growth. It is very important to master the basics before moving towards the more advanced techniques. You just have to be patient. The time will come." he said, trying to make her understand that - as boring as they were - those techniques helped polish their chakra control and teach them how to channel it, so that when they used better techniques, they wouldn't waste chakra, or channel and mould it the wrong way, which could even become potentially dangerous. "So, ultimately, you should look at these techniques as your stepping stones. The base on top of where you can build your fighting style." he added with a firm nod. There was just so much for them to learn, and it was impossible for Shigure to predict what kind of shinobi his students would turn out to be in the future. He had some educated guesses, but some of them would still surprise him no matter what. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Academy Lesson Cloak of Invisibility Technique [Uchiha Miroru] [229 words]

[Uchiha Miroru]

Uchiha Miroru

Konohagakure No Sato

Academy Student Extraordinaire!

Hyūga Shigure | 236 | notes

"Aha. Well. Then thanks for teaching us the right way! I'd love to know some of the more seriously cool techniques, of course, but I understand the importance of strong funda- er. Funnimen... Having a strong foundation!" She meant to say fundamentals, but the word just didn't present itself. "Patient? Do you remember being an academy student, Hyuuga-sensei? Being patient is one of the hardest things ever! All the cool stuff is up ahead and I'm over here learning-" She flailed the sheet around as if angry. "Silly Sheet No Jutsu! I know it's important and I'm gonna take it serious but patience isn't a virtue, sensei! It's TORTURE!"

Once more, she wrapped herself up in the sheet like an old gramma and padded along in following. "So what's the deal? How do I make the sheet invisible? And how does that make ME invisible? Wouldn't I just be visible through the sheet if I did it right? That seems counter productive!" That wasn't, of course, how it actually worked, but the conclusion could be forgiven, based on the name, at least. "I feel like it'd be smarter to just hide behind the sheet. Or put the sheet somewhere you might hide, but then hide someplace else and throw them off the scent!"

"Just don't give up on me! We can figure this out!"

Template by: Monkey

[Hyūga Shigure]

"vanishing act". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." SCARS Shigure would get a serious expression after Miroru said that the cool stuff was up ahead, and that it was kind of lame to be here learning an arguably useful technique. He sighed deeply and shook his head slowly. "You are not ready to what is out there. Not even close. You will, one day, if you continue to train hard. But the world out there is not cool. It's dangerous. Even trained shinobi, experienced ones... So many of them end up losing their lives, and part of the reason why that happens is because they overestimate their own abilities." and as he said that, he unzipped his flak jacket and lifted his shirt, showing the plethora of battle scars he had in his torso, a sign of how much hardship he endured, and how many near death situations he had been through. After a moment, he would put them back on. "The reason I'm alive is because I was lucky. And I don't want you to have to rely on luck. Many of my comrades didn't have that luxury. I want you all to be able to rely on your skill." he added, with a rather firm tone. However, he couldn't stay like that for long, and soon afterwards he would get back to a more neutral expression as he was asked how to properly use that technique. "It's not just about the sheet. You need to attune your chakra to it, so it can help create the visual illusion that you are not there. It's not properly genjutsu, but it is as close as ninjutsu gets to that." he explained. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Academy Lesson Cloak of Invisibility Technique [Uchiha Miroru] [274 words]

[Uchiha Miroru]

Uchiha Miroru

Konohagakure No Sato

Academy Student Extraordinaire!

Hyūga Shigure | 225 | notes

Miroru looked frustrated with Shigure's response, but not because he thought she was wrong, but because she seemed to feel he didn't understand what she meant. She went somber as he showed them his scars, and her eyes fell, but she felt she had to explain herself. "I didn't- mean I wanted to get out and do missions, you know. I meant that the cool techniques were just waiting there. It's not that I don't take this seriously, or don't think it's important, I just see my cousins doing super cool jutsus and it'd be more exciting- not necessarily more IMPORTANT, but more EXCITING, I know the difference- if I was learning some cool flashy trick, or developing my own personal jutsu or something, you know..? I want to be able to rely on my skills, too. I'm just excited for the chance to develop them is all."

At his explanation, she tossed her sheet in the air and let it drape over her. "So is it like the ultimate jutsu representation of hiding behind the drapes and hoping Dad doesn't see you there when he notices someone broke his favorite ceramic pigeon?"

That... was too specific to not have actually happened.

"Just don't give up on me! We can figure this out!"

Template by: Monkey

[Hyūga Shigure]

"vanishing act". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." PRACTICE LEADS TO PERFECTION "The time will come. It will be sooner than you think. And one day you will be the cool cousin." he responded before focusing on the execution of the technique itself. After making sure the students grasped the basic concepts behind it, it was now time for them to practice, and as he had expected, the first attempt was far from ideal. Shigure looked at them - not even using his Byakugan - and he could easily find them. "Just throwing the drapes over yourselves won't work. Try to go to a place where you could easily blend in. Adjust your body position to reveal the least possible, and use your chakra to fill in the gaps. Imagine you are infiltrating an enemy stronghold, and your missions is to acquire information without getting caught. Now, try again." he would say, giving the kids time to try again and again. They had an hour to practice the technique, and he hoped that by the end of that time, most of them - if not all of them - would've managed to master its concepts. As time passed, the attempts started to improve, and some of them were almost perfect, they just needed to push themselves a tad bit harder. "Good job, everyone. Just a little more. Focus, give it your all!" he tried to incentive his students, to boast their spirits. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Academy Lesson Cloak of Invisibility Technique [Uchiha Miroru] [231 words]

[Uchiha Miroru]

Uchiha Miroru

Konohagakure No Sato

Academy Student Extraordinaire!

Hyūga Shigure | 224 | notes

"Man. I really hope so. I don't wanna be the lame cousin! Dame's the jerk, HE should be the lame cousin!" Miroru lamented, trying to get into the spirit of the practice.

Blend inj? Wasn't the point to be invisible? Miroru thought about that. No, technically... it wasn't. It was to be unnoticed. Invisible was something different, no matter the name. And the next best thing to invisibility was... hiding in plain sight. She looked around at everyone else managing various degrees of success with the technique, noting what it looked like when it was working. Complex backgrounds were tricky. The best ones were in shadows or against simple objects like rocks. Chewing her lip, Miroru got an idea, and waited for Shigure to look away before she executed her plan.

When he looked back, he'd see an almost perfect invisibility cloak in the shadow of a bush with just Miroru's toes poking out of the effect. Toes with no shadow, notably.

And if he was paying particularly close attention or using his Doujutsu, he'd catch Miroru doing a far superior job against the dark side of a tree nearby while her cloned image mimicked a near success by that bush!

"Just don't give up on me! We can figure this out!"

Template by: Monkey

[Hyūga Shigure]

"vanishing act". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." END OF PRACTICE Uchiha Dame, now that was a problem child. The young Uchiha was rather difficul to deal with, and their attitude was something Shigure disapproved of completely. In short, the youngling was a bully, and an arrogant one. To make things worse, Dame had activated their Sharingan, even though it was still quite immature with only one tomoe. Shigure continued to walk around, analyzing the execution of the techniques by his students and giving them tips on how to improve it and succeed. When he turned around to look for Miroru, he couldn't find her at first. "Oh?" he exclaimed in surprise. After looking around more carefully, he finally noticed something under a tree, and it was quite a great execution of the technique. The point of the jutsu was not to turn invisible, but to camouflage yourself with the environment so that the enemy would not perceive you. Some shinobi could indeed turn invisible, but that was a rather advanced technique, one not even Shigure knew how to use. Approaching the girl, he winked at her and gave her a thumbs-up. "Good job, Miroru-chan. You got it!" he said with a firm nod. Once he did that, he continued to watch over the other children, and then another fifteen minutes had passed and the class was finally over. "Alright guys, congratulations. I see most of you managed to learn it. To the ones who didn't, don't lose your motivation. You will get there eventually. We will have more chances to practice it. Also, feel free to ask your peers for tips. As shinobis of the Leaf, you should learn to collaborate with each other." he added. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Academy Lesson Cloak of Invisibility Technique [Uchiha Miroru] [280 words]