[Daredemo]

DaREDEMO Nara Shun

    Had Daredemo grown some sort of a soft spot recently? Why on earth was he out here today working on how to train the abilities of an academy brat? It didn't make any sense. Just two years ago he would likely have been terrorizing the halls of the academy all his own, yet today he had been roped into some sort of mentorship role he guessed. A request had been made of him, and Kazui had made it very clear that official requests were going to be followed to the letter from now on. Considering how quick she was climbing up the rankings here in the village, Daredemo didn't have any interest on getting on her bad side. 

    And so, here he found himself. Not the academy proper, but a small training area behind it's campus. Deeper in the small woods of the village than the one that would usually be used for classes. Dare would rather stay a bit further away from some of his former teachers, people he had little love for at all. That didn't mean he had to take his hatred for the academy out on it's students though.

    His time at the academy had been rough, and it was often rough for any student who was placed inside of it. Whether you were a top student with high expectations, a slacker constantly at odds with the faculty, or some horrid thing in between, And yet through all of that Daredemo had survived to become a good shinobi, and he owed it to others to get them to that eventual goal as well. 

    And so here he sat, in the center of the large clearing. Atop a tall log that gave him vantage towards the entrance to the winding path back to the school. The place his student for the day should be coming from. 

OWL

[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

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It was yet another summer’s day. Somehow, this summer would probably be one of the most eventful in all of her academy years. She had been singled out for her graduation exam just days ago and, since it was mid-semester, most of her duties for the following week would remain the same. Shun didn’t have to attend theoretical classes but she would still participate in practical ones. Such included the mentorship.

Having already trained with Hibana, Shun knew the names of the others in her future team and it just so happened today’s trainer was one of them. He might not have known, actually...

*Maybe I’ll just see how introductions go* the girl thought to herself while walking up to the training grounds. Usually, they’d be somewhere bigger, but those places must have been taken up by other activities or the young Nara was being kept away from students who knew she graduated as not to start any commotion. It wasn’t every day someone graduated before the school year is over, after all.

Daredemo would see a figure emerge from the treeline and cross the clearing towards him. It was a teenage girl standing at around 165cm and had long black hair. She wore a faded pink t-shirt with wide white hems and a clan symbol on the left sleeve. This was accompanied by plain grey shorts and a pair of dark grey shinobi boots. The girl had a shoulder bag with her but took it off to carry in one hand as she got close.

”Yo, senpai!” the Nara girl called out to the other teenager. ”I’m Nara Shun. It’s lovely to meet you!” she introduced herself with a slight bow and a polite tone. If, in fact, Dare did not know that she was joining his team in about five days, Shun wasn’t going to tell him and it might be good to get to know him a little before he finds out. Shun saw it as an opportunity to see multiple sides of the boy, potentially.

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Words: 339
Tag: Daredemo
Shun: 395828

[Daredemo]

DaREDEMO Nara Shun

    Daredemo tilted his head, examining the girl in front of him like a bird, perched up on the tree branch. He would even find himself leaning back, allowing himself to fall back before activating the tree walking technique, leaving him hanging upside down, spinning himself to face the girl once again. His bright eyes going over every inch before speaking once more. "Daredemo, your substitute instructor for the afternoon." Dare dropped to the ground, walking up to her with a smile and a bow. 

    "I know a bit about the Nara clan, shadow manipulation techniques can certainly be a conversation starter. Always wondered how that worked." He continued to walk, circling around her a bit as he went, "I'm from the Uchiha clan, in case you weren't aware. We can do a lot with our eyes, but can't mimmick your techniques. Quite a lot of clans like that in the village, in fact, your clan is usually tied at the hip to the other two isn't it?" 

    Daredemo wasn't entirely sure where his line of questions was going, he hadn't really talked to many Nara before, so a great curiosity had taken him over first and foremost. In the same vein, learning more about how her powers worked would let him better understand how she could use it most effectively. It's important to know how each of your pieces can move in a game of Shogi. "I always have to know how my allies work, what makes them tick. So, how do the techniques work?" 

OWL

[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

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Shun watched the Uchiha apply tree walking on his way down and could not help thinking: *So cool! Maybe I should do that too when I meet people* The girl could not remember the last time she felt like the object of research. Usually, it was the other way around.

The young Nara was a very curious soul and eager to explore the world and learn more about it. The more their interaction continued, she got a feeling that her future teammate was similar and that coaxed out a bright smile. Maybe they’d get along great in the future!

”Exactly! We can manipulate shadows. There are many uses but the basis of it is manipulation. I can’t explain it in words but I can show you.” there were a few things that were clan specific and Shun couldn’t tell anyone outside the Nara but this practice was also hard to explain. It came from an understanding of the clan culture together with years of specific training. ”Or,” she looked up and tapped her chin thoughtfully... ”maybe I could explain some of it but it would take a while. How much time do you have?” she giggled at the end, clearly not expecting an answer to the question. The girl would talk Dare’s ear off, probably.

”Uchiha? Like Kazui? She’s a precious friend of mine.” Shun perked up. Kazui was a dear friend of hers and had been a mentor in many ways – the older Uchiha would always hold a special spot in her heart. Kazui was also the only person Shun could always talk honestly about anything and everything.

Come to think of it, the village was full of Uchiha, Shun remembered being tutored by Kazui’s adoptive mother, then there were some schoolmates, her teacher Izusa, now her teammate. It must have been nice to come from the most over populated clan in Konoha. The teenage Nara imagined that there would always be a lot of Uchiha in Konoha and nothing could change that. ”The Sharingan, right? What’s that like?”

”Oooh, you mean the Akimichi and Yamanaka clans? Yes, there is a bond. We have multiple teams consisting only of those members and the heads of the clans maintain the friendship. We’re quite intertwined by now so there are a lot of combination strategies we can use. I’m not entirely sure how they became friends but we are told that it started before the founding of Konohagakure. You know... tradition.”

There came the question about the Nara techniques and Shun crossed her arms and looked down in thought. Her brow furrowed a little and she hummed while thinking. How could she explain it? Was there a best way to explain it? Also he called her an ally so maybe he knew they would be on the same team? Had Hibana told the others already?

”I guess, I can show you.” she finally spoke up and straightened up. The raven-haired girl closed the distance between them and reached out her hands towards Daredemo almost like she was going for a hug, but all she was after was taking hold of the sides of his arms and moving him a bit to his left. ”Ok, stand there.”

Afterwards, assuming he stayed in front of her, the girl backed up a couple meters and turned to face him. She formed the rat sign and suddenly her shadow would darker. It would turn pitch black and would rapidly extend forward. It was not too fast to outrun but it moved quick. Once it would make contact with Daredemo’s shadow, his would turn darker and both of theirs would stay connected. He would notice that he can’t move his body yet could still talk.

”So it works like this. Now you have to move like I move. Wanna see?” Shun said and released the hand sign. She hopped around and Dare would have to mimic it. If she moved away from him, he would move away from her and vice versa. She then even ran to the left a bit and he would run with her. After that Shun did some freestyle dancing and he would have to do it too. They popped, they locked, they did the wave and shimmied.

”So what do you think?” she laughed as she walked forward until both of them were standing in front of each other. That is also when she released the jutsu.

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Words: 736
Tag: Daredemo
Shun: 395828

[Daredemo]

DaREDEMO Nara Shun

    Fascinating. The use of the Shadow Control Technique was truly something special. Daredemo would fully allow the girl to use the technique on him, this was still a friendly interaction, this was certainly not someone to worry about attacking him. He was safe in the academy at this point, it wasn't like when he had been a student here, when he was an enemy of everyone around. This person was nice enough. 

    And while allowing them to control his movements was somewhat of a leap of faith, the results were exciting nonetheless. His mind immediately running wild with the possibilities of a technique like this, ways to use it to it's most effective. Even while he was, unfortunately, being made to dance like an idiot. His distaste for the movement clear on his face while his mind tried to focus on the positives. 

    "This technique is incredible." Once he was finally free of the technique he began to speak. He was aware that he didn't need to stay silent, but it was easier to let his brain analyze first, and then speak. "You should keep your ninja tools in some more unorthodox places. Make sure that when you take someone over you can get your tools without them mimicking the movement and grabbing their own. You'll also wanna know the chakra nature of your adversary, what techniques their likely to also be able to use. Use some lesser known techniques, that way when you sign they won't actually make the technique."

    Dare could become a motor mouth when he got excited with ideas. But he'd give the girl a moment to take in what he said after that. Before he'd finally get back to some of the other topics at hand. "I don't actually have a sharingan myself. They come out through rather... painful business. If you meet an Uchiha with the eyes, it usually spells tragedy in their past." 

    "We shouldn't worry about that however, we should worry about your training for the day. That technique might be a good way to start. But let's talk about what your specialties are first." 

OWL

[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

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”Oh! Good point!” she agreed to the ideas. ”There are also ways to set the environment up and there are other uses for shadows, too. I’ll show you sometime, Daredemo-kun.” Shun said and took a moment to stretch. If they were going to train, she would rather be warmed up.

”My specialisations? Hmmm... I’m pretty strong in Ninjutsu – I can do Katon ninjutsu, too. I’m also quite good in Taijutsu. Weapon techniques and genjutsu aren’t really my forte but I’m sure I could learn.” the teen replied honestly. ”What about you? What can you do and what are you good at?” Shun asked eagerly.

From what she saw, she liked the way that his mind worked and saw some similarities with herself in the way he was thinking. This made Shun think they might end up being friends.

”What does the Sharingan do exactly? Is it similar to the Byakugan?” she knew bits and pieces but didn’t really know how the doujutsu worked. The Hyuuga abilities that she knew of were a little more straight forward. Her father had told her about it and some of her Hyuuga friends had confirmed – plus she had seen Byakugan used in real life but not the Sharingan. Then again, maybe she would never see the Sharingan used because of how hard it must be to gain the ability.

”Also, what shall we train today? Shall we spar?” Maybe Dare already had something in mind and she would go along with what her tutor had planned.

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Words: 252
Tag: Daredemo
Shun: 395828

[Daredemo]

DaREDEMO Nara Shun

    The girl was certainly sharp. She knew a lot already, and for the things she didn't know she seemed to catch on quickly. It would certainly be a benefit having one like this on a team. Analytical brains were always needed. Strength, speed, both meant nothing if it was aimed at the wrong places. She seemed to already be at a good level when it came to analysis. It was something the Nara in general seemed to be suited for, the type of planning needed to properly use their techniques seemed complex. 

    It was only fair he returned the favor, Dare presumed. "There are... similarities, but the byakugan is... simpler. I don't mean that to insult the Hyuuga. Their abilities are incredible, but the Sharingan comes in stages. And grows more power and abilities in each individual stage. It helps us analyze the world. Slow it down in a sense. It also helps with Genjutsu in a more direct sense than the Byakugan."

    Daredemo took a pair of bells from his weapons pouch, each connected by wire to a senbon. The boy would send them to two different trees, about 5 feet across from one another. "I don't know if you'd call this a spar. I don't want to fight against you. I want you to extend your abilities a bit. So when I say go, we're going to begin a game of hide and seek. I'll keep a bell tied to my waste, to make it easy for you. You'll be able to hear me, but I'm going to do some things to make that harder on you. That ability of yours is useful when on search and capture missions. so, you'll be trying to put me back in it. This will help your quick reactions, your battlefield analysis, tracking skills. All the fun stuff."

OWL

[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

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Bells? Shun would look after them as they flew off and soon hit a tree with that familiar ring. Why did people insist on having bells? ”Do you use genjutsu often?” she asked while pointing at them. Otherwise, to her, it made little sense to have them and she remembered Itsuki keeping them in his hair for genjutsu usage. The bells were so small and not the loudest and, while, the sound would be noticed in a quiet and sneaky setting as distraction, she never saw much use for it herself except as a audial trigger for genjutsu. Then again, Shun herself had never taken the biggest interest in genjutsu apart of how to spot the differences between it and reality. It was an abstract field and the Nara liked to wonder of the possibilities but would use her time to focus on more practical fields first. Perhaps,... when she’s chuunin…

”That’s too kind. Are you sure?” she responded to Dare saying he’ll keep a bell on. He was a rank higher but Shun was going to join his team, after all. Was it really wise of the boy to underestimate his new teammate and assume she had never used her skills to try to capture anyone? It was arrogant to think that a whole clan of Nara would have never thought of the uses of their own secret techniques besides the straight forwards ones. Renown for their cool minds and strategy, Shun could see that the boy in front of her thought himself above every other clan in mind. If her pride was an issue, she would have been insulted but, in her case, the girl was very much looking forward to an easy victory. Maybe, if she could humble her new teammate, he would not look down on her in the future - it might save their lives, she was told.

”I’ll try my best. Whenever you’re ready.” she smiled and stepped back. The girl closed her eyes and put her hands over them. ”Ten, nine, eight…” she would count backwards slowly to give Dare time to hide.

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Words: 357
Tag: Daredemo
Shun: 395828

[Daredemo]

DaREDEMO Nara Shun

    "You'll find that I make use of most forms of shinobi techniques. Buki, Tai, Gen, Nin. I try to make sure to vary it up as much as possible." Daredemo wasn't speaking to brag, simply to explain. He wanted to make clear that he wasn't a singularly focused shinobi like many others. Though he had no criticisms of those who went that route, it didn't make sense to him. He needed the adaptibility of shifting between focuses. Going from his blade to  his mind in a moment's notice. He knew it was still possible to do everything else even if he focused primarily on one, he preferred to have the jack of all trades approach. 

    As he allowed her to continue asking questions about his tactic, he'd simply chuckle a little. "Been training with Itsuki? Yes, me and him both utilize bells for genjutsu. They're incredibly useful triggers." the simplest triggers were something small, innocuous. Something less likely to be noticed. But Dare felt in this instance it was okay to step back and allow them to know parts of his strategy. They would know genjutsu was coming, and would need to adapt to its changes. 

    It was the small things in someone's movements that always made Dare question their motives. The way they worded things. Saying that it was too kind, after already knowing about the genjutsu. "it's important to go over basics, trust me. I don't want to make this hard on you. This is just some future coworkers doing some workplace bonding. Honing their craft. We can get to the actual challenges when I see where we're starting at."

    With that, Daredemo allowed her to turn and close her eyes. Before he'd, for now, simply walk away from the girl, deeper into the woods. Using a little bit of his chakra to climb his way back up one of the trees. He'd wait to trigger the next part of his 'fun' plan.

OWL

[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

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”One! Ready or not, here I come!” she proclaimed to the emptiness around her and opened her eyes. Now then… what to do, what to do…

Shun walked towards the treeline and thought about what she would do if she was hiding. What would be a good way to conceal herself? Easiest would be to transform but passing such an object usually gave it away. Maybe sit in a bush or a brunch somewhere and wait?

The Nara had not heard a bell go off for a little while but last time she hard it, it was close. Well, relatively.

The girl made a single hand seal and used Shunshin no Jutsu and vanished from sight. As if space and time had warped her away, there was no trace of her to the naked eye.

Now at the highest vantage point she could find, the girl crouched on a branch hidden between leaves and would calmly survey the area and listen out for the sound of a bell. Catching someone that made sounds while they walked was going to be relatively easy, she thought. Hopefully, the exercise would prove some fun sooner or later.

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Words: 200
Tag: Daredemo
Shun: 395828

[Daredemo]

DaREDEMO Nara Shun

    It was always important to stoke out exactly what kind of shinobi one was dealing with. The Nara clan had it's stereotypes; they were known as strategists primarily throughout the village. Daredemo didn't necessarily want to box this one in with the rest of their family however. That would be simply unfair to their upbringing. I mean, Daredemo had his similarities to the Uchiha, but it didn't mean he was a carbon copy. 

    That didn't mean he didn't want to poke and prod at her intelligence however. She had already shown some clear signs of it, and an assignment like this, tracking down your target, it was a great test of that strategic mind he wanted to tease out of her. 

    Now all that came next was allowing her to start her hunt. So upon hearing her get to the final number, the boy would wait for a minute or so before moving to step two of his plan. Daredmo took another senbon, with another bell attached to it. One that Daredemo would send flying, allowing the bell to ring out for a moment. The noise carrying a fate of it's own as, if the Nara girl heard it, she'd quickly hear another, and another. Bell after bell, from every angle, every direction.

    Daredemo himself would simply stay still, his own bell sat stationary, no noise coming from it at all. Every sound a false flag, meant to only further confuse the boys opponent, and see just how they would respond to the bevy of noise. 

OWL

[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

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T H E  D E L I N Q U E N T 'S  R E T U R N

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A noise of a bell! Quickly, Shun looked over to the direction of where the noise had come from but, before she could move, the same bell noise repeated itself yet now it was closer. And then instantly another further away. The same bell noise - same length, same culmination in sound, same amplitude. It was creepy. Scary, even.

The Nara kid quickly looked up and stuck to the trunk of the tree she was on. She was yet to move but there were too many questions. Had the game flipped? Was Daredemo close to her? Above? She even heard the noise from inside of the tree ”No way”

She froze still and listened. It kept going. Bells. Everywhere. Not at the same time but common enough. She had to think. There was no other movement she could hear. No bushes, no tree branches bending, no steps heard, just the bell… No way the Uchiha was in the tree and then outside of it a second later. She might be wrong but it started to sound exactly what they had just talked about a minute ago. Genjutsu. Shun’s dad had told her about it previously - how the smallest thing in awareness can mean life or death. If this was a fight, she might have given away her location already and gotten ambushed. It was just by sheer dumb hesitation that Shun had not moved.

Her hands strung together to form a single hand sign: ”Kai!” she said in her thoughts and any genjutsu she was under would get released.

The bell sound disappeared. It had been a minute and Shun still did not move. She stayed quiet and listened. It would be much easier if Daredemo were to move. Then again, perhaps, if the bell sounds had confused Shun beyond help then all she would have to do is wait for Daredemo to move to find her eventually to win… then again, was winning that important? Perhaps her reaction speed to things was not something that needed to be flaunted just yet.

Shun sat with her legs crossed and her knuckles propping up her chin. It was a pose she often took to think when she was stumped on what to do next. Best thing to do was make up a couple plans and backup plans to proceed and listen out for the next sound. If none came then she would complete preparations and do a schematic search of the area… with maybe some traps. As far as Dare knew: nothing had happened.

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Words: 430
Tag: Daredemo
Shun: 395828

[Daredemo]

DaREDEMO Nara Shun

    It wasn't as if Daredemo would know when the girl finally broke his genjutsu. He just knew that she would. If she had Kai at least. But she had already made it clear to him she understood genjutsu. So he was hopeful that she had gone ahead and gotten that technique. It would certainly be something quite useful for her time as a shinobi. So he just made sure he didn't give her enough time to do it. Enough time to both figure out the technique and activate Kai. So he stood up, took at 5 more senbon bells. And he threw them out in 5 seperate directions.

    If the girl had already activated Kai then this would just sound as if Daredemo was moving out in 5 different directions. He himself simply dropping out of the tree, falling to the ground as he kept a hold of two shinobi wire. Each connected to a different senbon. As long as he didn't go too far, he could imply tug one of the strings to cause another bell ring. It was simply a good way to mask movements. To again create a repeat of the noise. Make it harder and harder to tell which one was the real Dare.

    For now he didn't want to use too much of his chakra. It seemed like a game to him, making sure to do this training while using as little as he could get away with. It made things far simpler, at least in his mind.

OWL