[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

- t h e  t a l e  o f -

D O  Y O U  T R U S T  M E?

---

”Ok, are you ready?” the teenage Nara asked, before dropping low to stretch.

Most days were training days for shinobi and this one was no exception. Shun had asked Ashi to train with her. This time, however, they had to the top of the cliffside overseeing the city. There was a big enough clear area without any trees and, for what she wanted to practice, there needed to be no greenery in sight.

It was quite windy on top of the cliff. They could see over the village if they went closer to the side. In any other situation, it would be a landmark to marvel at but this was time for work.

The raven-haired girl set the shoulder bag she had with her to the side and tied up her hair in a high ponytail before walking further away from both it and Ashi. ”I learned this new jutsu and it takes some chakra but I think you’ll find it really cool!” she explained to her friend excitedly.

”And, worst case... you can heal us, right?” she would jest but there was no real way of telling if Shun meant it or not. The girl was exceptional at overthinking (perhaps, that is why she was good at making plans) so sometimes her worries were unnecessary. ”I’m thinking, I use some jutsu that I learned and you avoid them. That way, you get to practice your reaction speed and agility and I get target practice.” the Nara teenager explained her idea.

”Erm, not that I think of you as target practice...” she said, only now realising how her previous words might have sounded. The gears in her head turned to try and figure out how to get out of the awkward situation of her own making. Some moments passed and Shun felt more stiff and nervous by the second. She had to say something, anything!

Instantly, she relaxed and offered a warm smile: ”I love youuuuuuuuuuuu~” and the smile turned into a sheepish grin. That would, hopefully, wipe the slate clean. Not that there was anything to clear up – both of them had been close for years.

”Ok, here I go. Check this out – you'll be really impressed, I think.”

Shun lifted her hands and quickly weaved seven hand signs starting with the tiger sign – something custom to fire release jutsu. When she did, the grey eyed teen would take a deep breath into her chest and mix the air with chakra in her core before releasing it out towards Ashi. Now it made sense why she had walked further away because a huge dragon made of flames emitted from her mouth and chased the Inuzuka. *Katon: Karyuu Endan!*
Shun had the utmost trust in Ashi's ability to evade the attack... probably.

---

Words: 462
Tag: Inuzuka Ashi
Shun: 395828

SPOILER: Click to show

Name: Katon: Karyuu Endan [Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet]
Rank: B
Chakra Usage: Medium
Type: Ninjutsu
Element: Katon
HANDSEALS: 7
Description: After performing the necessary hand seals, the user emits a giant stream of fire which takes on the form of a long dragon. As it approaches its target, it can split into three or four smaller but similarly shaped dragons, attacking from the left, right and top (and bottom if four), a tactic used to surround and then incincerate the target in a matter of seconds. This requires a good degree of chakra control in order to keep the wild flames under control due to their fast pace and incredible power.

[Inuzuka Ashi]

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Nara Shun • Do you trust me?

"Yup” Ashi responded as he stretched casually. Nearby his Shiba Inu was sniffing around a tree with his fluffy tail curled up above him and wiggling happily. The St. Bernard was laying in the shade watching the shinobi train, his saggy jowls resting on his paws. Every once in a while he would blink slowly as if he were about to doze off. It was the golden retriever that seemed the most interested in the goings on of the humans. She was standing on all fours looking back and forth between the two. Ashi nodded along as Shun told him about a new jutsu. He assumed it was some new shadow technique. He only really started paying attention when she asked about healing, "Uh… yeah…” He responded feeling a little less confident now but still ready.

She kept talking and he nodded again. He was just noticing how hungry he was and he wondered what his mom was making for lunch. Was it almost lunch time? Sure, Sure. She was going to try to hit him, that made perfect sense to him. He bent his knees, ready to spring into action the moment her attack came, but there seemed to be some sort of delay. She was suddenly blushing and stumbling over her words. Ashi cocked his head to the side. He was a little confused about what was happening. As the moment dragged on it occurred to him that she was being kind of adorable. Love youuuuu~ She sang at him and now it was Ashi’s turn to blush. He didn’t know what to say so he just smiled weakly, "Yeah, I know. I make a great practice dummy. Are we ready?”

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as she started weaving a string of hand seals he’d never seen before. She breathed deep and he channeled chakra into the bottoms of his feet, leaping straight up, as a gout of flame came spewing from her mouth. He saw out of his lower periphery a dragon’s maw of pure flame turn to look up at him and his eyes went wide. If gravity had anything to say about it he was about to be toast. Fortunately, Shuga had been watching from the sidelines and had leapt into the air. She collided with him and they both bounced off in different directions, narrowly avoiding the flames. Ashi dug his heels into the dirt as he slid back, his hand brushing over the grass like a rudder. He landed crouched and when he looked up at her his eyes had gone feral and a sharp fang peaked out from the corner of a wry grin.

"Is that all you’ve got?” He growled teasingly.

You keep telling me to live right, To go to bed before the daylight. Don't you just wanna wake up, dark as a lake? Smelling like a bonfire, lost in a haze?

dandy ♫

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[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

- t h e  t a l e  o f -

D O  Y O U  T R U S T  M E?

---

The flames licked the ground and the dragon shaped stream of flame would shoot up after Ashi like a dragon from old myths and illustrations. It roared and chomped at him only to miss both the teenager and his ninken by a hair. Both of them felt the heat and the mass of destruction would turn midair to target Ashi again but be avoided by the youth’s enhanced reflexes.

Shun had performed the jutsu but her intent wavered towards the end of it and the flames went out upon hitting the ground. She looked at the scorched ground and her eyes, wide with fear, searched for Shuga first and then Ashi again. The girl turned on her heel to face him again and the change of form and taunt reassured her she had not, in fact, turned her best friend into coal.

*Oh thank goodness! I had no idea how using that on a person would go, actually* she sighed in relief and her shoulders dropped the tension. Suddenly, the potential for immeasurable guilt was wiped away completely and she could breathe once more.

”I can do better!” She quickly weaved three signs and, this time the shadow underneath her extended forward but then turned into a massive pool of a 20 yards around her. Ashi would already know that, if he stepped on it, he was caught. As soon as the pool of shadow set, she would add one more hand sign and a dozen shadow tendrils sprung from the pool of black closest to Ashi and would chase him around from different directions. The best part about the shadow expansion technique was the enhanced range of jutsu.

”These are also new. Pretty cool, right? I’m learning more for the next Chuunin exam.”

---

Words: 294
Tag: Inuzuka Ashi
Shun: 395828

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Kage Engi no Jutsu [Shadow Expansion Technique]
RANK: B
CHAKRA USAGE: Medium
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: -
HANDSEALS: 3
DESCRIPTION:
The user begins this technique as Kage Mane, but the shadow only extends approximately twenty yards before stopping and then widening until a pool of shadow rests beneath the shinobi. This expanded circle of shadow can then be used as a pool to draw shadow from for repeated use of Nara Clan jutsu. The volume of the user's shadow is exponentially increased.

NAME: Kage Nui no Jutsu [Shadow Sewing Technique]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: -
HANDSEALS: 1
DESCRIPTION:
The user is capable of splitting their shadow into tendril sharp enough to pierce flesh. They are able to control each needle-like tendril separately, able of using them to bind opponents. The range is equal to the user's Kage Mane and the tendrils are strong enough to bind most average adult shinobi.

[Inuzuka Ashi]

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Nara Shun • Do you trust me?

Ashi scrambled to his feet, his heart pounding in his chest. He had to get away from the shadows, but they were closing in on him from all sides. He could see the tendrils slithering across the grass, like the tentacles of an octopus. He knew that if he didn't escape soon, he would be trapped. He ran and jumped around, trying to avoid landing on a shadow. But the shadows were too fast for him. They seemed to anticipate his every move, always reaching out to grab him just when he thought he was safe. He was being pushed back inch by inch in his effort to escape. He could feel the shadows closing in on him, and he knew that he was running out of time when suddenly-

Damn. He found himself unable to move, held in place by her shadow attached to his. It was as if a heavy, invisible weight had been placed on him, rendering him immobile. He struggled against the force, but it was no use. The shadow held him captive, its tendrils coiling around his limbs and body, preventing him from even twitching a finger.

"You should do well in the next exam.” He mumbled through clenched teeth. He was embarrassed at being caught but impressed with his best friend. Shun had obviously been training hard.

You keep telling me to live right, To go to bed before the daylight. Don't you just wanna wake up, dark as a lake? Smelling like a bonfire, lost in a haze?

dandy ♫

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[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

- t h e  t a l e  o f -

D O  Y O U  T R U S T  M E?

---

Victory was always sweet but this time Shun felt especially happy. Having looked up to Ashi since years ago, the girl had rarely bested him in any physical feat. She couldn’t help but feel her heart swell in pride as she sheepishly scratched the back of her head. The shadow tendrils that had coiled around his limbs from the legs upwards released and, like dark serpents, unbound the Inuzuka boy’s body and the dark pool of chakra retreated as well.

”Are you ok?” she’d run towards Ashi to check on him. Shun was quite certain that she didn’t accidentally stab him with a shadow tendril but it was best to check. ”You know, if I become chuunin after the next exam then we’ll be the same rank. What if I get promoted first after that? Would you join my operations team?” Shun giggled, lavishing in her victory over her friend. ”Maybe I should give a masterclass to your genin team? I’ll do it if you ask nicely” she’d tease a bit.

The girl leaned in to see if her friend was, in fact, in one piece and after a few moments of inspecting his body she’d look up. ”Shall we continue? I still want to practise some katon jutsu.” she explained. There was a hunger in her to be her best version which was now ignited by the slowly approaching exams. Usually Shun was a little lazy and went with the flow with most things but she knew that she could travel more if she was of a higher rank (and her assignments would pay more) so doing well in the exam was inspiring her to become stronger. The determination shone in her eyes.

---

Words: 292
Tag: Inuzuka Ashi
Shun: 395828

[Inuzuka Ashi]

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Nara Shun • Trust

"I’m fine. Only my pride is bruised.” Ashi responded honestly. He couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment in himself, but he was determined to keep going until he was fast enough to evade any attack she could throw at him.

"I think you mean, when you become a chunin. And I think that’d be really cool. I’d join your team for sure!” He flashed a genuine grin at her before the corner of his mouth turned up mischievously, "I’d always be like ‘Yes, Shun-san. Right away, Shun-san. And I’d never question your orders because I’m a well behaved team member.”

"Eh, I think we’ll pass on the masterclass.” He said, shaking his head. He knew that Shun was only teasing him, but he couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed when she brought up his genin team. He hoped none of them would show up at the training grounds today. Team leaders were meant to be cool.

"You know, we’ll never get any training done if you stop to check on me after every jutsu. Believe me, I’ll use my safe word if you hurt me.” He waited for her to wonder about the code word before continuing, "I’ll scream-” He yelled, "AHHHH! Help! Nara Shun’s killed me. She’s lost her mind.” He chuckled to himself as he walked back to his starting place. Shun worried way too much.

You keep telling me to live right, To go to bed before the daylight. Don't you just wanna wake up, dark as a lake? Smelling like a bonfire, lost in a haze?

dandy ♫

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[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

- t h e  t a l e  o f -

D O  Y O U  T R U S T  M E?

---

”Oh?” the raven haired girl chuckled as Ashi explained he’d follow her orders. He was making fun of her so she felt it fair to have some fun, too. Shun reached forward and cupped his face. Her body drew close to his and she’d lean in so close there was barely an inch between their faces. Her fingers softly caressed his cheeks. She looked him in the eye and said: ”What a good boy~”

She wanted to see the reaction on his face but would withdraw right after because it had taken all of her not to laugh up until that moment and the air filled with cheerful laughter. Maybe because they had just messed around that she got a bit taken aback by the next bit.

”Wha-safe word?” the pause didn’t help as she just kind of stood there thinking what he might of meant. ’Don’t they mainly use safe words for… that kind of stuff…?’ having not thought about it much, she was now stuck with some new imagery in her head that she had never thought of and her heartbeat quickened. Why would she even imagine it?! It was obvious that blood rushed to her cheeks and she stepped back a bit to kind of create more distance and looked away shyly - what was she even supposed to think? Her heart felt like she had just ran a marathon and then Ashi followed through with the joke and Shun immediately hid her face in her hands. Now she was even more embarrassed for thinking something weird. Oh, how frustrating! This would be remembered and she would find a way to make Ashi fluster later. For the time being, she just let out a sigh, pouted to the side for but a second and turned on her heels to walk a bit further so they could resume training.

Somehow, she was less worried about accidentally burning him now. Go figure.

”Katon: Karyuu Endan!” once again, a massive Shenron of fire appeared on the sandy clearing just to split into three and chase the young Inuzuka.

---

Words: 292
Tag: Inuzuka Ashi
Shun: 395828

[Inuzuka Ashi]

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Nara Shun • Trust

Ashi’s brain stopped working and his blue eyes went wide as Shun put her face close to his. He felt her hands resting soft against his cheeks as she pulled him down; What a curious thing to notice. Hands. He gulped. All three of his ninken’s ears perked up at the familiar affirmation, Bonsai cocking his head to the side as if questioning who was the good boy. If Ashi had a tail, it would probably be wagging.

His revenge had come swiftly with the safe word joke. The innocence and modesty implied by her blush were humorous to him, despite the fact that he only had a vague notion of what it really meant. It was just something some of his older cousins liked to say when the adults weren’t around.

"Alright!” He exclaimed and rubbed his hands together expectantly. Shun seemed to finally be getting serious about training. "How about this ti-” but she'd already started and a torrent of flame was headed his way. Ashi did a flip back and landed on all fours before bounding away as three motes of flame chased after him. A light in his periphery told him he wasn’t going to make it.

At the last moment, he recalled the vivid image of a dog chasing a rabbit. It leapt erratically from side to side before diving through a hole in the fence. Maybe he could do something like that. At the risk of looking foolish, he committed to attempting a similar maneuver. He dodged the first tendril, then the second, he shifted his weight back towards the center and-

"Agh!” He yelped as the third one grazed the back of his leg. A small flame started at the hem of his pants and spread up his shin fast. Ashi fell flat on the ground and rolled to the side to put out the fire. He lay on his back staring up at the clouds for a moment and feeling the cool grass beneath him before attempting to sit up. His lower leg felt tight and he inhaled sharply through his teeth.

You keep telling me to live right, To go to bed before the daylight. Don't you just wanna wake up, dark as a lake? Smelling like a bonfire, lost in a haze?

dandy ♫

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[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

- t h e  t a l e  o f -

D O  Y O U  T R U S T  M E?

---

To say Shun ran over instantly was an understatement. Grabbing her bag from the ground, she formed a hand seal and would instantaneously appear next to Ashi. Not that she couldn’t run there but this was exactly why Shunshin was a useful jutsu.

”Oh crap, I’m so sorry!” she dropped down and hastily shook the contents of her bag out with multiple plastic bottles of water amongst them. She had left them in the shade and they were high up on top of the cliff but that wouldn’t be the same as keeping them on ice.

”Here,” she started, opened one and gave it to Ashi. ”We should pour this on your leg.” She would do it if he couldn’t or wouldn’t. The same process would be repeated until there was no more water.

”I’m so sorry. I was sure you’d be able to avoid it so I aimed closer and now you’re hurt. It was stupid to ask you to train with me.” she couldn’t even look at his face. ”I’m so sorry.” The guilt mixed with how worried she was in her gut and her voice broke upon her next inhale. Shun looked down while steadily pouring cool water on the burn and her hair would partially cover her eyes but big tears would start to stream down and land on her lap. Everything got blurry.

---

Words: 238
Tag: Inuzuka Ashi
Shun: 395828

[Inuzuka Ashi]

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Nara Shun • Trust

Ashi sat up all the way and pulled his leg up closer to his body. He looked down at the burn. It wasn’t that bad really, the skin was red but there weren’t any blisters, probably just a first degree burn. "It’s ok. It’s not my first burn and honestly…” He lied. "It doesn’t even hurt that bad.” He took the water when she offered it and poured it over his shin slowly. He could feel the pain slipping away with the cool refreshing sensation of the water dripping down. The water pooled in his shoes and gave his socks that gross soggy feeling but he didn’t care.

"Ah… It’s not your fault. I was trying out something new and my body wasn’t able to keep up with my mind. It’s my fault rea-” It was then that he saw that she was crying. Ashi fell silent as his mouth fell agape and he sort of froze up. He didn’t know what to do to help her and it made him a little uncomfortable. He could heal a cut or a burn easily enough but this was something else. He couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt. He hadn’t meant to upset her. He should have done a better job of concealing his pain and now he didn’t have the first clue how to fix this.

"I should have told you what I was going to do but it just came to me in the moment- A miscommunication is all-” He reached up a hand to peek under her bangs. The tears welling in her charcoal-gray eyes made them glisten… what a unique color- striking in contrast to her pale skin and raven hair- the lack of color bringing out every color in those eyes. What desires lay locked behind those eyes? What fears swam just beneath the surface?

He wiped a tear from her cheek before withdrawing. Pōkupan sensed she was upset and plopped down next to Shun as a source of comfort. Ashi placed the hand on his leg and the white glow of chakra appeared in his palm. It took a couple of minutes and he did his best to resist the urge to scratch his leg as the skin repaired himself but eventually the redness faded. "There we go!” He said with a grin. "Good as new!”

You keep telling me to live right, To go to bed before the daylight. Don't you just wanna wake up, dark as a lake? Smelling like a bonfire, lost in a haze?

dandy ♫

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[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

- t h e  t a l e  o f -

D O  Y O U  T R U S T  M E?

---

As laid-back and collected as Shun could be most of the time, she was still a teenage girl with an impressive range of emotion. The Nara could always sympathize with anyone around her so she found living through and expressing her feelings comfortable. This time was no different… even though she felt overwhelming guilt, she also let the turmoil wash through her and, eventually the storm in her mind and heart calmed down.

The girl looked back at Ashi and couldn’t help but think how awful it might be if something really bad ever happened to him. He was always older, stranger and better at anything shinobi-related than her so she hadn’t really considered it before. The boy saved her from being lost years back and she had just assumed he’s unbeatable since then. The idea that nothing could harm him so she didn’t really have to worry had taken root in her mind so seeing him go down because of her own technique was shaking a core belief - that her friend was, in fact, a living breathing human, too, and not some unbeatable entity.

She sobbed a couple times and wiped her tears away by rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. Her cheeks were red and her eyes a little puffy now. Some tears still hung in her eyelashes and she just nodded as she steadied her breathing.

”Thank… god…” she exclaimed between breaths while petting Pokupan next to her. Somehow, petting a big friendly dog made it easier to calm down.

”I was so worried.” she sighed and dropped her head. ”I’m so sorry, Ashi.” guilt tinted her voice but she would respect his view on the situation and stop apologizing. After all, he probably knew that she felt bad already.

”I’m glad you’re ok.” she smiled and pulled his leg close by to take a better look at it. Never hurt to be thorough. The teen would tap it here and there like one does with a piece of fruit to check how ripe it was.

”Ashi…” she started thoughtfully and looked up at the boy’s face from his leg. Shun reached out both of her hands to grasp his shoulders and spoke seriously for the next bit: ”Promise me you’ll never get badly hurt. Promise! Even if it’s a mission or a battle for love or pride, or whatever, you’re not allowed to die. Like… ever. Ok?” she peered up and there was only one acceptable answer.

”So, what do you want to do? Shall we rest a bit and then do some more training or call it a day?” Shun would eventually fall backwards from her seated position and stare at the sky. One hand was lazily petting Pokupan who was still on her side.

”Man… being a cloud must be nice. There’s no stress involved. They just go with the wind.” she thought out loud.

---

Words: 502
Tag: Inuzuka Ashi
Shun: 395828

[Inuzuka Ashi]

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Nara Shun • Do you trust me?

Ashi chuckled at Shun prodding his leg. He wasn’t sure what she hoped to accomplish with that but it tickled a little. His smile faded when she asked him to make her a promise. He could tell from her tone that she needed to hear him say it even if he knew it was a lie. He nodded, "I promise.”

"A short break sounds good. I can keep training though, whenever you’re ready.” He smiled and held his arm out towards Pōkupan who trotted over and nudged his hand with his snout. Ahi ran his hand down the side of the big oaf’s head before opening one of the bags that was hanging around the dog’s massive shoulders. "I packed us some leftovers for lunch.” He said as he handed over a little box and opened his own. Shun would recognize the cooking as his mothers pork and rice. He tossed some home-cooked dog treats to the ninken and shoveled his lunch into his mouth quickly so they wouldn’t have time to beg.

"Alright!” He exclaimed as he stood up and stretched. "This time I’m going to get it right so don’t hold back.” He hoped she wouldn’t treat him with kid gloves the rest of the day but that was probably too much to ask.

You keep telling me to live right, To go to bed before the daylight. Don't you just wanna wake up, dark as a lake? Smelling like a bonfire, lost in a haze?

dandy ♫

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[Nara Shun]

NARA SHUN CHRONICLES

- t h e  t a l e  o f -

D O  Y O U  T R U S T  M E?

---

She smiled. "Thank you"

It was meant for both the answer and the food - and just Ashi being Ashi. Life was going to get more colorful now. Just that morning Shun had gotten word that she was supposed to go on a mission with some unknown people again. ”By the way? Is it normal to get asked to do missions outside of my team? Ones with other Konoha genin I understand but I also have to meet this person from Kusagakure in Oiwai and then I need to go to Kumogakure to patrol as part of some inter-village project…” she thought out loud as she ate.

Shun was slower on the intake and the dogs had just watched Ashi finish his meal and, needless to say, looked utterly betrayed but then turned to Shun with sad faces… she couldn’t help but smile apologetically. ”You guys… I watch him feed you, you know. None of you are starving.” she mumbled and finished her meal quickly, too. As fond as Shun was of the ninken trio, she rarely fed them heavy foods and only gave them snacks she had asked Ashi about. They were raised differently and she didn’t want to spoil them by accident.

However, thinking about it, she looked to the boy to gauge his reaction about her going to Kumogakure. Well, she wasn’t actually visiting - more like hanging out outside on some mountain patrol. However, Ashi’s father was from Kumo and that part of his family wasn’t exactly the warmest or best…

”Ok, let’s go again.” she dusted herself off after getting up. ”I feel like I can do this three more times at best before I pass out. Let’s make them count.” she laughed. A change of topic was good, probably.

The girl would create some distance, ask if he was ready and, again, making sure the pups were out of range, use the dragon fire jutsu to chase her friend around.

---

Words: 332
Tag: Inuzuka Ashi
Shun: 395828