A Shinobi Approaches

Shiro woke up a few hours later. He had slept well and was glad he did not have any nightmares. This did not happen often to him, usually his nights were restless. "Kai-kun?", he asked, yawning and rubbing his eyes. The jacket was comfortably warm and it still smelled like Kai, Shiro liked it a lot. But he was probably going to have to give it back, he guessed and was a little sad about it.

Kai had still not returned he was however only a short distant away but didn't want to show Shiro that it was only a clone that was with him...

"Morning Shiro" said Kai's clone... lifeless and without tone... "I'm going to the 'bathroom' over there" as he pointed to the bush the real Kai was hiding in.
Without hesitation the clone walked to the bush and Kai tripped him over and the Clone dissapeared to which Kai then got up, did his business and returned to Shiro with a smirk on his face. "Haha, I just got attacked by the floor" Kai hoped Shiro wouldnt be able to tell the difference.

When Kai returned, Shiro smiled shyly. "Are you hurt?", he asked, sitting up.
"I... I guess you want your jacket back?", he added, seeming a little sad about it.
"Will we train today?"

"Woah, you can hold onto that Jacket, I'm wearing a long sleeved shirt so I won't be too cold" He took his hand above his eyes and looked at the sky, it was cloudless and sunny, a perfect day "as for the fall it's nothing" Kai dodged a bullet with that one, how would he explain it. Oh Shiro I know you were being hunted but it's okay I slaughtered them. You're welcome! Kai decided it was best to not tell him.

"and yes, we'll be starting training today but you have to follow my hands exactly..."
Kai hesitated for a second, he wanted him to teach him an academy level jutsu a regular clone jutsu... But he hadn't prefromed it since he graduated because his water clones were a lot more versatile... Ram, Snake... Dog? No no no. That wasnt right... Was it Tiger, it seemed right and he went with his instincts.

Slowly he showed Shiro how to do each hand sign and giving its name, and then asking him to do the handsigns in a quick motion and shout Clone Jutsu while trying to force energy into the thought of creating a clone of himself.

When Shiro tried it he did not even create a poof of air.
He was very disappointed of himself and almost did not want to try again.
"I can't do this, Kai-kun. Nothing happened", he said.
What kind of friend was he, when he could not even learn the easiest things?
Shiro tried again half-heartedly but of course failed once more.
"I'm too stupid for this, Kai-kun", he mumbled, looking down at his hands.

"No sweat, I stuggled on this too, It's my fault really, I got the order of teaching wrong, it should be Kunai and Shuriken Handling, Taijutsu then Ninjutsu then Genjutsu! This is my mistake" With that Kai smiled and took out 3 shuriken and a kunai.

He stood up and created a clone and had him stand back.
"Alright I want you to throw the Shuriken at him - Like this" Kai showed him that he held the Shuriken between his thumb and the top of his index finger and threw it with a spin on the edge. "We throw it like that so it'll cut through the air and stay on target." Kai smiled, "Give it a go"

Shiro was confused, he did not know what Kai was talking about.
When the elder showed him how to throw, Shiro shrugged.
That was an easy one. He had been educated to kill people.
If he could do one thing, it was throw things at people to hurt them without seeing Shiro.
However, Shiro acted clueless so Kai would be impressed when he actually hit.
Making the first shuriken miss he let the second and third hit the closed right at the center.
However, Shiro did not consider that it might seem weird to Kai that he had not restraint on hurting the clones. On the other hand, Shiro did not know that clones did not even feel pain.

The clone popped into a puddle of water however Kai didn't seem impressed... There was something odd about how he threw it almost as if he wanted to miss.
Kai walked up to him and gave him 4 more shurikens and summoned 4 clones...

Suddenly Kai and the clones began to run around in circles moving between each other so Shiro would not know which Kai was which... While they were running Kai said "When me and the clones all stop you MUST hit 4 of us, if you miss accidently or on purpose the clone or myself whoever you missed will hit you." and with that they all stood in a line, silently.

Shiro was insecure, he did not want to hurt Kai. He did not care about the others but he definitely did not want to hurt Kai. Still, he had no chance. He wanted to impress the elder so he aimed and threw the shuriken at each of the clones, aiming for their right upper arm. And he hit right there. Every one of them.
Then he waited, feeling bad for hurting Kai. He had closed his eyes because he did not want to see his only friend bleeding.

Kai Smirked and lent on Shiros shoulder... Kai was soaking wet, with that the whole line of Kais popped into water... "A true ninja knows not to put himself in danger without good reason." Kai laughed and patted Shiro on the back "Good Job, I knew you could hit them, I think we may have your speciality."

Shiro's heart started racing when Kai suddenly stood right next to him, not injured at all.
In all his relief, Shiro hugged the elder tightly. He wanted to apologize but there was nothing to apologize for, apart from obeying. "I tried not to hurt you", Shiro mumbled against Kai's chest, explaining why he had aimed for their arms and not for their chests or throats. After all he had noticed the clones were exploding wherever they were hit, there was no need for a lethal hit.

Kai ruffled his hair and water dripped from it.
"I have an idea, screw trying to learn ninjutsu or genjutsu, we'll make you a weapon's specialist." Kai broke off from Shiros grip and led off into a train of thought. "By placing the large weapons in small easy to use scrolls and just release them when need be. It's so simple!"
He turned around with a smile on his face. "Not only will the weapons keep him protected in battle, he'll be respected in everyday life. Kai you are a genius."

Shiro blinked at Kai.
"How?", he asked, unimpressed.
So he was not going to learn magic tricks?
The boy seemed almost a little disappointed about this.

Kai was a little dissapointed in Shiro's reaction... and Kai's head dropped for a second however he liftd it back up with a smile "No worries, we'll just carry on the way we are and it'll be fine! The next thing now is Kunai, now you can throw it, but its easier to use as a knife in my opinion." Kai called up a clone and it held a Kunai, "Go easy on the Kid, A few scratches at most." with that the Clone ran towards Shiro!

Shiro's eyes widened, Kai had not given him a weapon to defend himself yet.
Was this some kind of punishment? Shiro ran from the clone, climbing up a tree.
He was very skilled, moving quickly as a squirrel.
One of the first things you learn when you live on the streets.
From up in the branches Shiro jumped back down at the clone, hoping to hit him anywhere so he might explode. What worked with shuriken had to work with his bodyweight, too, didn't it?

The clone easily dodged his attack and kicked Shiro when he reached the floor,
"Shiro! Use this!!" Kai threw a Kunai at a nearby tree "You can do it! I believe in you"

Shiro groaned in pain when he was kicked, he still had bruises from the beatings.
Without hesitation he got back up and ran towards the knife Kai had thrown at the tree.
With the weapon in his hand he turned back to attack the clone.
He got a few scratches but in the and Shiro was able to use his short height to his advantage and evade most of the clone's attacks. After a few moments Shiro managed to attack himself and landed a lethal hit, though even a normal one would have done. He was out of breath, but awfully proud.

Kai smiled, but he knew that Shiro wasn't progressing as quickly as he intended... Over the next few days Kai taught Shiro the basics of Weapon Handling and some basic Taijutsu moves as well as also showing him how to fish and gather wood so he too could live off the land. However with the new day, it was time for Shiro to try and learn Ninjutsu again. "Are you ready? This is going to be tough." Kai said.

Shiro had gotten used to Kai and the aura of safety he felt around the elder. He could even sleep without nightmares when he was with Kai, still wearing his jacket, which was unfortunately losing its scent. Now and again Shiro sought closeness, innocently hugging Kai or touching his arm or shoulder to get attention.

Today they were giving the magic-things another shot. Shiro was excited but also nervous. What if he did not get it again? Kai would be so disappointed! "I'm ready", Shiro lied. He felt like his heart was going to explode inside his chest.

Kai was worried... He wanted Shiro to succeed but with his skills were limited at best... It would be a really test for Shiro... but one that was essential for his survival... "Alright, let's do this..." Kai showed Shiro the hand signals again thats really all he could do....

Shiro tried hard to do the handsigns right but the only thing that happened was that his arms and fingers started to hurt after a while. He tried harder, he did not want Kai to be disappointed but when it still wouldn't work Shiro broke into tears. "I'm sorry... you're wasting your time, I can never to it", he sobbed, sitting on the ground.

Kai wasn't too dissapointed, he had kinda expecting it... He sat beside him, and gave him his sleeve. "Dry your eyes." Kai said, he didn't want to be easy on him. It was one of the principles he stuck by, 'I'd rather have something I have and not need, the something I need and not having.' So if he needed the strength and ability he would train endlessly just so he could feel protected. "We'll have a break and resume again later."

Shiro did as he was told but he still felt bad.
"I wanted to get it right", he apologized, hoping Kai would still like him even if he did not master this technique. "Are you angry?", he asked, frowning with worry.

"No, I'm not angry, I just want you to learn this stuff so you could live a long life." Kai sighed, looked down and then turned to Shiro and smiled. He laid on his back and stared at the sky.
He could see that soon rain clouds would appear over the clearing and it would be too hard to sleep. "Come on let's go back to the village."

Shiro nodded, relieved that Kai was not mad at him.
"I'll really try my best, I promise", he said, taking Kai's hand when they walked next to each other.
He liked having a friend to talk to and to rely on.
It felt good and Shiro couldn't help grinning happily.