It'd been a few weeks since Sato had joined the academy. He'd been making fair progress in all of his studies but it was proving insufficient to sate his thirst for knowledge. He would prefer to work at the library but that meant not being able to practice anything practically -- not to mention the last few times he'd tried working there he'd been massively distracted for better or for worse.
The number of scrolls he'd taken from the archives were almost cartoonish, almost spilling out of his bag as he had to take a slow, steady pace home just to not drop them. The moment he got there he washed up and had a snack before hauling it all back into the backyard and pouring over everything he had in the comfort of his own yard, sitting under the cozy little tree they had and pouring over everything he had grabbed.
He understood some of it. And couldn't wrap his head around others. Some he gave up on shortly after reading. Some jutsu just didn't feel useful and some were just intimidating -- fire style in particular. For a time he focused on much more standard arts. His transformation was coming along nicely and he'd finally started to conjure a proper clone. Now he wouldn't have to tell Asuka he didn't know any genjutsu again! That was worth the effort alone.
The longer into the evening it got the harder it became to concentrate. He knew that he only had so much chakra, especially at his level, but that wasn't an excuse for him to stop. More complicated jutsu caught his attention. Eventually he decided upon a slightly advanced skill he'd grabbed the scroll of -- Wind Style: Air Bullet. And it was... hard. It was the most hand signs he'd ever had to perform for a single technique and he found his hands slipping up, his muscle memory still developing when it came to weaving seals.
The sun was dipping behind the forest in the distance by the time he got the hand seals down and after that came the difficulty of actually releasing it. He failed two dozen times before his mother called him in for dinner and he scarfed it down just to get back outside, bringing a light out with him just so he could keep going. He refused to give up even as his whole body started to feel sore from the exertion and chakra use. He knew he had it, it was like he was just the tiniest bit off.
Eventually he began trying to think outside of the box. He couldn't concentrate on his chakra well enough to properly form the jutsu. What if he focused on something else? He closed his eyes and began to concentrate on his breathing. Air in. Air out. Air in. Air out. Without opening his eyes he started to weave the hand seals, inhaling slowly as he did so and holding until he was finished. Once he'd finished the last one he exhaled and as he tried to forced his chakra out it finally worked! He was knocked off his feet as a burst of condensed wind finally burst from him, nailing the tree as he was sent on his back.
Despite being so sore and so tired he wasn't convinced he could stand up he was smiling from ear to ear. He'd done it. He did it. That smile stayed on his face as he fell asleep right on the grass, his mother coming out a short time later and carefully bringing him in to tuck him in to bed, another wave of pride and concern washing over her as she saw him progress so quickly.
The number of scrolls he'd taken from the archives were almost cartoonish, almost spilling out of his bag as he had to take a slow, steady pace home just to not drop them. The moment he got there he washed up and had a snack before hauling it all back into the backyard and pouring over everything he had in the comfort of his own yard, sitting under the cozy little tree they had and pouring over everything he had grabbed.
He understood some of it. And couldn't wrap his head around others. Some he gave up on shortly after reading. Some jutsu just didn't feel useful and some were just intimidating -- fire style in particular. For a time he focused on much more standard arts. His transformation was coming along nicely and he'd finally started to conjure a proper clone. Now he wouldn't have to tell Asuka he didn't know any genjutsu again! That was worth the effort alone.
The longer into the evening it got the harder it became to concentrate. He knew that he only had so much chakra, especially at his level, but that wasn't an excuse for him to stop. More complicated jutsu caught his attention. Eventually he decided upon a slightly advanced skill he'd grabbed the scroll of -- Wind Style: Air Bullet. And it was... hard. It was the most hand signs he'd ever had to perform for a single technique and he found his hands slipping up, his muscle memory still developing when it came to weaving seals.
The sun was dipping behind the forest in the distance by the time he got the hand seals down and after that came the difficulty of actually releasing it. He failed two dozen times before his mother called him in for dinner and he scarfed it down just to get back outside, bringing a light out with him just so he could keep going. He refused to give up even as his whole body started to feel sore from the exertion and chakra use. He knew he had it, it was like he was just the tiniest bit off.
Eventually he began trying to think outside of the box. He couldn't concentrate on his chakra well enough to properly form the jutsu. What if he focused on something else? He closed his eyes and began to concentrate on his breathing. Air in. Air out. Air in. Air out. Without opening his eyes he started to weave the hand seals, inhaling slowly as he did so and holding until he was finished. Once he'd finished the last one he exhaled and as he tried to forced his chakra out it finally worked! He was knocked off his feet as a burst of condensed wind finally burst from him, nailing the tree as he was sent on his back.
Despite being so sore and so tired he wasn't convinced he could stand up he was smiling from ear to ear. He'd done it. He did it. That smile stayed on his face as he fell asleep right on the grass, his mother coming out a short time later and carefully bringing him in to tuck him in to bed, another wave of pride and concern washing over her as she saw him progress so quickly.