Chapter 187: I get why no one likes me...
Homura stood outside the entrance of the underground base, the dim light of the moon casting eerie shadows across the rocky terrain. With a deep breath, he focused his chakra and performed the hand seals for the Kagebunshin no jutsu.
"Ok. Kagebunshin no jutsu," he muttered, feeling the familiar surge of energy as a shadow clone materialized beside him.
"(Hmm…He is a handsome guy, but his face a bit…derpy with a non expressive look, he is the kind of guy that can only look good either serious or happy…wait what am I saying?)" The shock from staring at the closest to perfect clone took Homura for a spin.
The clone looked just like him, with the same bored expression on its face. Still, Homura couldn't help but feel a sense of pride at his accomplishment, though it had taken him four days of grueling practice to master the technique.
"..." Homura's clone stared at Homura without saying anything or batting an eye.
"..."Homura also simply stared at his clone, but unlike before he was not admiring his clone's appearance but casually watching it. Waiting for it to do something of his own volition but it just crossed its arms without saying or doing anything else.
Suddenly, Homura had a realization as almost 2 minutes had passed.
Awkward was not even fit to describe the current atmosphere between the 2 of them.
It was as he had feared...he was...he was an extremely boring individual. But what could one expect when he was the type of person to spend his free time inside his lab or inside a rundown shop with a creepy puppet otaku.
"Are you going to say anything or are you mute?" Asked Homura.
"What? Where did you get that idea? I was just being polite" replied his clone
"No. I don't believe you. Well, at least it seems that it was no on the mute case, now I wish it was...*sigh* So you're fully me, huh?(Talking to myself...No. Th*t damn moron... That's a new low,) " asked Homura.
"what a series of stupid questions...I expected better. But disappointment always happens when you meet your heroes or your betters... perhaps lowers " said the clone in snarky tone.
"What? (What the hell is this guy talking about?...Is it an effect of our...my ego being put in a non-normal situation? Coping? Animals don't react well when they wake up in an unfamiliar location and I can tell that he does not enjoy being the fake one...perhaps it is too soon to make such a claim,)" Homura wondered.
"Say it with me the last thought we had before performing the technique at the count of 3," Homura said to the clone who simply nodded.
"1, 2, 3, I can never tell anyone that it took me 4 days to master this technique, especially Naruto," Both Homura and his clone said it in unison.
It was hard to admit that they took so long to perform the clone technique that took Naruto less than a few hours; perhaps minutes.
The first time he tried to replicate the technique he copied with his sharingan he passed out and woke up the next day. It seems the stress of having your chakra taken at once was too much for the mind and body to handle.
It was no wonder people pass out from having their chakra absorb it does not feel pleasant.
He simply copied what Naruto did down to the letter but it was a mistake, seems Naruto just gathers as much chakra as he can to perform the shadow clone technique, but because of their vastly different bodies, Homura had to have as much chakra possible in reserve to be able to attempt such a straining feeling.
"(Still I should probably just make sure that everything is order up there.) The square root of 36,862,468 divided by 6?" Asked Homura in a serious demeanor.
"Seriously? Math of all things?" retorted the clone with an uninterested look, Homura was smart but also somewhat lazy when it came towards topics he had no interests towards.
"Answer the question. I am giving you a bone here." Homura said in a tired voice.
"(F*ing math nerd.)...It's like a 1000...ish. And I don't care about finding out decimal part of the answer, there's at least 7 of them. It's too many man," The clone expressed.
"(That's weird.) Wrong. But...Well, it's close enough (It's like I am talking to the worst version of me but on steroids)," Homura responded.
He felt the same, but he usually left the process about finding out the answer to problems to C if he could help it.
"Listen I know that we have this whole testing non-sense we were planning but here me out, what if we don't do that...? Maybe? Instead we go to town and," The clone of Homura tried to end his sentence but before he could he was cut off.
"Rejected. (Jeez, what is going on...)" Homura simply covered his eyes, seemingly indicating he was getting tired of the current situation.
"No, no, no. Just hear me out, you transform into someone else and we become each other's wingmen? Or how about we put the moves on that Sakura chick? I mean she's really cute, There are so few girls our age that are as cute as her. Her prospects aren't that good in the future and she did stare at us a couple of time at the academy, I say screw logic and we go make a harem." the clone stated.
" A harem, I mean that was stupid dream I had as a kid but...*sigh* besides you know I don't have the time for that and that Sakura barely tolerates us because I helped her that one time at the academy, she'd probably just be disgusted by us...My reputation has spread out so far and wide, it's scary how much women can talk in this village, you try to be a good guy and you get !?...(why am I talking about that? It's like it is voicing out some of my inner thoughts...Do I like Sakura that much? She's cute...sure...perhaps the cutest ninja in our class during those days...it's the pink hair; isn't it?"
Homura thought as he lived in Konohagakure there are something he noticed, most people have normal hair and eye color, but those who break from that pattern are usually seen quite fondly by others.
They have something that could only be explained as main cast syndrome, they just look so out of place. It was somewhat true for those with bright hair color.
"Anyway, the answer is no. "Homura responded, although he secretly missed those old days, the free food and being popular.
"Meh, you're no fun. We can pretend to be so many cool dudes but I never get to use my abilities for my abilities to do what I want, It's always secret this, secret that." His clone ranted, Homura's darkest thoughts seem to be voiced out by his clones.
He had the potential for so much more but it was always being hidden, to what he understood but as a 12 year old brat, he still craved amusement of some kind. Lashing out, sadly, it was not his fate.
"Still no, we would be lucky if we can go through the 58 tests that I have planned for today." divulged Homura in a bored look.
"Tch!" The clone sneered.
Homura concluded a series of tests
"(I guess asking it to use the sharingan or swift release is a no go…should probably first confirm that this one is able to remain for a few minutes without bursting out of nowhere,)" Though Homura as he was getting ready to examine his doppelganger.
This wasn't the first time a clone lasted this long on the second day he managed to summon one instead of 2 , unlike the first time and although he didn't pass out, he and his clones were extremely tired and they vanished as soon as they tried to fight each other.
"Feeling explody?" Homura asked, only half-joking as poked his clone on the shoulder and remembered the explosive failures of his earlier attempts.
This was far from the first time it had happened
"What the?" The clone gave Homura a suspicious look as he proceeded to slap Homura's finger. "Stop poking me you weirdo, and to answer your previous question I am bit tired… or stressed? I… think? Whatever, I'm holding up," it replied, its voice echoing Homura's own exhaustion.
"Hm…Good. (Well, I am a little tired too from the get-go because I just came back from another stupid mission, so I can't tell if it is because of the jutsu or…whatever, I just don't have much time to deal with this,) *Sigh* Let's see what you're made of," Homura said, steeling himself for the coming fight.
The clone nodded, its expression serious. "Shadows, probably," it quipped, earning a scowl from Homura.
"Shut up, smartass. Let's go," Homura said, taking a defensive stance as he prepared to spar with his clone.
The two exchanged blows, their movements mirroring each other with uncanny precision. Homura couldn't help but marvel at the strength and agility of his clone, though he couldn't shake the feeling of unease that gnawed at the back of his mind.
"You're good. Really good (truthfully, he is just annoying to fight, no, he is annoying overall)," Homura admitted begrudgingly, though inwardly he couldn't help but wonder about the source of his clone's strength.
Homura's fighting style was mostly developed to counter his opponents. It was mostly due to facing so many threats that were so much stronger than himself within C's combat simulation chamber, even if he could easily win, he hardly take the initiative was just a bad habit at this point than an actual strategy.
"Of course, I am good. I am me after all," the clone replied smugly, earning a glare from Homura.
"Okay, you're annoying. Just shut up," Homura snapped, frustration bubbling beneath the surface.
The clone shrugged, unfazed by Homura's irritation. "Hey, don't blame me for being too much to handle. Besides, you're not my boss. If I don't feel like it, I won't listen to you," it retorted.
Homura sighed, realizing the futility of arguing with his clone. "So, is that how it works? (How does Naruto get anything done with working with stupid fakes? And I thought working with myself would be so much easier...It's shattering everything I thought I knew,)" he asked, genuinely curious about the nature of their connection.
The clone scratched its head, looking thoughtful. "I mean, I feel compelled to obey you because you are me and it benefits me...I mean us. And I think that I also feel somewhat the same as you... Or at the very least, your orders feel like mine. It's hard to explain," it admitted, its brow furrowed in confusion.
Homura nodded, though he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease at the implications of their shared consciousness. "That's...hard to understand. But I guess I somewhat get it. (Possibly a conflict of identity,)" he replied, though his voice was tinged with uncertainty.
Homura thought that the ego was not something that could easily be understood, to have to accept that 'you' somehow aren't the real 'you' in an instant from being created is a tough pill to swallow, it is not something the mind can clearly comprehend. It should be somewhat similar to waking up in another person's body and life but still remember all of the previous owner's memories like they were your own. Though Homura being a ninja was not against accepting weird sh*t, after all, all ninjas should be ready to pretend to be someone else at any given moment if needed.
His mind is now very different from the past version of himself, reality at the end of the day is a matter of perspective, and paradoxically ninjas are beings that train with a single goal in mind but have to be adaptable in order to do all they can to accomplish that said goal. Abandoning a mission is a big no-no, it is so ingrained in every ninja that some drastically change once their sense of duty is completely shattered.
Becoming unrecognizable. Though as much as one's ego Homura didn't think it was important, especially as he he heard the clone's answer.
The clone nodded in agreement, though its expression remained unreadable. "Yeah, it's confusing. What a stupid jutsu," it remarked, echoing Homura's own sentiments.
"(I can't tell what he is thinking, that expressionless face that only changes for a few brief instances is hard to read…even his tone of voice is slightly monotone…Is that how people see me? This is harsh…I mean, I sure hope I am not like that with the cuties…it is a waste,) Hey, so what do we do next?" the clone asked, changing the subject as it looked to Homura for guidance.
Homura hesitated, unsure of what to do next. "Next, huh? I already confirmed that you're pretty tough. But I don't really know how durable you are at the end of the day," he admitted, feeling a sense of trepidation at the prospect of what he was about to suggest.
"W-wait, wait, wait...I don't like the sound of that, it almost sounds like you're planning to drop a bolder on me, (That's something I could do on a clone, I am sure of it. but the fact that I don't know it's scaring to no end,)" the clone protested, its eyes widening in alarm.
"Huh? Where would I find a conveniently placed boulder? Besides I don't have the strength to drop one on you or looking for one in the dark forest…you must be a defective clone after all. " Homura said while finally changing his expressionless face, but only to show a tinge of sadness mixed acceptance.
It was as if he had already had suspicions all along.
"Rude. (This guy is too nonchalant about things, nor did he deny his intentions to hurt me, he sees me clearly as a thing…darn it, I would be scared if I didn't really care about it. This body is fake after all…?!…Maybe that's why I am thinking that is somewhat of a sociopath. My sense of self preservation and identity must be somewhat clashing, though it is getting better and better at rationalize my current existence,) So if it is not that than what is it that you're planning, I hate not knowing things."
Homura ignored the clone's protests, steeling himself for what was to come. "Hm, I guess C can't really interact with you after all, I've been trying to find out if we could use C to communicate between each other but that hasn't worked... This is going to be a problem. I wonder if there are ways to mitigate that. If I give you a piece of my DNA, since you're technically simply my chakra in physical form, it should work somewhat." Homura spoke as if he had given up in trying to do something.
But what intrigued homura was the fact that shadow clones, in a sense are similar to bijuus since they are also just chakra in physical form, they have flesh and mass. He wondered if it was similar for shadow clones, perhaps they were an attempt at imitating the process that gave bijuus their forms. A downgraded version of it, since apparently shadow clone jutsu did not copy things that were on a person too well, Homura checked a few makeshift tools he had on the clone and they were not working.
"Ha? So that's why you were staring at me so intensively, huh? I thought you were going to convince me to try to drown myself or something stupid or crazy like that." His clone semi protested as he gave his true thoughts.
" I wasn't thinking about that, but I don't have to convince you of anything. You're my clone. Shadow. You are willing to take any risk I tell you to. Besides, I have endured the academy training for pain resistance. I can survive this," he reasoned, though inwardly he couldn't help but feel a sense of apprehension.
The clone hesitated, its expression conflicted. "If my memory, which is also yours, is right, then I'm pretty sure it won't be anywhere near as bad of a training as you're trying to claim. So, your bullshit doesn't work on me," it retorted, though there was a hint of uncertainty in its voice.
It was hard to fully rebuke since they did share the same will at the end of the day, if he was not the clone then he would probably expect his clone to do the same things.
"Man, you're hard to work with! Besides, arguing with myself is just wasting time you know how stupid that is right" Homura uttered as he gave the clone a tired look.
"…*sigh* Fine, whatever. I just have to withstand it for a while, right? So what is that you want me to do…" he asked, though there was a note of uncertainty in his voice.
"Nothing really…just stand there" Said Homura as he proceeded to casually distance himself from himself.
"…I don't like the sound of that what are you planning? We don't know if we're really going to meet Zabuza, the whole timeline has probably been screwed enough at this point," The clone said, speaking out the real reason as to why Homura even bothered to learn the shadow clone jutsu at this point in time.
Though since it was a rather simple jutsu it didn't really mattered if he wasted a few days.
"Yeah, but I am afraid if it is not Zabusa it might be something worse at this point. Things always get worse overtime," Homura's personal philosophy was truly one that leaned towards pessimism.
"So, what? You're thinking we're going to meet 2 of the seven swordsmen of the mist? That's crazy I am pretty sure they mostly dead at this point, besides you don't have any water jutsus or nonsensical magical swords to plan any decent counterattack," the clone uttered.
"Sheesh…stop complaining already. Besides you know what I am going to do by now anyway." Homura said as he had reached a safe distance.
If Homura was that far away from his target, there was only one reason for that.
"…katon (fire jutsu)…" the clone seemingly spoke with a pained voice.
"Katon…" reafirmed Homura.
The clone's eyes widened in alarm. "Fire? Are you serious!? I was joking!" he exclaimed, his heart pounding in his chest.
The Homura nodded, unfazed by his clone's panicked demeanor. "Of course. We need to know how durable you truly are, right? Besides it is better than being slashed which is gonna hurt either way" it replied, its tone casual.
The clone shook his head, feeling a sense of dread wash over him. "This is a terrible idea," he muttered, bracing himself for what was to come.
Homura grinned, a mischievous glint in its eyes. "It is not a terrible idea, so don't move I'm going to throw a fireball at you(I am sure Naruto does similar things to his clones, how would he ever know if he could tank a rasengan otherwise)," it replied, its tone casual.
the clone's eyes widened in shock, his heart pounding in his chest. "Are you serious!? This is the most stuooid thing I've heard." he exclaimed, his voice filled with disbelief.
Homura thought that in the anime fire seemed to be useless and people did not turn into a pile of burning/charred flesh for some reason even though they were being hit by fire.
It could be simply censorship or that the people in this world seemed to be more resistant to fire,but Homura has cooked meat before and that did not seem to be the case for everyone else, thus he had to know. Having a clone was a major opportunity to end this mystery.
homura nodded, his expression serious. "Of course. I need to know how resistant to fire I am. You know how it was in the anime, katonjutsu was a joke. I can't be done in dirty because of bullsh*t censorship, right?," he replied, its tone determined.
the clone gulped, feeling a sense of dread wash over him. "fire = hot! Here, I've solved it for you. You're a genius, right? You should know that much!" it replied with a tired look.
Asking the clone to avoid a fireball coming at him was on some sense denying its survival skills, it could not reconcile with that, plus there was the matter of having to experience tremendous pain…and the clone's head was in shambles.
Homura scowled, feeling a surge of annoyance rise up inside him. "Sh*t up already we're doing this! Besides you just have to experience it for a few seconds, but try to last as much as you can if you feel that it is bearable" he muttered, his voice tinged with resignation.
...…
....
…
.
Five minutes later, the flames died down, leaving Homura battered and seemingly tired but still standing. He let out a ragged breath, relief flooding through him. Although it was seemingly just a distant memory, he still remembered the details of it due to having a very good memory.
The pain from "having" to endure the burning alive…was too much. It was hell! But at least now he had found his answer.
"Not durable," he muttered to himself, his voice hoarse with mental exhaustion. "Definitely not durable."
As he looked back on the experiment, Homura couldn't help but feel a sense of danger. If a regular shinobi was capable of performing a single low ranked fire jutsu, and they could cause so much pain onto their enemies, then a high level battle between powerful shinobi would be a close to a natural disaster.
"*heavy breathing* *heavy breathing*.... I sure hope that I don't have to leave the village any time soon...for my sake...I hope the land of waves is just a myth or that it was destroyed long ago...(I have been a genin for a few weeks now...so maybe I'm safe, right?...I going to buy some so defensive gear.)"