A Dash in The Desert {P, Training}

Just on the outskirts of Sunagakure is where one lone figure sat on a tall dune of sand overlooking a comparable sea of dunes. This lone figure went by the name of Hirako Aburame and it was currently the dead of night: 12:00am on the dot-a witching hour of sorts for some, but not Hirako. This time of night was reserved for one activity in particular: training. While normal people slept Hirako trained. It was thanks to this training that the young genin of Sunagkure found refuge from his own mind. Ever since accidentally killing another genin by the name of Kaim Hirako found himself having the worst nightmares imaginable. He continued to relive the ordeal over and over again: the soundless death was etched into his young mind like words can be etched into stone. The only way he had discovered to avoid such dreams was to train himself into an exhaustion, which was now what he intended to do.

As he sat cross legged looking across the rolling "waves" of sand he began his first exercise. With his eyes closed he began the basic exercise of chakra building. This was key for most any shinobi, but Hirako found it especially important for himself as he had to make sure his kikaichū got a proper amount of chakra: too much and Hirako would himself weakened, too little and his kikaichū would become weaker. This being the case he had to be sure he regulated his chakra with the up most precision. So, he started build chakra in the soles of his feet. This was one of the most basic techniques a shinobi could use: the water / tree walking technique. Despite its low level it was no doubt a ninja's bread and butter as it allowed for feats that normal people could only dream of. With sizable amount of chakra built up in his feet Hirako, with his eyes still closed, slowly stood up.

As he stood up on the crest of the dune under the starless sky one would be able to notice that his feet did not fall into the shifting sands. Instead he stood above it as if unaffected by the sands. Naturally this was not the case. Instead it was merely the application of the of the aforementioned jutsu that Hirako had prepared. Upon reaching a standing position the Aburame opened his eyes and gazed out into the blackness of a dead sea. It was truly a wasteland as far as the eye could see. In fact, at that very moment, Hirako could just make out a pack of desert foxes that were picking at the corpse of some dead creature. It was a truly dismal scene. It was these images that populated Hirako's training sessions and in turn sculpted his mind, no his very psyche.

Death was everywhere in the desert. It was an unwritten code that was understood by all. The wastes outside of Sungakure were a kill or be killed world. That was why Hirako was not surprised in the least when he heard a odd noise behind him. He had only taken a few steps down the dune he once sat on, but already something seemed very...off. Upon glancing behind him Hirako saw four shadowy figures disappear with his backpack: thieves!! There was only one thing left to do and that was give chase, which was rather irksome as it meant more work. Hirako abhorred doing more work if it did not have to be done, but alas his backpack had his midnight snack in it and that was not something he could go without.

So, with a rather dramatic sigh he started on his way towards the crest of the dune once again. Reaching the crest in fairly short order he gazed out upon the land. He could easily see four shadows running off deeper into the desert. It would not be long before the sands swallowed them up and Hirako's snack was lost forever. Not putting too much thought into it Hirako dashed down the sand and dunes after the three figures: there was no way in hell he was letting those miscreants get away with food-napping. It was a punishable offense. At first it seemed as if he was running an unwinnable race, but luckily the group of figures began to slow down. They no doubt were getting tired. Luckily Hirako still had some juice in him. Unfortunately it seemed that one  of the figures had stopped while the others went ahead. In the back of his mind he hoped that they were surrendering, but Hirako's luck was not that good. He knew that the left one person behind to hold Hirako up while they escaped-that was a smart idea actually. 

So, Hirako stopped once he was about ten meters from the figure. It was still too dark to see the details of the figure, but Hirako could see that the figure was about his height and a bit bulkier. Naturally that did not matter to him. All Hirako knew was that he had to get through this guy to rescue his all important snack from these dastardly villains. There were a few boulders lying about, but Hirako paid them no mind-surely they would play no role in this fight, right? Of course the second he thought this thought he found it being contradicted like none other. The shadow shrouded figure walked slowly towards one of these boulders and bent over near it. At first Hirako thought that the figure was hiding or maybe that's what he wanted to think, because the figure instantly picked up the boulder like it weighed nothing at all. Naturally the man hefted the boulder right for Hirako.

Of course Hirako had been paying attention, so he easily dove to the side and quickly regained his footing as he charged the figure. Once Hirako was halfway to the figure he noted that the man had another boulder in his grasp. However, this time he seemed to be waiting for a perfect chance to throw the large hunk of earth at Hirako. Not wanting to give him that chance the young Aburame zig and zaged as if his life depended on it, because, well, it did. Once Hirako was a quarter of the way to the figure the figure threw the boulder once again. And once again Hirako was able to dodge it with considerable effort. All that remained was to take this figure out of the game. For that Hirako drew a single kunai as he closed the ground between the two of them. Luckily it seemed the person was slow as Hirako was able to out maneuver them without much trouble until he was behind the figure. Taking the kunai he brought the blunt ring end down on the person's head a few times util they crumpled to the ground: unconscious.

Purely out of curiosity he placed the kunai back in his ninja pouch and stooped down over the figure. At this point the full moon shined down from behind the clouds that had been hiding it.Under the new light the figure was given a proper identity: it was indeed a man as Hirako had believed. However, there was something odd about him. He had a large purple afro-that was something that he was not used to seeing everyday. Furthermore the man seemed to be wearing a purple jumpsuit-this was getting too weird. Deciding to take his leave of the unconscious man Hirako ran onward in the direction where now only three bandits remained.

As he ran Hirako was pretty sure he knew how this whole thing was going to go down. He would have to continue facing these opponents until at last he got to his final prize: his backpack. Normally this run would be impossible as the sun would make it unbearable, but in the moonlight the desert was rather cool, which made for perfect running weather. In the back of his mind he had a voice asking him why he was doing this for a simple backpack and some food, but the more rash side of his mind cited this as merely training and nothing else. If anything it seemed that, for once, his rash side was making sense. He now was forced to get a run in and fight a few people along the way. What better way was there to train?

So, now with his moon shadow following him closely Hirako once again spotted three figures running over the dunes. Their progress seemed to be slowing, which was a good thing for Hirako to say the least. He continued to run for a while until he gained a good amount on their small group. While running he allowed his mind to flow. All this running reminded him of his time in the academy. His teacher, who went by the name of Genki, always had his students run before class-it certainly left them quite for a bit, so that must be the reason. However, that was not what Hirako remembered. He recalled how on the first day he had barely been able to run one lap when his classmates could easily run at least five without tiring themselves out. And look at him now: running through, well over, the sands of the vast desert in hot pursuit of snack bandits. Snakc bandits were probably the worst kind of bandit. After all, who the hell steals someones snack?

Shaking these thoughts from his mind Hirako plowed onward into the night and in hot pursuit of the snacknappers. It seemed it was as Hirako had predicted, because after running for another minute or so another figure appeared in front of him. This time it was a real challenge, because Hirako found himself stuck in one spot. Now, this was a predicament. He had no clue why he could not move, but his body no longer obeyed him. Instead it simply stood there as if something else possessed it. It was then that the figure came into sharp relief. It was a man with sharp spiky black hair as dark as the midnight that surrounded the two shinobi. Luckily it seemed that the figure was really quite cocky, which worked for Hirako. Any self respecting shinobi should have already finished him off, but it seemed the spiky haired man wished to gloat-it was not like Hirako could do anything either way, right?

The man's voice was husky and cut through the night air like a broadsword would flesh, "It seems as if your small escapade ends here...boy. You really should have let us go...But, not you will meet your end at my hand: the shadow of the nara clan. The master of shadows..." The man continued to call himself various names, but Hirako had heard enough-more than enough. He knew how to win. Granted there was n way he could move, but his bugs were a complelety different story. As the man wen on about his abilities and how the nara clan were masters of shadows the aforementioned bugs burrowed silently through Hirako's skin and on to it. They were ready to be released in a heart beat. Just as the man walked towards Hirako with sword drawn and held above his head to strike...Hirako struck before the man's blade even dropped.

In an instant 100 of Hirako's bugs flew from his skin and attacked the arrogant Nara. Sadly it was over before it truly began as the bug swarmed the man and left him twitching on the ground. It was rather frightening how quickly the kikaichū were able to take effect. Just a few bites and even the most powerful shinobi falls to their knees. It was rather incredible. Also, as the man's body fell to the ground, Hirako was released from whatever jutsu the man had cast on him. It was nice having control over one's body. However, Hirako knew he did not have time to sit around and ponder the wonders of the human body. Instead he simply forged onward with the determination of a man twice his age.

Age it would seem was always a something that Hirako always tried to flaunt by acting older than he already was. In his genin years he would be the only student dutifully listening in class while the classroom around him was in chaos. It was this trait that made Hirako a deadly opponent as these snack knappers would soon find. There was only one person left and they surely had the thing Hirako was seeking above all else. In the distance he spied the figure: he would prevail!! Pouring his stamina into running faster his legs felt like lead weights. After a while it felt like he was making no ground, but still the genin forged onwards.

After another ten minutes straight of running Hirako caught up with the fleeing man and headed him off. The man was not overerly big nor small, which was a comforting thought to Hirako as it meant he may stand a chance in a flat out fight. However, much to the genin's surprise the man threw the backpack at Hirako and continued to run away scratching his head in wonder Hirako shrugged and made the long trek back to Sunagakure and to his bed. He did not really care that the people had stolen the bag now that he got it back, because he had also gotten a great workout from them- go figure.

{Topic Closed. TWC: 2256, +11 stats, +22 JP}

Done/bump.

Approved till Saturday, better hope your own my time zone XD.