Some More Solo Training [P,NK]

Takeo found himself sitting on the roof of one of the shorter buildings in Tengakure. Resting his chin on his left knee, his right leg dangling over the edge, he gazed down to the street below. His right arm hung lazily by his side, swaying back and forth slowly as he watched the civilians him go about their day to day business. Yet another day was slowly going by with Takeo not doing anything productive. He didn't think it would be so difficult for him to be productive, but it seemed that his willpower was not yet strong enough to resist the temptations of doing nothing. A slight breeze ruffled his already messed up hair, he hadn't bothered to fix it from when he had woken up. Truthfully he looked a wreck; it looked as if the boy hadn't slept for at least two or three days. The bags under his eyes were so prominent he looked almost like a panda. His skin was pale from the lack of sun he had been getting he had spent a lot of time indoors. Other than that though, he looked amazing. And aside from the fact he felt devoid of life and energy he also felt amazing. So all in all he was doing okay. At least that's what the boy kept telling himself. He knew deep down...okay not really deep down. It was more like slightly shallow down...that doesn't make sense. The point is he knew that he was a wreck. So it was at that moment that he decided it was time to get back to training seriously. Now then, once again for like the hundredth time during the times in which he has been doing this, he was trying to think of what he could do today. It was at that moment that he saw something from the corner of his eye. In an alley across the street, there seemed to be a gang of what could only be described as hooligans..or maybe thugs. Either one of those would do. From the way they huddled together Takeo assumed something was going down. Seeing how he felt that it was his job to investigate this..he did. Cringing slightly as he eased himself into a standing position, taking note of the fact that his joints seemed to have clicked, he crouched down and leapt forward. Thankfully he managed to leap the gap between buildings easily and didn't end up looking like an idiot. Striding to the edge of the roof, he peered over into the alleyway. It seemed that he was right to investigate after all. These thugs seemed to be harassing an old man. How pathetic. Takeo felt anger bubbling up inside of him. It seemed that today he would actually be doing something after all.
 
He hopped off the edge of the roof, his feet landing directly on top of the head of one of the thugs. The weight of Takeo combined with the force he landed at sent the man crashing head first into the floor. The resulting collision with the ground was enough to knock the man out instantly. One down, four more to go. The others stopped and looked towards Takeo, their eyes wide open along with their mouths. It took them a moment to confirm that Takeo was in fact real and they weren't seeing things. Then they lunged for him. Takeo sprung into action immediately, his right elbow wildly thrust out to his left to catch one of the advancing men square in the chin. It sent him reeling and gave Takeo the room he needed to dart out from the circle that had formed. From the corner of his eye he took note that the old man seemed to have a head wound, though was only dazed. The fact that the poor soul was wounded angered Takeo even more. There was no time to think on it though as they were once more upon him. Their speed surprised Takeo somewhat, perhaps they had some basic fighting ability. He was so surprised even that he failed to notice the fist that cracked against the side of his head. The punch sent him stumbling off to the right slightly dazed. Perhaps he should actually focus instead of making sure the man was okay, he'd do that later. Regaining his senses Takeo ducked the next punch and lunged forward. A quick jab was delivered to the ribs of one of the smaller men. Unfortunately Takeo didn't really have time to dodge the blows that were thrown by the other three men. Fists and feet were flung at him, not literally mind you; otherwise it would be a lot more disturbing. Luckily adrenaline somewhat numbed the pain, no doubt he would feel the full force later on. Then it went downhill from there really. Takeo let instinct take over and threw out any idea of strategy for this brawl. Fists, feet, knees, elbows, forearms, hair, teeth all of them were flying everywhere as the fight turned in to all out chaos. Takeo was sure at one point during this fight that the men were fighting themselves while he took a break.
 
It was around two minutes or so later that the fight began to die down. The men one by one fell before Takeo. Who by now was battered, bruised, bleeding and all that bad stuff. Luckily none of his teeth had been knocked out, that would have really set the boy off. Takeo doubled over, breathing in deep gulps of air as sweat dripped off of him. The adrenaline died down and then the full force of the pain hit. Clenching his teeth together in order to avoid screaming out loud he collapsed to his knees clutching his stomach. He made a mental note that next time he would back himself up with clones in order to avoid this beating. His head hurt like hell, enough a string of faint curses to escape Takeo's mouth. He felt as if he would collapse at any moment, though he vowed to himself that he would remain awake. Struggling back to his feet he turned to look towards the old man who was still sat there in disbelief...and then he fell to the side and his vision blackened.
 
Takeo's eyes flickered open, light assaulted them almost immediately so they quickly shut. That accompanied by the pain that came flooding back to him all at once was enough for the boy to let out a groan. “Oh, so you’re awake.” A voice came off to Takeo’s left. Not having the energy to turn his head he simply groaned again in response. “Tsk, that’s what you get for trying to play hero you dumbass.” The tone of voice gave Takeo the impression this mystery voice was looking down on him. If he could move right know that person would be receiving a swift back hand. Fortunately for them and unfortunately for Takeo he couldn’t. “Though I suppose a thanks is in order, it might have gotten nastier if you hadn’t of arrived when you did.” Ah..so that identifies the voice. Judging from the gravelly voice and said voice seemed to be aware of what Takeo did. There was only one logical conclusion, this person is a physic. “I’m not a physic you dumbass, I am obviously the person you ‘saved’.” Damn that sarcastic tone this physic old man was using. Takeo frowned then instantly regretted it as his face instantly began to ache. How did this old fool know what he was thinking? “You speak your thoughts out loud.” Well damn.
 
Fast forward to an hour or so later and Takeo was now able to sit up. During this time he had got to know this old man a bit more. Not willingly of course. But being unable to move left him to face the full assault of the stories about the “good ol’ days”. There were some things that the man failed to mention during his long rant about his history. One of which was his name, so Takeo had taken to calling him Beardy. The reason for this was obviously because the senile old fool had a grey beard. What Beardy did mention however was the fact that he is in fact a retired shinobi. Something Takeo had found hard to believe until he was nearly blinded when the man threw a pen at his forehead. Takeo didn’t question how an ex-shinobi could somehow end up getting beaten on by some weak ass thugs. He didn’t question it because he was currently lying in bed…after getting beaten on by some weak ass thugs. Anyway the point was that Takeo now knew a bit about this man. “You know you suck at fighting.” Beardy rudely interrupted Takeo’s train of thought.
“Eh? My fighting ability is fine.” The irritated reply was snapped back.
 
“No need to get upset kid, I’m just saying if you were better you wouldn’t have gotten your ass kicked so much.” This smug piece of shi- Now was not the time to be angered by his words. After all he kind of did have a point. Takeo was fine in a one on one against someone without experience. But when it came to fighting multiple people…or people with actual skill. Well then he was sort of screwed.
 
“Whatever you say Beardy.” The nickname seemed to have an effect on him the slightest twitch of what Takeo assumed to be irritation was easy to spot.
 
“I’m glad you aren’t going to continue to be stubborn, now come on let’s go!” Beardy exclaimed shooting upwards into a standing position. It was at that moment that Takeo noticed how tall the man actually was. At least a couple of inches taller than Takeo himself, and he seemed to have a bigger build in general to him.
 
“Why where are we going?”
 
“I’m going to teach you how to fight my boy!” The man grabbed onto Takeo’s arm resulting in a string of curse words. Takeo was after all still battered and bruised from earlier. It was after all only like an hour or so ago. Maybe this psychopath forgot about that?
 
“I already know how to fight you crazy bastard!” Takeo replied struggling to try and not be dragged by this guy, man was he strong.
 
Time skip to ten or so minute later. Having been dragged out of the village, the guards being completely useless and simply watching with an amused look on their faces at the scene before them. Takeo and the man now stood facing each other in the plains surrounding Tengakure. “Now then boy are you ready?”
 
“No wh-” And before he could even finish his complaint, the man was already in front of him. A sharp knee to his stomach sent Takeo falling to his knees winded. “What the fu-“ A punch to the side of the head sent him crumbling to the floor. Head ringing and struggling to catch his breath Takeo ground his teeth together.
“Fool! Do you think in a real fight someone would give you time to get ready?!” Beardy spat towards him, man this guy was taking this seriously. Struggling to his feet Takeo rubbed his head for a moment. If that was how he wanted to play then that was fine by him.
 
Planting his feet firmly to the floor for a brief moment, his knees bent before he dashed forward. His right arm swung forward towards the face of the unmoving man. The fist connected, or it seemed to. Takeo’s fist skimmed past the man’s nose as he simply leaned backwards to avoid the punch. In response Beardy sent Takeo crumbling to the floor with a simple chop to the back. Crashing onto the floor he felt a sharp kick to the ribs, causing another groan to escape from his lips. “I was right when I said you couldn’t fight. How the hell did you manage to beat those guys from earlier?” Beardy was now mocking him. However Takeo wasn’t done yet. His right leg kicks out, catching the man in the ankle. Knocking him off balance and sending him falling forward. Takeo rolled sideways to avoid getting landed on and pushed himself back to a standing position.
 
“I can still hold my own against you old man.” And that was then he made a mistake. Deciding to return the favour, he went to kick the man in the side. Before he could comprehend what was going on, Beardy had a hold of his leg and soon he was sailing through the air. Did this man just throw him? How the hell is this guy so strong? That was the type of thoughts that were going through the head of the white haired boy as he flew through the air. He kept going for about ten feet or so before he crashed back to the floor, tumbling and skidding across it. His already pained body was now screaming to him in protest. His vision blackened, was he going to pass out yet again? Through his darkening vision he caught sight of Beardy approaching him. Something seemed to be glinting in the sun…what was it? Takeo was instantly reinvigorated as he recognised the sight of a kunai in the man’s hand. It seemed like this training session had gotten a whole lot serious. Willing his body to move, he struggled to his feet. Staggering about slightly he threw a wild left hook towards Beardy, who simply blocked it with his forearm. Takeo backtracked. His arms were raised up in a guard and his eyes remained on the face of the old man. He was waiting for the moment in which he would begin to attack; it was time for him to actually think for once. He remembered back to when he was in the Academy, only a few times he had been defeated. And that was when he didn’t think. He had long forgotten this it seemed, but now as it came flooding back to him the tides started to turn. Beardy leant forward slightly and the arm with the kunai in began to move. Now was the time.
 
Takeo ceased in his stepping backwards and instead stepped in. With his left shoulder to the front he moved forward and jabbed with his left arm. The movement was sharp and quick and caught Beardy off guard, catching him in the chin and snapping his head back. He seemed shocked that Takeo caught him and retaliated with an elbow. Mimicking Beardy from earlier, his left forearm moved up and blocked the strike. Takeo stepped in once more, his body twisting so his right shoulder was now first. And once more a sharp jab, this time with the right arm was fired forward. Catching Beardy square in the nose it sent the old man crashing the floor. “It seems you aren’t half bad kid.” The old man grinned up to him, wiping the blood that began to trickle from his nose with the back of his sleeve. “It seems we can take the fighting up a notch, catch.” The kunai was tossed up towards Takeo, who caught it smoothly in his right hand.
 
“Why do I feel like this is going to end up badly?” Takeo questioned to Beardy as the man stood up with a throaty chuckle.
 
“It’ll be fine kid; I’m a trained professional when it comes to these things.” Something about that didn’t convince Takeo at all, in fact it un-nerved him even more than before.
 
“Whatever you say old man.” Takeo sighed and tightened his grip on the handle of the kunai, his knuckles visibly whitening from the grip. Beardy was once more in front of him in a flash, wielding a kunai in each hand. How the guy managed to get these out so quickly Takeo never did understand, nor how he even got there that fast. Takeo however was ready this time, and so when a slash came at him from the right, it met the resistance of Takeo’s own kunai. Sparks flew as the two metal blades clashed together with a loud clang. Takeo’s kunai visibly quivered, as did his arm, against the strength of Beardy. With the larger build, the strength difference was rather obvious. Takeo assumed that he wasn’t even trying from the relaxed look on the man’s face. Takeo was about to put his whole body into pushing against the kunai. However from the way Beardy looked at him, he knew that was a mistake. He wanted to use his own momentum against him didn’t he? A smile showed that Takeo was right. So he used the trick against him, left foot was moved back before he spun around, the kunai being disengaged and Beardy being sent stumbling to the side. Takeo wasn’t fooled by this; it was obvious that he let this happen, perhaps as a test. Regardless of this Takeo struck the man in the back in a chop similar to the one he had done previously.
 
Beardy dropped to the floor, a bit to over dramatically. Takeo sighed at the ridiculousness of the fall and waited for the man to get back up. He was rewarded for his niceness by a swipe towards his stomach from Beardy. Slightly panicked by this he felt the sting of the blade as it tasted blood, a small cut across his stomach. Fear spread across Takeo and he quickly stumbled backwards his hand on his stomach. Beardy took advantage of the situation and sprang up both arms swinging towards Takeo. Instinct took over and the boy quickly dived to the right rolling across the grassy ground in order to escape the assault. He needed time to collect himself. Continuing to dodge around, weaving left and right to avoid being caught by Beardy again Takeo soon found himself calming. It was then that he once more stepped in. Ducking low under the swipes from the old man he drove his elbow into the man’s stomach. It would’ve been perfectly executed if the man was fazed by it. Unfortunately that didn’t happen, and instead the man simply drove his own elbow into the side of Takeo’s head. Who blacked out instantly from the strong blow.
 
Awaking what seemed several hours later, the only thing that hurt was his head. Glancing downwards it seemed that his cut had been healed, perhaps by Beardy himself. Pushing himself up into a sitting position Takeo found himself in the same room as before. “You did quite well for a complete scrub.” The now familiar voice of Beardy alerted Takeo to his presence as he entered the room. “I’m now going to teach you something.” This raised Takeo’s interest.
 
“I hope it’s not fighting again.” He replied with a slight smirk on his face.
 
“Nah, you’re a lost cause when it comes to hand to hand combat.” Damn this guy was sharp. Takeo grimaced at being owned so easily by this old man, but quickly recovered as he began to speak once more. “No what I am going to teach you is knowledge my dear boy. Knowledge of the element of the wind.” Takeo’s eyebrow arced upwards.
 
“Why would I need knowledge of the wind? I already have a chakra element old man.” To prove a point Takeo raised his hand up to his face, lightning appearing at his finger tips and refining themselves into the appearance of blades. An amusing technique which he had yet to find a practical use for, perhaps the strongest of his current jutsu. And thus named The Blades of Superiorness. Amazing name right?
 
“Psh, you’ll need more than one element to be able to advance on in life boy!” Beardy stood tall, and walked over to the opposite side of the room. Takeo remained sitting on the bed, watching Beardy from the corner of his vision as he rummaged through a desk. “Lightning is good and all, but you will need more for the future. Wind will be a good nature to learn I think, it can be quite useful. I suppose Water is quite useful as well, but we’ll save that for another time my boy.” He spun around his arms clutching onto a pile of books. Takeo gulped; this was going to take a while wasn’t it?
 
And a while it did take, to be precise it took the better course of several weeks. During this time Beardy turned out to be named Nao. Though Takeo had gotten used to this, he still preferred to refer him as Beardy from time to time. The lessons took place every day for several hours. And by the second week Takeo had improved…not that much. “You really suck at this boy.” Nao chastised him for the umpteenth time this day. Takeo simply replied with a growl towards him.
 
“Be quiet old man, reading out loud is a not a strong point of mine.” Takeo flipped the page of the book currently held in his hand. One of many books he had been forced to read through during these lessons. Most of them said the same thing, but differently. The general concept was the same; it seemed that many considered Wind to be sharp and all that. Takeo couldn’t understand it himself, how could wind be sharp? If it were sharp then wouldn’t everyone in the world be constantly getting cut during a windy day? He voiced these thoughts to Nao who simply sighed and shook his head.
 
“It seems I’ll just have to show you boy, come with me.” So once more Takeo found himself being led out of the village. Though time he wasn’t being dragged against his will. Entering the plains of Tengakure the odd pair walked for a couple of minutes, before coming across a lone rock in the middle of the plains. Quite a strange sight indeed and quite convenient. The look on Nao’s face made Takeo think that perhaps the old man had set this up beforehand. “Now watch and learn Takeo, watch and learn.” Nao only called Takeo by his actual first name when he was teaching. So Takeo instantly began to pay attention, after all Nao’s lessons were actually quite interesting. The man faced the rock and raised his right arm into the air, “I will show you the power of the wind my boy, watch and learn.” With that he simply flicked his arm out toward the rock. For a moment nothing happened, and Takeo simply frowned. Then a loud crash was heard as the rock was cut neatly in half. Eyes wide and mouth agape Takeo stood there in awe. “That is the power of the wind, now let us get back to learning it shall we?”
 
Having been frozen by shock at the display, Nao had to drag Takeo back. Who by the time they had arrived back to Nao’s home, was still in the same state as before. “Snap out of it boy.” A quick slap across the face knocked Takeo from his weird daze. A shake of the head and the white haired boy simply picked up the book and continued reading with renewed vigor. He needed to learn the secrets of this element. The power that it seemed to display was fascinating and it may be exactly as Nao said. Perhaps he needed this to advance on into the future.
 
The weeks continued to pass on and with the finishing of the final book Nao began to spar with Takeo more frequently. After some time sparring Nao started to begin to increase the pace, his true strength slowly starting to be revealed. Takeo was shocked at first by how powerful this man actually was compared to himself. The gap was tremendous. Takeo wondered if he would ever manage to get to that type of strength, though Nao assured that anyone could get to that level with some effort.
 
“Now then Takeo, let’s begin.” Takeo let out a dejected sigh. This was going to be painful. And indeed it was, before he could even ready himself he was already sprawled out on the floor after a punch from Nao. He had gotten rather intense when it came to sparring lately, “Get up.” Takeo jumped back to his feet and sent a kick to the left leg. Another punch caught him square on the chin and he stumbled backwards off balance. Nao didn’t slow the pace down however, and before Takeo had time to regain his balance he felt the sting of several punches land against his body and face. It had been like this for the past few days, Nao had increased too rapidly for Takeo to keep up with and now it wasn’t even a fair competition anymore. Collapsing to the ground body screaming its protest to Takeo he simply lay still. He ran his tongue through his mouth tasting blood and ground his teeth together. This was frustrating, he hadn’t improved at all. In fact it felt like he had gotten worse during his time spent with Nao. “This has made up my mind, you’ve stopped progressing Takeo. You don’t seem to want to improve anymore.” Nao’s tone was stern and his words stung more than the injuries. “If you want to give up then go back home and never return. But if you want to continue then stand back up boy.”
 
This was a challenge wasn’t it? A test to see if Takeo had learnt anything from these weeks. Remaining motionless for several seconds Takeo willed his body to move. ‘Get up you fool.’ Takeo kept running that through his mind, his arms pushed his body upwards. Soon he was standing once more and Nao simply started towards him face blank. It seemed the test wasn’t over yet. It was time to use the blades. The right hand was the chosen hand for the job, the lightning chakra being melded and forming into 5 inch long blades coming out from just a few millimetres from his fingertips. Dashing forward Takeo sliced forward like a cat trying to cut something. Nao leant backwards to dodge the blades, the tips just missing his face by an inch. Takeo followed up by spinning around to the left of Nao and slicing once more. He let his anger take over him, all the anger that had built up from his failings since he had become a Genin. The anger took over and he let it control his actions. As Nao went to step to the side Takeo grabbed his arm with his left hand. Using all his strength to keep Nao from moving the blades dispersed and Takeo punched with his right arm. The fist crashed into the nose of Nao, spraying blood violently from it. Another punch was sent to the jaw, then another, then another.
 
Of course Nao didn’t just stay motionless during all of this, his right arm twisted, hand clasping onto the wrist of Takeo’s left arm. Now both of them had a grip on each other and both began to punch. The first punch that hit Takeo sent him reeling backwards, though because of the grip he remained standing. Both males continued with their punching match. There were no tactics, no strategy just pure strength and will to win that kept the two of them going. Punch after punch as thrown, if one were to watch the spectacle they would be watching for ten minutes two people repeatedly punching each other. Both of them unwilling to give up, faces bleeding, swollen and bruised. The question is which one of them would drop first? The answer to that question came seconds later. Nao unleashed a barrage of quick punches that sent Takeo reeling backwards. His grip weakened and his right arm dropped, one more punch sent the boy down unconscious. It seemed that even brute strengthing it wasn’t enough to beat this guy. The last thing Takeo saw through his swelled up eyes was Nao grinning towards him. Perhaps he had done well after all.
 
He woke up in a different bed than he was used to. Neither the one in Nao’s house or his own. A hospital bed it seemed. Perhaps his injuries had resulted in him being brought here. Had he really be than beat up during this last spar? He couldn’t really remember what had happened, his head was killing him..well everywhere was killing him? Had he been dropped from a building or something? His thoughts ceased when he once more slipped into a unconscious state, something which would be repeated on and off for the next few days as he slowly began to recover. He finally left the hospital after four days, his face now fine along with the rest of his body. He didn’t go back to Nao’s for a couple of days, deciding it would be best to rest him self up a bit. When he finally did go back he was greeted by the grinning face of Nao, which aside from a few cuts was also fine. “Glad you’re back boy, I was beginning to wonder if I had perhaps hit you too hard! Come in, come in!” Ushering Takeo inside he quickly moved over to his kitchen, it seemed he was making tea. Takeo sat himself down on the floor sprawling himself out, it was nice to be back in the old house. It had been awhile since he had enjoyed the tea that Nao made. It was quite amazing to drink after sparring. Coming in with two cups, Nao set one down in front of Takeo and kept the other in his hand. “So boy, how do you feel?” The question seemed casual, but Takeo noticed something in the way Nao looked, perhaps he was concerned?
 
“I feel fine right now, in fact probably better than I was before the spar.” He grinned towards Nao, a full on smile to try and disperse any guilt he felt. “That was quite an intense ending to it though I must say, but perhaps not a smart decision on my part. It was quite foolish to think I could out trade you in a punching match.” Takeo chuckled to himself, as did Nao that old throaty chuckle that he was so used to. “Perhaps I should try a different approach to this whole fighting thing, maybe even give up on taijutsu entirely.”
 
“You could try that, or maybe you could just improve your physical side more. Strength and speed are key components when it comes to becoming a strong shinobi. But also having a good arsenal of jutsu helps as well.” Takeo nods thoughtfully at the words from his mentor.
 
“Though wouldn’t it be good to have a focus?” He questioned.
 
“It’s fine to have a focus Takeo, but if you rely too heavily on one thing then you will be at a disadvantage. For instance if you rely too much on brute force you may find yourself at a disadvantage against someone faster than you. The same goes for someone fast; if you rely too much on speed then you will also be at a disadvantage against someone with strength. Let me ask you this Takeo my boy if two taijutsu experts, one focusing on speed and one on strength were to fight who would win?” Nao took a sip from his cup, eyeing Takeo as he questioned him.
 
Takeo was stumped; he stared blankly into his cup of tea as he thought it over. “It depends. If the one with strength gets a lucky punch which lands then he would obviously win. But if the one with speed manages to dodge all attacks then he would surely wear the big one down.”
 
Nao grinned taking another sip, “Exactly, but tell me this. If you had a perfect balance, someone who had both strength enough to trade with the strong man, and speed to keep up with the fast man. Who would win?”
 
“Well…obviously it would be the third one.” Takeo frowned; this line of questioning was strange. What was Nao’s point exactly? Of course ever insightful on what Takeo was thinking Nao grinned and answered.
 
“My point is being a person that is completely balanced is what you should aim for. Speed and strength. Ninjutsu, taijutsu and genjutsu. Swords and knives. If you want to be the best, the strongest person in the world. Then you need to be good at everything. You need to have no weaknesses, just many strengths. These are the type of things you should think of when you fight Takeo. But above all, you need one thing.” Nao pointed with a finger towards Takeo’s forehead.
 
“A head?” Takeo questioned tilting his head to the side in confusion.
 
“While a head does help, what’s inside is much more important. Well both are equally important but the point is you need to have a brain. You need to be smart, analytical and plan.” Takeo nods once more as Nao continues to speak. “With a great mind you can win against almost anyone. You can find out their weaknesses, use their own power against them. With a great mind you can be practically unkillable Takeo.” As he listened Takeo couldn’t help but feel like there was going to be a ‘but’. “But,” Ah there it was. “There are some people you can’t beat. No matter how hard you try there are people out there that are leagues above people like you and me.”
 
Takeo frowned, taking a drink from his cup before speaking out, “What do you mean Nao?”
 
“I mean that no matter how hard you train, you have to accept this right now. There are some people that are just born strong. Prodigies born once in a generation, performing god like feats that you cannot begin to comprehend. These kinds of people do exist, and should you ever come to face against them then be prepared to lose. The saying ‘you can’t win them all’ exists for a reason Takeo, the reason being is that you can’t win them all.” Silence filled the room as Nao took another few sips from his drink. “Though while I say that, the chances of you coming across people like this are slim. At least I hope you never come across someone like that, at least not so soon.”
 
Takeo didn’t know how to reply to this, he just sat there in silence the rim of the mug resting against his lips. “If.” He stopped for a moment as he thought about it for a moment before continuing. “If there are people like this, ones that cannot be beaten no matter how strong I become, no matter how much I try. Then why should I try at all?” Takeo glanced up from his drink and looked towards Nao who simply stared back.
 
“Who knows?” Nao mused moving his gaze back down to his drink. “There is no real reason why you should try Takeo, other than if you didn’t you would live in regret. Living in regret is worse than knowing you won’t be able to surpass people. At least at the end of the day if you try then you can say you did. As you lay on your death bed would you rather be happy that you gave it a shot and did all you could? Or lived your life as a normal person who didn’t try at all? It isn’t my choice, it’s yours. You can follow in the footsteps of the citizens of Tengakure, you can quit not and go back to a normal way of living. Or you can continue on with your training, knowing that eventually there will come a point where you will not be able to achieve victory.”
 
They sat in silence for the rest of the drink. Nao moved back to the kitchen to pour the two another one and Takeo remained stat where he was mulling over their conversation. As Nao returned he decided to speak up. “I’ve decided Nao. That I will try.”
 
Nao simply smiled back to him taking his first sip. “That is good Takeo. I look forward to seeing how you will progress.”
 
Takeo smiled back and took a few more sips from his drink before speaking. “However, I don’t agree with what you just said about people I cannot beat.” He set his drink firmly down onto the table. “I will get strong. So strong that I will never lose again. I will set out to prove to you that there will be no one within the world that will be able to stop me Nao.” Takeo watched for the reaction, nothing. “You have brought back motivation into my life old man. You have made me see this in a new life, I will continue to improve. I will never stop improving from now on. I will not stop training until I become the strongest I promise you that.”
 
Nao didn’t make a move for about a minute. An awkward silence was all that was there as Takeo waited for a response. It came in the form of laughter. Nao’s eyes water up as he continued to laugh. Takeo just stared towards him his face blank. Ceasing in the laughter Nao smiled towards Takeo, “That’s the kind of resolve I wanted to see!” He took a long gulp from his tea, forgetting perhaps that it was still rather hot and as a result spat it out before continuing. “One year is the time I give you to improve Takeo! In one year from this exact day you will prove to me your strength!” Nao laughed some more before speaking again, “You will of course continue your training with me, but it will take you one year at this current rate for you to surpass me.”
 
Takeo simply smiled, “Half a year and I’ll defeat you one handed.” The declaration was bold, but Takeo was confident that he would be able to do it. After all, he had a new resolve now. He would not stop training, day in day out. He will train until he is able to defeat this man before him. “In six months, we will fight all out. Six months friend.” Takeo finished speaking and they both finished their tea in one large gulp. Both of them stood and clasped their hands together in a firm hand shake but not really a shake.
 
“Aye, a promise between friends then. Six months it is Takeo.” Nao laughed once again, “Our training will continue tomorrow, and the pace will be picked up yet again.” A dangerous look was on his face, and his grin had turned slightly sinister. Takeo gulped and suddenly felt nervous once again. Perhaps it hadn’t been such a good idea to make such a declaration.
 

Two weeks later and the training had progressed to an almost hellish level. Day in and day out Takeo was put through the most gruelling of exercises. Laps around the village and spars with other shinobi had become common, as well as fighting against Nao himself. Though Takeo didn’t complain, if it was all in the sake of improving himself and getting stronger he didn’t care. After all he had several people that he needed to defeat. The memory of his first spars as a genin had been forgotten but now after this promise they had resurfaced. As he walked towards his home, sore and tired from a day’s training he remembered the figure that he had thought against. The armoured being, The Abysswalker. He hadn’t heard much from that being since after he had fought against it. He wondered if it had all simply been a dream. Regardless of if it was or not, Takeo wanted to face up against something or someone like that again. Running a hand through his wild hair he yawned entering into his house and jogging up the stairs. Collapsing onto his bed he drifted into a sleep. The next few months will be quite a challenge, only time would tell if he would be able to handle all of it.

[Total Wordcount: 6807]

+34 Stats
+68 JP

Wind Element Learned

Approved Mister!

The sky was dark today. Mostly because it was rather late in the day, and also because of the fact that the sun was being blocked out by several clouds. As Takeo walked through Tengakure he thought that from the dark gray color that the clouds were it could possibly rain soon. Though that did not deter Takeo from his walk, it was not like he had anything better to do. Honestly the boy was bored. Not much had happened since he had killed the Uchiha several days ago. His eye was still bandaged, having still not recovered fully from the transplant that occurred. The white haired Chuunin also felt quite strange, perhaps that boy had some strange infection. Now he felt that he was quite reckless in having a strangers blood transferred into himself on the suggestion of another stranger. Takeo felt foolish at this moment in time, maybe he should go get himself checked out. Yes that seemed like the best course of action to take here. Doing an about turn he made his way off towards the hospital. Could he have gotten some sort of disease from the blood? These thoughts ran through Takeo's head as he walked. Today he had decided against bringing much of his equipment with him. Though as ever he wore those strange boots that somehow made him faster, as well as his faithful mask that was pulled down to rest around his neck. A new addition to his standard equipment was there however, with a black glove being worn snugly on his left hand. This was not just a strange fashion statement however, for this glove gave him access to one of his newer items. The Wraithraiser armour. The scientists/researchers of Tengakure had built the armour at a request from Takeo. The boy liked to consider it to be a more advanced version of The Abysswalker, an armoured suit he had seen what had to be months ago now. Though the memory of the ominous suit of armour was still fresh in his mind. He wasn't sure how his own armour competed against 'The Abysswalker' for he hadn't seen the wearer of said armor, Xyxer Gyojin, in quite some time. Maybe the strange boy had moved on to another village already? Takeo didn't doubt it, he seemed like the type to change residences a lot. The other clothing that Takeo wore was not as significant as the ones already mentioned. Being a plain white shirt and black jeans there was nothing that striking about the outfit. For once Takeo had chosen not to wear some sort of strange coat, as when he had left his home the sky had been devoid of the dark gray clouds and the sky had been clear and blue. It was strange how quickly the weather could take a turn for the worse. The wind had picked up slightly since he had left his home, though the difference was not large enough for Takeo to mind.

The boy turned a corner and adjusted the bandages that were loosely wound around his left eye. While the hospital was a straight shot from where he was the boy stopped dead. For he had noticed something from the side of his vision, with his one good eye of course. What he saw was a rather familiar face, one of someone he had trained with a few times beforehand. The person was an old man, most likely older than sixty. The man's hair was white and nearly matched Takeo's in the wildness of it. Accompanying the man's white hair was an identically coloured beard. This man was known by the name of Beardy (at least by Takeo) though the man's actual name was Nao. Despite the man's frail looking appearance he possessed considerable strength, having defeated Takeo several times in spars. Though that had been several weeks ago, before the first Chuunin exam that Takeo partook in. The boy's own strength had grown considerably since the last time they had faced each other, he was interested to see if now he matched up to the aged veteran. The man seemed to have also caught sight of Takeo, as he too stopped in his walk. A grin appeared on Nao's face, showing a gleaming set of white teeth. It was a cocky grin, one which Takeo took as a sign of a challenge. The now Chuunin returned the grin and he spun on his heels. All thoughts of getting him checked out for some sort of STD was now gone from his mind, with the prospect of victory having taken over. They did not speak to each other as they walked. The time for talk was mutually agreed to be after the two of them sparred once more. Takeo felt himself to be at a slight disadvantage during this fight, lacking the vision in one eye. Though he hoped that his superior physical skills would make up for it this time. He debated on unleashing his armour for a test run during this spar, but felt that it might end up being a tad overkill. So he decided upon using it only if he was losing badly. Something which he doubted would happen, with his new found strength came an ego it seemed.

The silence continued until the two of them arrived at their destination around ten or so minutes later. They had traveled some ways out of the village, thought the towering skyscrapers that dominated the skyline were still in view from where they were. The stood around twenty or so meters away from each other, staring each other down as they waited. It was almost as if the two were waiting for someone to yell 'begin'. Then as if someone did in fact yell at them to start the two dashed forward in sync. Takeo crossed the larger distance between the two, a testament to his superior speed over the man. He ducked low under the initial punch that Nao sent his way via right arm. He returned with a punch of his own, an uppercut to the jaw that sent the man staggering backwards. He followed it up with a kick with his right leg towards the stomach. A kick that was blocked rather easily by Nao who had recovered from the punch surprisingly quickly. Takeo refused to give the man a chance to gain the upper hand however and continued his assault. He sent forth a flurry of jabs aimed at the head of the aged man. Most of which he dodged away from, leaning back and to the sides to avoid the punches. No jutsu had been used yet, something that Takeo did not mind. Right now it was simply a test of taijutsu, he felt that eventually the fight would heat up in intensity. The question was when that would happen. As it was right now the two of them were taking it easy, trying to gauge the strength of the opponent. Takeo decided he was going to force Nao into using things other than taijutsu. The boy sped up in his movements, leaning his body from side to side in order to avoid a series of punches Nao sent his way. He countered, his speed picking up to his maximum for a brief moment as he kicked the man's lower left leg after feinting with a punch. The surprise was evident on Nao's face as the man's feet were swept out from underneath him by the kick. He recovered however, planting his hands on the floor and spinning away from the punch downward to where his face would be.

Takeo winced as his hand smacked against the grassy floor that made up the plains surrounding Tengakure. Perhaps it had been poor judgment on his part to put so much force into that punch. He did not have the time to berate himself for his foolishness however, as he was soon being forced back as Nao began his counter-assault. Takeo quickly leaned himself backwards in order to avoid having his face cut up by a kunai. He wasn't sure when the man had drawn the weapon, though most likely when he was busy being annoyed at himself for punching the earth. It was with some regret that Takeo remembered he had not brought his equipment with him. At least not some that he could use in order to clash with the kunai. He briefly thought about summoning his armour at this time, but decided now was still not the right time to use it. So Takeo was forced to backtrack, his body weaving and ducking to avoid the swipes as Nao advanced after him. Takeo found himself slowing down as this continued, or perhaps Nao was getting faster. It was hard to tell really, and moments later blood was drawn. A shallow cut across the right cheek forced Takeo to jump back, putting distance between the two. He ignored the stinging sensation from the small wound and took a moment to rest.

A second or two was all he got before the kunai wielding man was upon him once more. Another flurry of swipes sent Takeo in another retreat. He waited for a moment in which he could strike, and after several seconds that he should just begin to use jutsu. It was that reason that he thought of a hand seal within his head, and almost instantly he was behind the man. The Body Flicker jutsu did it's job and Takeo spun. Nao was surprised by the fact that Takeo seemed to have disappeared and took a moment in order to figure out what happened. Said moment gave the boy enough time to send a sharp boot to the lower back. With a cry the man fell forward kunai flying out of his grasp as he stumbled forward in order to keep balance. Takeo followed up with another kick to the back again this time sending the man falling to the ground. Takeo dashed to the left his hand reaching out to grab the fallen kunai. With a weapon in hand the boy did a sharp direction change and lunged forward towards Nao. The man saw the approach from the corner of his vision and rolled out of instinct. The kunai lodged itself within the ground and was discarded. Takeo switched back to taijutsu; moving in to drive his knee into the face of the still downed man. The result was the knee thudding against the ground. This guy was annoyingly good at rolling around like an idiot. It was actually quite frustrating to now be able to do anything about it. At least not without the aid of his jutsu that is. That was probably what drove him to using both of his recent additions at once. His right began to draw in a large amount of chakra, the gathering of the lightning element taking place in the hand. One with a decent eye could liken it to someone when creating a Chidori. Though the lightning was not for the jutsu. Nao himself seemed curious, as he stood in position waiting for whatever was going on to happen. It was a mistake that would most likely cost him the spar. With sufficient chakra generated Takeo brought it to his mouth. He did a silent prayer in hope that it would actually be doable in combat and wouldn't just electrocute him instantly. With a moments hesitation he then brought the condensed ball of lightning chakra into his mouth and swallowed it. Nao's eyebrow arced upwards in curiosity. Takeo also took note of the slight twitching of his arm; most likely him restraining himself from having his forehead have a reunion with his palm. As seconds ticked by it became evident that he was not going to be instantly electrocuted. Which was fine by him. Then he felt it. A surge of power throughout his entire body. That was the signal that it was time. A signal was sent to his his left glove. A small burst of chakra seeping into it to awaken the armour held within. Within seconds it had grown, the glove extending outward to encompass the body of Takeo. With that 'The Wraithraiser' armour was brought into play.

The power Redan gave him took a few moments for him to adjust to, but once he adjusted Takeo took off. It seemed that his movements were too fast for Nao to track. As when he dashed to the right side of the man, he made no move to dodge. Perhaps his old age had made his tracking ability lessen somewhat; or maybe Takeo was just going that fast. Whatever the case when Takeo's armour clad elbow swept out to strike the bearded man in the cheek he did not dodge. Instead his head jerked violently to the side, before the man was sent spiraling to the floor. It seemed the force was enough to knock the man out pretty much instantly. Something that Takeo did feel quite bad for. His left middle finger pressed itself against the seal located in the left glove of his armour, and it reverted itself back into the gloved form. He rubbed his cheek; running his hand along where a black mark had appeared, possibly something that Redan itself caused. He then realized that it would wear off eventually and at that time it'll hurt like hell. He sighed and sat himself down next to the unconscious body and waited for both the jutsu to wear off and for the man to wake.

Two or so hours later and the two were sat inside a room that was rather familiar to Takeo. He had woken up here several weeks ago after getting into a brawl with some thugs. He thought back to his first encounter with Nao, who was now sitting on the opposite side of the table across from him, smiling slightly as he recalled the events of that day and the ones following. "It's been quite awhile since I've been here." He mused. Taking a sip from his tea. A small nod returned the statement. The man opposite him too busy drinking to reply through speech. It was after the man had put down his half empty cup that he spoke.

"It indeed has been awhile." Nao voiced his agreement. He absentmindedly ran his fingers through the coarse white hair that made up his beard. Silence once more took over the room. Neither of them felt like talking right now. They sat there in silence drinking tea for a couple of minutes before Takeo stood. He placed his now empty cup on the kitchen counter and turned to Nao.

"It was nice seeing you old man. Perhaps I'll come around and visit again soon." He said while making his way towards the door of the house. He heard a faint farewell from the man as he exited the house. It was as he was walking to his own home that he remembered the actual reason for leaving his house. "Of course. How stupid of me to forget." He cursed his forgetfulness and for the third time that day did an about turn. With his goal once more remembered the boy walked in what he assumed was the direction to the hospital.

[Total Wordcount: 2556]

+12 Stats
+25 JP

2556/5000 Redan Mastering

10689/10000 Soul Amethyst Bonding Thingy

7/30 Sharingan Implant Recovery

Approval no jutsu