Trainin' Day [Solo]

Well. He was in Kumogakure so why not learn this while he could? Battojutsu techniques were something Kumogakure nin were well known for. And Akira had one of the clan's legendary swords so he was pretty much all set when it came to learning stuff. But where would he go to learn these rather unique techniques? There probably wasn't any dojos just handing out free Battojutsu lessons. So what he would have to do is probably head to the nearest bookstore and purchase a book on the fighting style and do what he always did and just try to learn something himself. Wow, this just reminded him of how long he'd gone without a sensei to teach him all sorts of techniques. He didn't really have a sensei in Iwagakure as he rose up the ranks rather quickly by himself and that was also aided by the fact that Iwagakure was really low on staff at the time so he ended up getting a promotion on the fly so he could help out with the younger ninjas. Someone had to teach the new blood some tricks or else the village would never get what it was looking for. Y'know, actual strong ninjas to protect and enforce it.

Well, such was the way of Iwagakure. It felt like yesterday that he had left. But now here he was; a fully fledged Kumogakure Jounin. With a headband wrapped around his arm. It was good to be back in service, and this time to be able to train the village Genin and Chuunin of arguably the most powerful village in all the lands. It felt damn good.

He walked with almost a spring in his step up the path towards the previously abandoned temple where he resided. He discovered this place with the woman who would soon be his student. Coco Wei. In truth this place looked a lot better since he cleaned it up. And that took ages. Well, about 4 hours to be exact and that included completely draining the blood-filled bath house. There were so many bloodstains everywhere before Akira and Coco's arrival. In truth that place had become his go-to place for just about everything really. Whether it was training, washing or even sleeping. That large temple sort of became a simple abode for one person. The shrines still remained though, Akira obviously still being a very traditional person, as he would light incense sticks every time he walked past it. He figured it gave him good luck, paying respect to those taken to the afterlife. Something which his Yuumei - Izanami - appreciated. Possibly because she herself was condemned to the afterlife. Or at least that was the story, but he doubted that he had the essence of an actual god inside him and that it was probably some intense identity complex stuff but that was irrelevant. As long as she was the source of all his Shinkou clan abilities he didn't really get a say on whatever or rather whoever she or rather it manifested itself as.

Obviously, the sword he was going to use was the same sword he was given when he was 3. Or rather the last thing given to him before his father's demise. The Kumokamisori was the name of this very shortsword that he had stored in a holster on his abdomen. The greyish, almost-black sword was forged by Akira's great-great grandfather, Hazama Shinkou. Well known for being one of the more powerful figures in the clan's history. As well as a kickass blacksmith. Even though he was now very deceased he was still someone Akira admired for his talent and his ability to create new jutsu. Something Akira was also very proficient at. Just another one of the ways he desired to emulate the success of the clan's ancestry. 

The clan's ancestry also contained a technique he wanted to learn. The Singing Blade, a taijutsu technique originating from the Shinkou clan and it was a technique that he felt he pretty much had to learn if he had any chance of bringing the Shinkou clan to new levels in terms of power. In truth it probably seemed like a bit of an ego trip but he felt like being clan head.

A strange goal indeed, but overall not one too farfetched. He figured he wouldn't be the only Shinkou around these lands but in any case he was the only one he knew. But in truth he probably had a whole bunch of cousins as the clan was pretty widespread across the various lands. Especially in Tengakure which seemed to contain the bulk of most of the Shinkou clan members.

But his place wasn't in Tengakure, it was in Kumogakure, the village which accepted him with open arms. Despite being from a village which had pretty much crumbled right in front of his eyes. A village which pestered so many of its' neighbors to warrant being completely destroyed. Yet here he was, a ninja. He figured that infact his life wasn't completely all over the place. It wouldn't happen instantly, but he figured that eventually his life would settle down. And it was here, in this temple was his home. After all the people who lived there didn't seem to be coming back any time soon, and he didn't really have an apartment either. 

While that did technically mean he was homeless until he legally got the rights to the temple he was staying in. Which would again probably require a meeting with the Kage. But he'd live here undercover for a few more days before doing so. He had priorities before he even thought about legitimately owning this place. It was fine as it is, it wasn't as if anybody cared since nobody took this route up the mountains. It was often perceived as dangerous was why. But the place oozed serenity, all that was audible were birds chirping and the wind blowing. The perfect way to be in tune with your mind with pretty much no distractions. Also he could actually beat the shit out of students without the chances of people seeing him. A lot of people didn't really seem to understand that Genin and Chuunin learned a lot better when they were put into realistic scenarios where death is a very, very real possibility. And that was the way he was going to train, he would be ruthless to everyone he would teach. And he hoped that one day he would be known for that.

He couldn't help but grin, Kumogakure was really growing to him. Everything from the bars to the scenic mountain paths to the sound of the crashing waves. Everything seemed to be just right for him. Almost as if fate brought him here.

And he felt strongly that here would be the place that he would spend the rest of his ninja career. As a jounin, finally being able to grow old with hopefully either a massive library of students, or even better - a few highly successful students. If he ended up teaching the next Raikage he would be so proud of himself. 

He opened the temple gates and stepped inside, the place clean as he did his routine. Walking over to the shrine and replacing the burning incense. Grabbing one of the smoking sticks and performing a quick prayer. Placing the stick back at the shrine and walking towards the courtyard where a straw mannequin stood, armed with a target on the head, abdomen and crotch along with a few kunai embedded in the bullseye of each target. Akira was pretty much a crack shot when it came to throwing weapons. Even his sword was a very good grapple as it could embed and get locked into whatever it was thrown at. Making it great for rescuing oneself during a sudden fall or something. The convenience of simply throwing it, having it strike something and reeling back up was a lifesaving ability to have. Plus having the string attached meant he wouldn't have to go and look for his weapon were he to throw it and miss, he could simply pull it straight back into his hand.

In any case he was here to learn what was pretty much a fundamental of Battojutsu, the quickdraw technique. Pretty easy, just pull your blade out from its' sheath and go for a quick killstreak when the enemy leasts expects it, that or to parry a strike that you didn't expect. So it had merits as both an offensive or defensive technique. And versatility was something Akira was a big fan of. versatility. 

He placed his fingers around the grip of his shortsword, quickly getting himself in a concentrated stance, taking deep breaths and staying in the zone. He had to make sure the blade exited the holster as smoothly as possible as any letup meant losing valuable milliseconds. While spoken milliseconds seem like a very small value but when it came to an attack which required as much movement speed as possible, as this was supposed to catch an opponent when they least expected it. When the foe's weapon was still holstered and presented a distinct advantage against cocky assholes. So Akira absolutely had to learn it. With one fluid movement he unsheathed his blade, channeled his wind chakra into it and swung it straight towards the neck of his target, cleanly decapitating it and sending the head flying clean skywards, would've been a textbook beheading had he have executed this against another human being. It probably would've been pretty awesome actually. It would've definitely been messy though, that was for certain.

Seemed as if he managed to pull it off, considering he figured he did it pretty quickly. But he was still confident he could keep doing it. 3 tries to beat his record again was just fine for him. He sheathed his weapon, still keeping his hand on the grip and trying the jutsu again, leaves blowing away from the wind chakra imparted into the sword, and it sliced straight through the training dummy's torso very cleanly indeed, sheathing and unsheaving the blade again as the torso fell from the sky, now bisected it struck the floor with a whoomp, sending a mist of straw around him. That was pretty damn awesome and it was definitely a technique he could use in close proximity against anyone who got too close to him. Especially when they didn't have enough time to react and would basically fall victim to their own idiocy to stay close to him.

He was finished here in any case. The mannequin was now a mess he'd have to clean up later. If this were an actual temple where students could train and clean up their own god damned mess this place would be a lot more practical for him. He should just stick with indestructible dummies next time. Less effort cleaning cause he knew at this point that he'd need to bust out the broom and get to work on sweeping the court. 

He walked towards the temple, pulling a broom from a sort of shed like structure and sweeping the straw left from the dummy into a large dustpan. Housework always sucked, especially when you lived in a place this large. He'd just have to fill it with students then. That or hire a whole bunch of maids. The first one seemed a lot more exciting to him though.

He sighed and sheathed his sword. He'd return to training the battojutsu later. He'd learned whatever he wanted to today, he'd go into the most advanced Battojutsu techniques tomorrow or another later date. He knew he still had the Wind Cutter technique to learn, which was a massive step up in comparison to this.  But he'd definitely get to grips with it quickly he reckoned.

What ne needed now was ramen. Lots and lots of ramen and for that he was going to hit up that kitchen which he so dearly loved.

2001/2000 words 
Battojutsu: Quickdraw learned.