To Be Stronger? (p, training)

The genin looked around the training grounds, his one good eye scanning for any potential threats, before he entered the grounds. Satisfied that there were no immediate threats to his person, he looked for a good spot to practice with his kunai. He wanted to become better with weapons in order to ensure his ability to defend himself even if he couldn't use any jutsu. He mainly trained with kunai, which he found rather easier to use after the tips from the other genin he had met while training. Closing his eyes, both the good one and the bad one, he focused on exactly where he had seen the target before he closed his eyes. He noted wind direction and speed, which could affect his throw. If he did this right, he could throw the kunai and hit the target blind. Pausing for a moment, he considered, and then released the blade as hard as he could in the direction of the target.

It hit, and sank into the target with a loud thunk, indicating he had thrown it hard enough to hit the wooden support behind the softer target. Grinning, the genin opened his eyes to see... the kunai had sunk into the outer ring of the target, nowhere near the center. Exclaiming his dismay, he rushed to retrieve the blade, cursing up a storm in his mind all the while. He wasn't happy about this... he needed to train until he got this right. At least he wasn't expending chakra, only his own physical energy.

Muttering to himself, Kaori went back to where he was standing before, to try once more to hit the center of the target blind. He was going to get this right if it took him all day! If he didn't perfect this, there really wouldn't be much he could do to defend himself in combat. Mostly, the type of jutsu he could do was medical, and that would not do at all for the genin. Gritting his teeth, he closed his eyes once more, trying his best to note the position of the target, and where he was now standing. If he timed this right he may be able to pull it off...

Finally, after several moments of waiting, he reared his arm back and threw once more, putting as much force into the throw as he could muster. This time for sure, this time he had to have done it! Opening his eyes, Kaori saw the kunai had hit closer to the center of the target, but still nowhere near where it should have been. Cursing aloud this time, he went to retrieve the weapon once more.

WC: 445

Kaori was fed up with his own inability to hit the center of the target, and with the fact that matter how hard he tried, he never seemed to be able to get this right. He needed this, in order to accomplish his goal he needed to be stronger, faster, braver, than he already was. He wasn't particularily strong, or brave, or fast, and he needed to be all of those things. Kaori had something to prove, that he wasn't weak, that his parents had been wrong to throw him out like a piece of trash. He would prove himself, and he would do it no matter how long it took. He gripped the handle of the kunai, pulling it out of the target once more, not doubting for a second that he would need a great deal more training to pull this off. If he couldn't even pull this off from a mere 5 meters or so, how would he ever manage to pull it off if he needed to in order to defend himself?

He pulled the kunai free, stalking back towards where he had been standing, feet scuffing through the dust. He couldn't let himself fail, even as he heard the whispers of the other ninja who were currently training in the grounds as well. "Look at that other genin! He can't hit the target to save his life!" commented a rather smug-sounding younger ninja. He didn't look any older than Kaori, but Kaori could tell the other genin was looking down on him, quite literally, with his short stature. Growling under his breath, he did his best to ignore the whispers and the stares, focusing instead on the task at hand.

He closed his eyes, taking several deep, calming breaths as he focused his mind. He would pull this off, and he would not rest until he had done so. Everything for Kaori focused onto one brilliant spot of light in his mind: the target. To him, even though his eyes were closed, he could still picture the target as if it were a fixed point he had to hit. Smirking, he decided to picture the center of the target as his homophobic father's ugly face, to give himself a little incentive to hit it. With one final, deep breath, he pulled his arm back... and threw. There was a buzzing in his ears, and he couldn't seem to hear anything else as he opened his eyes.

WC: 411

As he opened his eyes, Kaori was slightly nervous of what sight would await him. Had it hit where it was supposed to, or was he destined to be a total failure with weapons? Dimly, he recalled his first throw, and his own frustration with how awful it had been. Silently, he vowed not to let himself get this angry this time as he finally looked towards the target. To his immense surprise, it had hit much closer to the center of the target than it had during his previous attempts, though still not quite in the center. The sight of his effort paying off a bit invigorated him, as he happily walked over to retrieve the weapon for the fourth time, this time with a slight bounce in his step. If he just focused, he could totally do this!

He pulled the weapon free once again, a smile now visible on his small face as he turned around to go stand at his original distance once more. Focus was the answer! He just needed to stay calm and focused, and the rest would come as naturally as breathing with practice! Still smiling, the teen ran one hand through his blue hair while holding the kunai with the other, debating if he should increase his distance or not. Deciding against it until he had mastered blind throwing at this range, he removed his hand from his hair and closed his eyes as he faced off against the target once more.

WC: 250

Total WC: 1106

Kaori wasn't about to let himself be bested by an inanimate object, so as he faced the target, he focused. If he focused, and pictured the target with his father's face painted on it, he was more than likely to be able to achieve his goal. Nothing would stop him from accomplishing this small feat, one small step on the path to proving himself for good. He was worth something, and he would prove that to his father if it killed him. He would prove himself, and come back for his beloved Takumi, surely if he was successful enough it wouldn't matter what both his and Takumi's parents thought, right? He counted to three in his mind, serving as both a method of calming down and a signal for when he would launch the blade at the target.

1.

He took a deep breath.

2.

He moved his arm back...

3.

He threw the blade as hard as he possibly could throw it.

He heard the loud "Thunk", a sign that he had at least hit the target, and opened his eyes, certain that this time, this time for sure, he had at least gotten it close to the center of the target. The sight that greeted him instantly lifted his spirits much higher, for what he saw when he opened his eyes was the kunai, sunk deep into the center of the target. He had done it! He had finally hit the center!

WC: 244

Total WC: 1350 words

Kaori looked around and considered what to do next. He could either increase his distance and attempt the same feat from farther away, or he could move on to strength training next. He did need to improve his strength... badly. Kaori was rather lacking in that area with his delicate build, he was meant more for speedy attacks and such, but strength was just as important as speed. If he wasn't strong, but he was fast, sure he would hit a target, but it wouldn't do anything. Those thoughts strengthened his resolve, and retrieving his kunai, he turned from the target. He stashed the blade in the weapons pouch he had on his side, turning next towards weights. As of right now, he was considered weak in terms of physical strength, even for a genin, so that was what he intended to focus on for the rest of the day's training session.

He started off by picking up the smallest set of weights, to warm up before he moved on, to anything truly challenging. Even Kaori could manage these tiny weights with ease. Reluctantly, he lifted one weight in each hand, curling them in, towards his chest, before lowering them down and repeating the process. These little barbells made for a good warmup, even if they were a bit too easy to use. An 8 year old could probably lift these, but Kaori just kept on repeating his slow excercise, determined to be able to lift more weight. Strength wasn't everything, but it was important. He would not allow himself to fail, not this time.

WC: 265
Total WC: 1615

Deciding he had warmed up enough, Kaori put the small weights down, the things had only weighed 5 lbs or so. Hard not to be able to lift those. But now, he had to try larger weights, and reached for the 20 lb ones instead. These had a lot more substance to them, and Kaori nearly dropped one of the weights on his foot, prompting a snigger from a nearby genin, who had stopped to watch Kaori for a moment. Kaori shot a fierce glare at the other boy, who got the hint and left Kaori to his training. Sighing in relief, Kaori began the routine he had been doing with the other weights, though it was a lot harder now that the weights were a total of about 40 lbs instead of 10 this time. But he would not waver, no, he would do his best to get stronger, to lift more, there was no way he was going to stop now.

He lifted the larger weights over and over again, sweating from the effort, but it never got any easier. If anything, it got harder the more he lifted, until he was at the point where his arms felt like a pair of noodles. So much for getting stronger. But Kaori doggedly kept at it, refusing to let the weights beat him. He had to lift MORE. He wasn't going to stop until he was satisfied he was strong enough, at least for now.

WC: 246

Total WC: 1861

please post what you are claiming underneath your total word count

Total WC: 1861

Claiming 9 stat points.

approved, dont forget to add an --exit--- to show youre ending the thread so you can leave Lightning Country

---exit----