Running Towards Genin (2)

Zyxis hissed as he opened his eyes. He sprung out of bed and closed the blind. Damn light, damn sunshine. He looked at the clock at the side of his bed. Eight o'clock? That would be enough time for an hour run, and then he could go training.

He wasted no time in getting dressed. Equipping his standard attire, he went downstairs to find his father cooking breakfast. He sat at the table, alerting his father to his presence.

"Morning, champ. We're making scrambled eggs, sausages, and pancakes for breakfast. Your mother and I may not be shinobi," Zyxis rolled his eyes, "But we do make a hell of a cook!"

His pan flew into the air, the pancake flipping along with it. Gravity came into motion and the pancake landed perfectly in the pan. Zyxis looked away unimpressed.

"Always so cold to your old man!" He said, faking tears. Zyxis rolled his eyes once again. His father was only thirty-four, as well as his mother. They both had decided to have Zyxis when they were only eighteen. 

More information about his father: He had silver-hair, just a few shades darker than Zyxis'. He had stubble around his face, refusing to shave it. His hair was shorter and ended at his bangs. He was well-fit for someone who wasn't a shinobi. Afterall, his father was the one that had got him into running.

"Yeah, yeah." He waved, dismissingly. "Where's mom?"

His father smiled, "You just missed her. She went out for her daily run. Such a kind, beautiful woman. She's the love of my life! I take pride in every day knowing that I married her. You know, son, one day you're going to have to find a woman, you're around that age."

Zyxis ignored him. The deadpan look on his face would make anyone realize that he hated how much his father talked about how he adored his mother. Also, he knew he needed to find a woman. He didn't need his father to tell him that.

After Zyxis had breakfast was finished and digested, he stretched and took off running. Once again in the past week, he found himself back at the training ground. He looked around, reimaging the spar and training he went through with Ryūka.

He began to wonder if he would find someone else that could change his worldview? Most likely he wouldn't, but a man could dream.

Zyxis ran towards the wooden training dummy, aiming to make it his punching target.

WC: 421

Total: 421

Countless repetitions of cardio and strength training left the Yuka tired sweaty. The man had already been in the training ground lying on the ground. His torso attire had been hanging on a branch by a near tree. The wind blew onto it constantly. As Roy was catching his breath in a spread eagle position, he reminisced on the last time he trained this vigorously in the Land of Lightning. Seemed like it was years since he had been here. His home being deserted and destroyed and whatnot, he really had no choice.

Clouds of all shapes and sizes passed by overhead of the village. The sun's piercing gaze peered through whenever it had the chance to. Roy avoided direct eye contact with the blazing ball of gases and energy. In came in someone he had not recognized. Albeit a teenager at the least, he looked young. He looked as if he were planning on doing target practice. Roy turned his attention back to the sky. Nobody else really concerned him at the moment. Minding your business meant staying alive.

Zyxis thought he could the ignore the man taking a sunbath, but wasn't it an odd place for a man to choose to do such a thing? Maybe he was a shinobi, taking a break after a workout. Hopefully, he had stretched before he laid down, he would cramp up.

At first, he had decided that he would forgo his presence, but after a few minutes of slamming his fists and palms against wood, someone could see why it would get boring. A conversation would be more interesting.

The boy turned and walked towards the man. Not too far away, but not too close either. If he was an enemy, then he was safer staying away. He knew he wouldn't be able to fight or run, but it's the little things that count.


"Hello? How are you today?" Zyxis politely asked, hoping he wasn't disturbing the man's rest.

WC: 150

Total: 571

Feeling the presence of the boy approaching, Royalty took notice of him. Looking up while on the ground, he would notice the boy but his vision had been upside down. It was difficult putting together the entire image with him being upside down. Royalty was too exhausted to get up. His body felt weak. His strength was slowly regaining however, Roy had been here for nearly 8 hours. Guess you can say it was all in a days work. 

First thing he noticed was the medium length white hair. It made him miss his old hairstyle. As a chuunin his hair once reached his lower abdomen. Crazy to think that his hair had actually gotten to be that length. Once greeted, Roy would hesitate briefly before replying.

"My child. How was school today? You know what, don't answer that. I was terrible in the academy. I constantly played pranks on our teacher. Did you eat today?" Royalty was full of it. His speech implied a hearty and joking manner but he had not known the boy. There was no telling how he'd take it.

Zyxis raised his eyebrow. Was the man okay? DId he need assistance? Maybe he had a concussion? He should check.

"Excuse me, sir? Are you okay? I'm not your child, but maybe I look similar?" He shook his head. "The academy was okay. I ate a hearty breakfast."

He held his hand out, "My name is Zyxis. You are?"

If the man accepted his idea of a handshake, he would then try to help lift him off of the ground. Zyxis would then continue their conversation.

"What are you doing out here? More importantly, why are you laying on the ground?"

WC: 105

Total: 676

The boy's sense of humor.... needs a little bit of work. But he seemed genuine. He laughed a little when he was asked if he were alright. Roy remembered Kumo being hell. Now here he is, getting offered help from a stranger. The world sure knows how to evolve. 

Struggling with grabbing the boy's hand, Royalty let out a giant smirk. He couldn't remember the last time he felt like this. The feeling of grinding and pushing yourself. It felt amazing. Eventually, his hand made it to Zyxis. If he was generous enough, he would lift himself up with the boy's assistant. Once up, Roy then fell back down in a sitting position. His knees were bent and his arms were behind him as his support. A big sigh was let out.

"Weeeeelll, I won't be standing on my own right now. And I'm quite aware that you aren't my offspring. Loosen up will ya," Roy let out a charming smile while trying to ignore the pain that inflicted his joints. He then mustered the strength to talk again. "Name's Royalty. I've been here for hours training. Kiiiinda overdid it."

He blushed as red as his eyes when he realized that he was joking. He mentally berated himself for such a poor performance in front of the man. As soon as he calmed, he began to inspect him.

He had said that his training had left him in this state. Zyxis found that quite astonishing. 

"Really? From training? It looks like you sprinted an entire marathon. You can't even stand." He instantly reached into his backpack and pulled out a bottle of water. "Royalty, it's nice to meet you. Do you need anything to drink?"

If he accepted it, he would hand it to him. If not, he'd place it back in his bag.

"You must be strong. Tell me, are you a Jounin or Chuunin, perhaps? What could you have possibly done to make you so sore? Do you specialize in Taijutsu?"

He would sit down in front of him.

"You can ask me questions as well. I don't mind." He gave him a small smile, to reassure him. "If you need any food too, I have some in my backpack."

Being offered the bottle of water, Roy couldn't help but to take it. Being hydrated would help him a lot. He grabbed the bottle and opened it quickly. After chugging a good portion of the drink, Roy would then dump the rest onto his head. The water moving along him skin "woke" him up in a sense. He felt more revitalized. The boy was curious, as was the Yuka. It didn't hurt to participate in this brief survey.

"It's okay, I'm not hungry at the moment. And yeah I'm a Jounin, though I've been sidetracked with other things upon my promotion. Haven't really been grinding like my Chuunin days. Taijutsu also happens to be the main thing I focus on, amongst others. Are you new to the village?" Royalty wondered how the new generation was raised in Kumo. His departure from the Cloud had been several years ago. There were many unfamiliar faces.

He nodded. "Yes, I'm still an Academy Student actually. I heard that Kumogakure used to be way more bloody. I don't know if that's true or not, but I know we got a new Raikage. I just don't know who yet."

He scratched his chin, "What was it like further back in the years? I believe I was too young to remember or care. I was not interested in becoming a shinobi until this year, so I don't know much about the history."

Zyxis pulled out another bottle of water. His heart was pounding, and his mind was telling him to ask the man to train him. That would be completely unfair, though. The man was on the brink of collapsing. So Zyxis quelled his instincts to develop and continued to have a pleasant conversation with the man in front of him.

Zyxis mentioned the Raikage. To be quite honest, Royalty had no idea what the hierarchy of the village looked like at the moment. He had not heard of Maku in a long time. If he weren't mistaken, Kyson was still running things. Maybe? He then wanted to know the history of the village. Roy's face became solemn and emotionless. The older Kumo was cold and too dark. He decided it wasn't the time to learn about that right at the moment.

"Uh," Roy would say rubbing the back of his head. It was obvious how awkward the question made the mood. "To be honest, it's not really important. The past is the past. Looking forward is best. As for the Raikage, I'm not sure myself. I just recently came back so it could've changed. My best friend's one of the top ranking people here though. His name's Kyson. You'll meet him soon. But uhhh, what were you trying to do here? Working on your Academy Jutsu?" Roy's attempt to switch the subject was subtle but necessary. The boy couldn't be scarred at this point in his life.