Return to Active duty - Working off the Rust

Akarui arrived at the training ground after taking a 10 morning kilometre jog. Today was the day, he finally was returning to active duty. He had been trying to keep his skills up to the basic standard for a genin but he still felt rusty. Following the advice his father gave him years ago during the very few training sessions before his prodigy brother started to shine leaving their father to focus on him and neglect Akarui. 

Speed and strength are what mark a true Shinobi from the rest. Akarui had come to realize that he didn’t necessarily agree with that but it was advice passed on from ancestral teachings of the Kōtei Branch and so he knew it would be the correct path for him to practice on his speed and strength above other trainings. Therefore today, Akarui had come to the training field to improve himself. He wanted to be faster, so fast his foes couldn’t react, he wanted to be stronger, so strong that none could take his fist. He wanted to be unmatched so he could return to the clan with pride. 

Even if that were achievable, he knew it was unapproachable in the slightest with his current level. That’s why he wanted to train to close that insurmountable gap as much as he could. He had seen Clan members utilize a method to train speed of both footwork and attack. It was surprisingly simple in terms of equipment, just a tree. Find a leafy tree high enough to stand under and hit the tree hard enough to loosen any leaves to fall. Though that’s simple, it gave birth to 3 different training methods; 

First to dodge while running through the leaves and let none touch you. 

Second is to stand in place and catch as many as you can around you. 

Third is to combine them and move to catch all without being touched by any leaf. Akarui had used these methods countless times over the years and was to use the third method to train himself today.

Picking a tree wasn’t an issue as they were all over. Standing in position near the trunk after making a 3 metre circle surrounding it, Akarui punched the tree hard enough to shake a few dozen leaves out then rushed at top speed to catch them. He repeated this countless times until half the leaves had fallen before moving onto the next tree.

(WC 406)

Claiming:

+2 speed 400/400

The sky grew dark as Akarui finished off his training. He had thinned nearly half the trees in the area with his training method. His muscles were tender from all the stop start sprinting and his clothes were soaked with sweat so he thought he would sit on a nearby rock to catch his breath before heading home.

“Not bad but I need to be faster. I should repeat this again for the next week.. in a different spot before I train a new technique.” Akarui spoke to himself as he clenched his fist in determination. “Question is, what techniques are available to learn. I’ll go ask my old sensei after I’ve finished my speed training.”

After deciding on his training schedule Akarui hopped off the rock and started to make his way back to the village along the usual path. It was the scenic route because he enjoyed peering at the Hokage rock faces on the cliff and daydream like all village Shinobi do at one time or another.

Akarui’s home wasn’t too large, it was a 4 bedroom flat including a kitchen and bathroom around a connected living area. It was paid for by his father when he was a boy after he started attending the leaf academy. It was lonely so Akarui rather go to the roof of the building usually. After showering, changing and whipping up something to eat, Akarui settled in for the night.

The following day Akarui packed a towel and a shirt before heading off on his daily 10 kilometre jog around the village then made his way to a different spot to train where the trees still have all their leaves. He found a tree then repeated yesterday’s training season until half the leaves had fallen off. He was able to catch a few more than last time.

A few days passed like this with Akarui changing location everyday as to not deforest the training ground accidentally.

“I’m improving.” With a smile Akarui looked at the leaves in his hand. Excitement clear in his eyes. “I’ve almost doubled the count from the other day.”

Throwing away the contents of his hands, he looked up at the tree he was under judging how many leaves were left. It had enough of a beating today. He surveyed the training field for suitable trees but there weren’t enough trees that could take this thrashing without breaking.

‘That’s that, this is the last day and there doesn’t seem to be anymore suitable trees.’ Akarui had done this for a week straight in order to improve his speed and he felt like he had accomplished what he had set out to do. He didn’t quiet feel up to the task of completing missions yet but he was close. Nearly ready to return to duty once more.

“So I guess I should end training early today. It is the afternoon anyway. I’ll take a rest and head home.” Akarui announced to himself before setting himself down on a old fallen tree. The sun sat four fingers from the horizon as far as Akarui could tell. He sat and drank out of his canteen and changed to a shirt he had brought with him after towelling himself off.

‘Maybe I should take a walk around town tonight.’ He thought to himself as he got up and collected his things. ‘Who knows, I might meet some people’ and started towards the village in no rush at all. Along the way he decided it was time to see his old friend at the Leaf Academy tomorrow. The rust was being polishing off slowly, but he would be a polished blade, a killing machine once more.

That is the life of a Shinobi.