Ninja Race: Speed Training! (Open, NK)

This time, Yamakura had something ELSE in mind when it came to her training... It wasn't going to be about learning new techniques or emphasizing chakra control... No, she needed to do something else... She needed to enhance her speed! For as much of a grasp she had been getting over her Chakra, manifesting it into her given element and whatnot,  but what good would that do her if it took her precious seconds to weave the signs or to avoid an attack? No, this would not do... She had to get faster... and what better way to get faster than to have a race? She already had it all planned out... It would be like a game of "The Floor is Lava" where only the roofs or non-conventional routes were allowed! No touching the ground without elimination and no contact with other people! If she bumped into one, for whatever reason, she would be eliminated!

One big sprint from the Uchiha District... ALL they way to the Kage-Mountain across the village! Now... It was a matter of getting a partner to race with her... Her brothers maybe...? No... They were always so busy... In fact, she couldn't find either of them today! Of course, she hadn't seen her second oldest for the last couple of weeks... and surprisingly, her eldest was nowhere to be found! No note, no nothing... Maybe he was called away on some mission or something...? But then... Why weren't they informed?

...Odd...

Her parents were certainly not going to participate in the nonsense Yamakura had in store so... the only one she had left was her sister!

...Ah, her twin... They looked the same but where Yamakura was anxious but idealistic, her sibling was always a glow of sunshine and eager to play! Train, shop, whatever Yamakura wanted to do, she was up for it! ...Likely she would be up for a little bit of sport, right...?

...No, she was gone too! She looked everywhere at home, even checked in the cabinets, the pantry and even wandered around the village for a while... No sign of her! Nobody she talked to had seen her either so... Something must've been wrong here... three missing siblings and not a note between them?

Yamakura didn't like this. She didn't like this at all. Something very, very weird was going on and not even her parents could help her figure out what it was! M...Maybe she should go to the Hokage about this...? After all, if anyone could find her siblings and/or know where they were, it would be him! ...No, no they would turn up on their own... After all, she was probably just worrying about nothing again! Probably just went out together to find something out in the woods! Yeah, that was it! Just a basic, every day mission! Nothing that would... you know.... have to worry over!

SO, with that heavy piece of encouragement, Yamakura would head to JUST outside of the Uchiha District, hopping up atop a small, flat-roofed house! It would be here that the race would begin and the young Uchiha was already trembling.... WITH EXCITEMENT!

________________

WC: 524

As often would happen Asahi was walking through the streets of Konoha all by himself. With his hands in his pockets the scarred Meijin was looking to the left and right, keeping an eye on everything that took place in the village. A friendly nod here and there aimed at some of the familiar faces of the people he knew from conversing with from time to time. But none of which he was on really good terms with. Usually he kept it at a simple "Hello, how are you doing?" kind of thing. Not that he wasn't interested in others, just that he didn't see the point in getting to know someone you may not ever see again. The scarred shinobi wasn't the type to bond over a simple talk after all.

So there he was, simply on a stroll through the village with no one next to him as usual. It had been a while since the last time he had seen some of the people he'd consider his friends. Asahi wasn't one to get attached to other people so he didn't mind being on his own. Of course whenever he was all by himself his mind was more prone to becoming troubled and his thoughts would get occupied by feelings of doubt. Born and raised in a completely different land than Fire Country it was difficult for the Meijin to call Konoha his home. Even though he had tried his best to adjust he still wasn't able to think it was the right place for him. 

Asahi had found himself walking at a side of the village where he had never been before. It was then that he suddenly got distracted as a couple of people started to look and point up. The scarred Meijin couldn't help but feel curious about what was going on and decided to have a look himself. Atop a small, flat-roofed house he could notice how a young girl was just standing there. From what he could make out of it she didn't look that much younger than him and her most striking features being her black hair and pale white skin. For now he would just keep watching, interested in what the kunoichi planned on doing from over there. 

(WC: 377)

Crouching low, Yamakura focused her energy into her legs, her power, her speed, her senses... All condensing and sharpening, as fine as blades! She tuned her senses towards the route before her, a winding snake of twists, turns, indention, drop-offs and uneven ground, a perfect training ground... A jungle-gym, for lack of a better word! This race would test Yamakura's ability to deal with the uncertain while moving at a top speed, to be able to react to dangerous, winding and unpredictable ground that would force her to improvise and react on the fly! She wasn't looking forward to falling on her face, to suffer the scrapes and bruises that came with training like this...

...But if this was the price she had to pay to be useful then so BE IT!

She glanced up at the sun, quickly judging the time... before BREAKING off in a sprint and, not only 3 steps from her current position, she faced her first obstacle: The next roof was elevated much higher than that of the one she was currently standing upon, it's top covered in tight-knit but round shingles that would make footwork across them exceptionally difficult! It would be a manner of balance and measured foot-pressure when it came to sprinting across this roof... but Yamakura was a NINJA... or soon-to-be in any case! She wasn't going to be stopped by any roof, that's for sure! Springing HIGH, her arms would shoot out, taking hold of the edge of the slanted roof and, throwing her legs up behind her, was gracefully able to flip onto the roof with a slow, but graceful climb! Instantly, the primary effect of the shingled roof would now come into affect, her foot slipping the moment she put her weight upon it, Yamakura letting out a quick YIPE of surprise as she nearly lost her balance! Weeble-wobbling on one foot, arms flailing wildly, she slowly began to find her center once again, taking hold of her balance and coming to a standstill!

T...To close... Yamakura thought to herself, huffing and puffing in surprise as she glanced down at the fall below.... the long, LONG fall below... What could have been... a nasty accident that could have left Yamakura hurt, certainly, but no more damaged than her pride would have been! Oh... she could just see the looks upon the faces of her family... hear their questions on how this could have happened... God, the mere IMAGE was making her blush! She could feel her cheeks beginning to burn already!

Quickly shaking her head in an effort to dislodge the paralyzing feeling of doubt and "what-if" Yamakura took off again, her hands held out somewhat to either side in an attempt to provide some kind of stabilizing stance as she quickly, but carefully scaled across the asymmetrical roof. One false step could mean a painfully embarassing trip to the ground below and a failure of her own contest! This reality rung constantly in her head with every step, reminding her not to get over confident while crossing this first roof!

Despite moving at speeds that would make most people watch in awe, it felt to Yamakura that her journey across was taking FOREVER! Being distinctly aware of every step made it as if time were slowing down, as if the air had become syrup, tugging at her and beckoning her to stay in one place! It made each step a chore, each twitch of her ankle an alarm, each momentary slip a reason to panic!

_____________________________________________
WC: 589
TWC: 1113

Not long after Asahi's attention was drawn by a petite girl atop a small, flat-roofed house the scarred Meijin witnessed how the young kunoichi suddenly engaged in a sprint. Her action induced him to look and focus on the girl breaking of in a dash. Charging as fast as a lightning bolt the pale kunoichi seemed to be in a hurry. Curious where the rush was the teenager decided it might be worth chasing her. Forming a single hand seal, that of the Ram, he would disappear in a blur of speed after he had vitalized his body with chakra to heighten his speed. Reappearing at the young girl's original position who was now only three steps away from him. She came to a sudden halt as she had to face her first obstacle. Asahi made sure not to make any sound to avoid breaking her concentration. For now he would simply keep watch over her, interested to see how she would solve her problem. And of course he remained not too far behind to make sure he could intervene and catch her if necessary. 

Slow but steady trying to keep her balance she made her way over the roof. With his hands in his pockets the scarred Meijin would nonchalantly follow behind her in a casually calm and relaxed manner. Not worried about the fall, which would be pretty deep, but keeping an eye on the dark haired kunoichi in front of him. Not losing sight of her the entire time in case he had to interfere. But he also avoided getting too close so he wouldn't make her more nervous than she already was and cause her to lose balance. As he looked down to see what was going on around them he noticed they had gotten quite a few spectators who had arrived and had gotten curious about what was taking place on top of the roof. Asahi didn't pay too much attention to it, he just hoped they were getting a good show from looking at the two teenagers.  

(WC: 343, TWC: 720)

Yamakura's stalker, like the shadow his profession encourages him to be, would remain quietly in the background, watching the girl as she attempted her exercise! His presence, she sensed, a mild gust-of-a-wind on a clean, stagnate day. She knew not to whom it belonged or if there were a being near her provide such a presence! It could have easily just been an obstacle she had failed to notice, an animal such as a large bird that had just taken roost behind her! There were many things it could be and so she paid it no mind... at least, on the surface level. Quietly, though, in the deep recesses of her subconscious, the young Uchiha could only guess what this new presence could be and that frightened her. She had always been so easily startled, never one to enjoy surprises... sudden parties or shocking revelations affected Yamakura more than they probably should, especially when they reach out from the unknown and make a grab at her! She could practically feel the heat radiating off the figure's body behind her, a tall thing that towered over her in height, something fast enough to appear behind her but something passive enough to just stand there and wait... It was almost like a statement of power, a quiet remark that it could do any number of things to her and that, one of those things would be "nothing at all." Being able to sneak up on a ninja-in-training wasn't something easily done by any non-ninja member of society so...

...Was someone important watching her....?

A cold, spine-weakening shiver would arch up the base of Yamakura's back and along her shoulders, her muscles tightening reflexively, defensively, as if expecting an enemy at her back! Could it be that her second eldest brother had returned and was now playing with her? Could it be that he was playing some childish game that, should she turn back, he would no longer be there...? He was always THAT kind of brother, the kind that always wanted to toy with his younger siblings as if they were his to do so, to show his affection through the most impish means possible! Granted, this was a side she almost never saw, these extrapolations coming from her youngest memories. She hadn't seen him for more than an hour across the past few weeks and even then, he was always so serious, hard, a stone.

...Maybe... he was returning to his old ways...?

If that was the case, she couldn't even AFFORD to mess up now! She had her brother maybe-probably watching her right now, the brother of hers that was one of the highest-level ninja in the village! If this was the case, she needed to do everything she could to impress him, to show him that she too could be a ninja! Slipping up and falling? It would be like falling to her death... at least, the death of the person she wanted to be! Yamakura could only imagine how disappointed he already was, seeing her risk herself on a semi-dangerous training exercise, how his voice would tremble with a quiet anger, seeing as she had disregarded his wishes. Yamakura just knew, within herself, that if she were to make any kind of impression on the brother she so respected, she would have to show that she had earned it...

...And this exercise would help prove her point!

"HA!" Yamakura cried, SPRINGING off the edge of the shingled roof, quickly rolling into a ball as she connected with the next one, a flattered, longer platform that gave her plenty of time to get her bearings! Having rolled into a ball, her momentum would roll with her, carrying her end-over-end in one rotation before the girl FLIPPED back up to her feet, breaking into a full run once again before quickly jumping to the next roof, a flat, but triangular top that she had to sprint across! Given its angular top, gravity worked against her, pulling at an angle towards the ground! Yamakura put one of her hands against the roof she ran against, almost as if running along a flat wall with her momentum carrying her, before springing to the next roof beside her, BARELY making it across as she heaved herself over the run-ending pit below her and landing upon another flat, square roof!

Her heart was really pounding now, the temptation to look back, barely resistible. She wanted to see her brother's face after that stunt, to see a slight glimmer of pride in his eyes... but the run was not over yet... and she could not stop moving!

______________
WC: 776
TWC: 1889

Asahi was wondering what was going on inside the young girl's mind. Surely by now the small kunoichi had already noticed the scarred Meijin's presence. Regardless of rank and skill she would at least be able to sense him. He wasn't particularly hiding nor masking his chakra signature so as he was now standing there behind her she should be aware of the new company she had gotten herself with her interesting actions atop the roofs of Konohagakure. For the time being it seemed like the young female decided not to turn around just yet. Was she frightened of what Asahi's intentions were or did she see the fun in all of it and wanted to keep things going for a bit longer?

Just when the fire Meijin was thinking about what could be going on inside the young girl's mind she suddenly took off once again. Performing maneuvers one would expect from a circus performer the little kunoichi rolled into a ball as she connected with the next roof. It seemed she wasn't done just yet with her so called exercise as she continued her run. She didn't take a single moment to look behind to see if Asahi was chasing her or if he was still standing there. No, all she seemed to think about was to run as fast and far away as possible. The scarred Meijin would take a brief moment for himself to decide whether or not he would continue to run after her or if he would just simply call it a day. 

After a couple of seconds he made the choice to see where this cat and mouse game would take him. Still careful not to do anything reckless which could cause the girl to lose her balance, the scarred shinobi decided to take another route. From what he could tell he already knew where she was headed and since he recognized where he was Asahi figured it could be fun if he would await her. Confident in his speed he took off as well, only he decided to jump down and use a different way to arrive at his destination. Entering in one of the village's alleys he made his way through the streets of Konohagakure.

A couple of minutes had passed and Asahi was confident he was able to catch up to the girl and even got ahead of her. Coming out of one of the alleys he would then jump against the walls as he made his way to the rooftop where he would wait for the young kunoichi's arrival. When she arrived at the scene he would simply greet her in a casual manner. "I bet you didn't see that one coming, did you?" He was certain there'd be a surprised look on her face. 

(WC: 466, TWC: 1186)

Shibata had been pacing around the store. He pretended to look at the miscellaneous foods, pretended to look at the prepackaged sweets and the "fresh" frozen vegetables with the same feigned interest. He stared at where the prices were, not actually reading them. On occasion with this stint in the store, he let his eyes wander over to the real object of his desire, the carton of cigarettes over by the clerk. He cased the store for quite some bit before finally deciding to make his move. It started with a simple transformation technique, he would disguise himself as his father, who looked quite obviously of age to purchase this item, and do exactly that. He strut up to the counter, and, in his most assertive voice, demanded one carton of cigs. The cashier blinked for a second at the man who had very much so overdramatically asked for such a mundane item. His response was simple.
"Sure thing, just need verification that you are of proper age to buy these. No offense, but I can tell you are, just need the verification as a formality really"
Oh shit. A million thoughts ran through his head. A flash of him getting caught and being sent to prison. No that charge wouldn't be appropriate, they wouldn't make someone go to prison for just trying to do something like that. No the punishment would be much more harsh, he thought. They would have an execution, same day. His anxiety had kicked itself into the highest of gears. With all this panic he lost his focus on the transformation and it completely dispersed. Both the clerk and Shibata stood still for a solid three seconds. There was complete silence. In a panicked state, he decided screw all these thoughts running through his head, it's time to start actually running. Shibata grabbed the carton and dashed out the door, the clerk chasing after him. A simple clone jutsu to throw off the now pursuing clerk, and the use of the surface walking technique was all he needed. As his clone dashed out and down an alley, the real Shibata had dodged to the side and ran up the wall of the shop up to the roof, avoiding the detection of the shopkeeper. It was a success, the shop keep ran down the alley, while Shibata was safely alone on a roof. Yep, just him and his carton. He started lying down, ready to stare at the sky and watch the clouds, and just as he was ready to relax, he heard from behind him Asahi Meijin say "I bet you didn't see that one coming, did you?" The Rebel Heart sprung up and looked at the scarred Meijin, and the young Yamakura. He had recognized Meijin from being a fellow Genin, Shibata didn't particularly pay attention in class, but he was thinking that they had perhaps been the same graduating, and he swore he had seen Yamakura around the village sometime.

"Oh am I interrupting something?" Shibata Nara asked, directing it to the other two roof top runners. Following it with, "Wait, do I know you?"

(89/100 Action Points, 519 WC, 519 TWC)

Yamakura wouldn't get very far in her run after making her rolling jump as it would seem the ninja who had been stalking her grew tired from always clinging to her back. No, his speed was great enough to catch and surpass the Uchiha's greatly, able to both surpass her casually on the ground and out of sight as well as cut her off quickly near the end of this platform! Before she knew it, a boy she hadn't seen before had come completely out of nowhere, standing between herself and her goal with his face scarred and uneven with the most smug expression upon his face! Instantly, the girl's eyes went wide and her legs locked up in shock, Yamakura's body carrying over with its momentum, causing her to tumble and fall end over end, now a wheel rather than someone running!

"WAAAH!" She cried out in shock and discomfort as the roughness of the roof-top tore at her viciously and without remorse, punishing her for her clumsiness! It would only come to a stop at the feet of the man as if fate itself had dictated this perverse ironic joke, the young girl laying flat on her back, spread-eagled, her eyes rolling around in their sockets helplessly as she let out a low moan of pain and vertigo! Even though her body was stagnate, it was as if the sky was spinning and shifting at the same time, no center spoke holding its place upon the world, allowing the blueness above to pulsate and shift like a poorly constructed tent in the middle of a wind-storm!

Slowly, as she would come back to her senses, Yamakura would lay her gaze semi-coherently upon the interruptor to her exercise, the young girl's eyes wide, shock still present... but confusion starting to bubble up as well! What was even more strange was that a second boy would suddenly appear before her just as casually as the first, seemingly ambivolent to the fact... that Yamakura was now completely exposed!

"Y...you're not...." She whispered, staring at Arashi before glancing at Shibita... then away, her face FLASHING an intense pink! She had just fallen on her face... in front of a buncha ninja... that she had mistaken as her brother because she was too stupid to look around and notice them! Oh... Oh, she was so dumb, DUMB, DUMB! Now they were both staring at her, their gazes like weighted needles, poking and prodding with the curiosity of an early medical student with their first patient, probably wanting to figure out just who the source of today's entertainment was! She could just see them breaking down in tears, enjoying a good laugh at her expense as they deserved to, having every right for exposing just how careless she had been!

"I... um...." She muttered softly, her gaze flickering up to... then deflecting right off the two boys as if they were made of a look-refractent material! All she wanted to do now as curl up in a ball somewhere dark and hide... but unfortunately she couldn't even do that as she could only manage to get to her knees... and hide her face in her hands!
__________________________________________________________________

WC: 504
TWC: 2393

Well he didn't see that one coming, or at least not the outcome he had expected. Whereas the young kunoichi was first demonstrating her athletic skills with jumping from one roof to the other, she now started to tumble and eventually fall flat on her back. Quite the spectacular entrance indeed. Cries from embarrassment rather than from pain, she eventually looked up at Asahi before whispering a couple of words. Due to the fact that the small girl was still sobbing from her fall the scarred Meijin wasn't able to completely understand what she was trying to say. Unless he was mistaken Asahi could have sworn he heard her say something amongst the lines of "you're not", before turning away her face that had now become a blushing pink.

In the meantime Asahi noticed the presence of a third as they were joined by another shinobi of the village. Standing close to him was a black haired boy who seemed to be around his age. Momentarily shifting his attention to the newcomer the Meijin would answer his question. "Not interrupting, more witnessing this young one putting on quite the show" he referred to Yamakura who was still feeling the effect of her fall. "Apologies, I was never one to pay attention to my surroundings at the Academy, I'm still not for that matter." The scarred teenager was of course talking about the fact that he was a bit of a loner who never really tried befriending his fellow students back at his days at the Academy. "Anyway, my name is Asahi. And you are?" Maybe the two of them had met during their time at school, hell maybe they were even in the same class for all he knew. 

Back to the litle girl for the time being he figured. Yet again muttering a few words before turning her face once more. Lowering himself down to his knees Asahi was now sitting right in front of her. If she was to look up she would be staring directly into his eyes, but since she was already embarrassed enough he saw it best not to make it any worse. Yamakura had finally managed to get to her knees although she was still hiding her face. The scarred Meijin would gently offer his hand as he reached out to her. "No need to be scared or embarrassed, it's just the three of us here. I bet it must have hurt right?" Talking with a calm and soft voice, trying to comfort her.

(WC: 420, TWC: 1606)

Shibata let out a sigh as the girl went tumbling by, resembling more of a bowling ball now than any sort of the gymnast she seemed to want to display herself as. He let out a bit of a compulsory laugh at the whole situation. He took a pack out of the carton he just stole, and opened it up. As he was doing this, in an attempt to reassure the young kunoichi, he admitted, "Training always has it's hiccups, nothing to be embarrassed by. If I got one ryo for every time I tumbled, fumbled, or otherwise made a fool of myself in an attempt to get better, well lets just say I could probably retire around the age of fifteen. Now, pick yourself up, stand straight and talk in a coherent manner, less you want to leave no impact on the village and be forgotten by the world. That's one of the greatest lessons I learned, and hell it wasn't even in the academy." 
Shibata then turned to the scarred Asahi Meijin, his eyes took in the impression of what must have been fire that was left on his face. Shibata quite obviously winced, almost hawking up his breakfast as the molten flesh seared itself in his eyes and mind. He shook his head and pulled out a cigarette, put it up to his mouth, and using his hand as a windbreaker lit it. He took a drag and exhaled, releasing both smoke and what  had been on his mind. Shibata said towards Asahi "Excuse me for that, I'm sure you're used to the pained looks as you walk through the village, afterall that scar looks... aged." For a second Shibata kinda stood gritting his teeth knowing he had just made the situation worse, he decided to just go full in and start making jokes about it in an attempt to ingratiate himself with his fellow genin. Shibata turned so that he was facing both the other roof inhabitants, "And yeah, that's a way to think about it, youngin. You may have failed to land properly, but you sure as hell succeeded in entertaining myself, probably this, erm, appearance hindered fellow as well."


Upon getting the response to his question, Shibata stated, "Oh yeah, I never really payed attention in the academy either to be honest. Take that lesson to heart, I can tell you don't have you're headband yet, so I'm assuming you're still in the academy, the best advice I can give for someone in your position is to barely pay attention there. The lessons they give fill your head with thoughts of obedience and, most unfortunately, hubris. The lessons make you think if you can just think out a situation, you might be able to win, and I can tell you I've lost friends not much older than you because they fell for that mistake. Lessons outside of the classroom are much better, they increase your ability and more importantly give you a proper sense of the world around you, they help you know your limits."

After Asahi's introduction of his own name, Shibata replied, "I'd love to say nice to meet you Asahi, but to be honest you're face is the stuff of nightmares, so I'm not to sure it is 'nice' to meet you, but I'm hoping it will be good to know you. You can call me Shibata, or Shibata Nara, or just Nara for that matter, doesn't really matter as long as it's clear that you are talking to me." Shibata turned to the muttering girl, "Oh shit, hope I didn't scare you with all that talk, I know I can be rambly at times and my lack of faith in the system can be... intimidating. Oh yeah, on the topic of names, what is your name, youngin?"



(WC: 637 TWC: 1,156)