Extra Credit Training!

Looking at the surrounding field in awe, Wynne wondered what she had gotten herself into. The day had started simple, with her going to class as normal. Performing her best as she usually did. While some of her classmates slacked off or slept, she took notes and prepared for the future where this knowledge would inevitably help her survive. If her classmates wanted to die because they didn’t want to pay attention then so be it, that was their prerogative. She wasn’t even sure why they were even in this class to begin with if that was the case. Perhaps their parents had forced them here?

All in all, the class was normal. Nothing too special with most of the lessons being theoretical. So while it was understanding why some of the students dozed off, it didn’t mean that they should! They should take it as training for when they would eventually have to go on missions just as boring as this! Imagine dozing off and waking up to a kunai to her neck. Preposterous! Thankfully after a few more hours of sitting in an uncomfortable wooden chair, Wynne’s teacher had mentioned some extra credit work. And while usually it was just some random homework assignment, this time it was at some sort of training grounds. It was all optional, so if the slackers in class didn’t want to do it, they didn’t have to. And judging from the grins on their faces, it seemed that they were quite happy with such an arrangement.

Raising her hand to volunteer to go, Wynne waited calmly for the majority of her class to leave before following behind her teacher. While she was slightly surprised that only a few students chose to stay behind, it kind of made sense. Quite a few of her classmates had better resources back at home in their clan compounds, so why would they stay late after class for such a thing? Wynne herself had no such thing to rely upon, therefore she would take such opportunities such as this whenever she could. And she assumed the other few kids around her were in the same situation as her. Or they were just curious. Either way it mattered not.

Time went by quickly as the small group traveled to Kirigakure’s state of the art training center. It was daunting to look at from a distance, looming like some sort of sinister monster, waiting to pick her up and devour her. Hopefully the feeling would fade away once she got closer. But judging from the pit in her stomach, Wynne doubted that would be the case. The ground below was stiff and cleared of any grass, more than likely for any techniques or shenanigans that ninjas would get up too. Judging from what else she could see nearby, there were quite a variety of things such as punch machines, testing dummies, treadmills, and other such various equipment. Unfortunately her instructor took a sharp turn right before they reached them and began to head in a different direction. Were they not heading towards those exciting contraptions in the corner?

“Alright listen up kiddos, we’re gonna be starting with some training targets first. This is basically an extra optional course to get you guys ahead of the curve. I want to see who had drive in my class to get ahead as ninja. It doesn’t matter what clan you’re in, how good you currently are or anything else. Hard work can get you far in life and I’m here to show you how.” Staring at each  of his students seriously, the blue haired instructor took out a scroll and unsealed the items inside with a pop. As the small trail of smoke began to disappear, four bags of kunai and shuriken were revealed. Handing them out to the awaiting students, the instructor pointed out towards the targets before resuming his speech.

“Don’t throw at the target yet or all you’ll do is miss. Now the first thing you might be thinking is why would I need to learn this. I’m specializing in something else. Here’s the thing, no matter what you’re specializing in, having at least some sort of basic aim is a necessity as a ninja. Without it you might as well kill yourself now. That’s just the sad truth of things. Plus if you have a little poison, all you need to do is nick your opponent and you can win your fight. You don’t even need that decent of aim at that point.” Nodding her head in agreement, Wynne had to admit that her teacher had a point. Although she planned on specializing in weapons, so she was going to focus on this lesson regardless to begin with. Poisoning her stuff was an interesting tactic, and it was something she would have to keep in mind. She doubted she’d be able to get her hands on any type of stuff like that anytime soon though, as people tended to not trust academy students with stuff like that.

The next few minutes were spent with the teacher going over the proper stance to hold the shuriken and how to throw it. While Wynne’s first throw hit the target, that was really all she could say about it. It was a good thing she had more than one, because she definitely needed to practice her aim. Which was what she did for the next twenty minutes. Plink. Plank. Plunk. As the metal constantly thudded against wood, the short kunoichi focused on getting her stance and aim right. The overall gist of how to do it wasn’t hard for her to grasp, she just needed to be able to do it quickly. In a fight she wouldn’t have time to line up the perfect stance, she’d be killed way before being able to do that. Thus she needed to move faster. She needed to make her body memorize these movements. Make all of this second nature to her. It would take time, but she was sure she could do it. Practice makes perfect.

After the twenty minutes were up, the group went to the next weapon they had, the kunai. Which was a lot different to wield than the shuriken. With the shuriken you had to hold it in a certain way to avoid the pointy ends on the outside, with the kunai, you could just hold it like a knife. At least when you wanted to use it in melee. If you wanted to throw it, you needed to wield it differently. Therefore when you used the weapon in combat, quite a bit of thought went into wielding the weapon. Sure some of the other students could just also keep the kunai in a throwing stance and not have to worry about stuff like this, but Wynne was not one of those people. These weapons would be her lifeline in her battles against enemy ninja, so knowing the ins and outs of how to use them were of the utmost importance. Therefore she would try her best to learn them.

Kunai were also weirdly heavy. That or Wynne was just weak. She wasn’t sure which one it was yet. The other students around her were struggling slightly as well but it didn’t seem to have an effect on their instructor. Perhaps it was something you got used to over time? Either way, throwing the kunai felt satisfying. Reeling her arm backing and piercing her target was truly a feeling like no other. But just like shuriken, her aim with kunai needed work as well. Which led to another problem. Where exactly was she supposed to get tools like these? The only reason the group had these weaponry was because their teacher had given them to the group, so naturally the only way they could train with them was in these types of situations. The only kunai she had at home were rubber ones and they definitely did not feel the same. Not in the slightest. And she had a feeling that if she started training with them, they might even make her aim worse! It was something to think about.

Another twenty minutes went by peppering the targets with kunai before their instructor called the group back to him. Clapping his hands to make sure their attention was all on him, the man began to speak in a boisterous tone. “Alrighty yall’s aim still sucks but that’s to be expected. Figure out how to work on it on your own cause you’re not bringing the kunai with you. Next up is working on your body. I know everyone saw those fancy machines over yonder but frankly I don’t think yall are ready for such a thing yet, therefore you won’t be using it, so follow me.” As their teacher collected their pouches and resealed it, Wynne followed the man with a small frown. They weren’t ready for a treadmill? What kinda bullshit reasoning was that? It wasn’t like the treadmill could attack them or something, so why couldn’t they use it? Still there wasn’t much she could do but follow her teacher. He had to have a valid reason for such a decision right?

The first few minutes of the jog weren’t that hard, but then her teacher began to slowly increase his speed. He also didn’t stop, continuing a steady pace that worked up a constant sweat from the group of children following behind. It started with a tingle, that then transformed into an ache, then into a pain that made Wynne wish she could just collapse into a sweaty lump of sadness. But seeing as how nobody else was stopping, neither would she. She’d keep going, her muscles were growing stronger, bit by bit. Ironically she knew of this because this was something they went over in class earlier today. Her teacher probably went over this specifically for this reason, so that everyone knew the reasoning for why they were doing what they were doing.

The jogging around the field took quite a bit of time, mostly because the field was enormous. This was more than likely because it needed to be able to house a large amount of ninja inside. Wynne and her group weren’t the only people here, but since the field was so large, they could train in here without bothering other people, which was quite convenient. No doubt purposely planned by whoever built this place of course. It would suck to train in a location that was cramped after all. The soreness in her legs was really starting to bother her, but before it could become too much of a problem, her teacher spoke up. “Alrighty, five more minutes and we can take a break. Everyone’s been doing great so far, keep up the great work.” Nodding her head in silence, Wynne kept her gaze straight ahead. She was too out of breath to get a verbal response, so a nod was all she could do. Five minutes seemed like quite the insurmountable task, but now that the end was in sight, she was sure she could push her body to the limit. And push she did, since as soon as the five minute mark arrived, she collapsed to the ground with the rest of her peers in a pile of sweaty bodies, wondering if it would all be worth it in the end. It would, but she was just being melodramatic for the time being.

Reaching into his bag and pulling out another scroll, Wynne’s teacher unsealed some water bottles in a puff of smoke and handed them out to his dehydrated students. Taking a sip of the delicious cold beverage, Wynne stared at her teacher curiously. This wasn’t the first time she had seen the man use Fuinjutsu, and she doubted it would be the last. It seemed quite convenient to have. It could store weapons and food, things that he would usually have to keep in a backpack. Something that would normally slow him down, due to how large such a thing normally was. Since she would have to bring items like that with her in the future, she wondered if she should look into such things herself. She didn’t know the first thing about sealing, but she could always learn. But first she would have to get through this lesson!

Wynne and the rest of her compatriots got a fifteen minute break which she used to rest her tired and exhausted body. Her arms were tired from all the throwing she had done an hour or so ago while her legs burned from the jogging she had just done. And although all this pain she felt was bad, she knew it would be even worse tomorrow. It was weird, but that was just how the human body worked. Still she needed to get used to it while she could, as this would be the norm for her for the foreseeable future. Most ninja did this, and if she wanted to be one of them, then she needed to do the same. Such was the way of things.

“All righty, break time is up. Everyone gather around and we can begin the next lesson.” Letting out a sigh, Wynne pulled her limp body up and crawled towards her teacher. It had only felt like seconds since she had sat down, and here she was rising up again. But she did as she was told like the rest of her classmates. She had volunteered for this after all. It wouldn’t do to start being rebellious now. “Since we worked on your leg muscles, now we’re going to work on your arm muscles. And to do that we’re actually going to use some of those fancy machines I said you weren’t going to touch. So lucky you! Follow me.” As her teacher began a slow and steady pace to the front of the training grounds they were in, Wynne let out a sigh. As much as she liked her instructor, his personality left much to be desired. Still an exotic instructor was better than no instructor.

Moving one painful step after another, Wynne pushed her body to the limit until she arrived at her new destination. Which turned out to be in front of some sort of weight lifting machine. Normally she’d be depressed to be put in front of something so daunting at her current energy levels, but at least she wouldn’t have to move her legs. And she would take small mercies where she could. Even if they weren’t that impressive. As her teacher walked next to the machine and patted its side with satisfaction, Wynne shook her head in exasperation. She had a feeling this next exercise was going to be as challenging as the last one.  

“There’s plenty of machines to go around so pick one after I’m done speaking for yourself. These next set of exercises will work on your strength which will help you in your day to day life. It will also help you with throwing Kunai as you’ll be able to throw the weapons faster and stronger. Plus alot of other things as well. More strength is always nice to have, no matter what you plan on doing.” The next few minutes were then spent discussing what type of exercises the group would be doing. The weight each of them would be lifting would differ as well, as each of them were different. Gender, height, prior strength all played a factor in how much their current lifting standing was. In the future they might be able to lift the same weight, but for now each of them would be lifting their own custom weights tailored just for them. It was a unique approach, and one that Wynne didn’t mind. She’d hate to start at a weight that was too much for her and damage her muscles. Too little of a weight would be just as damaging, just to her time instead of her body. Thankfully her teacher was experienced and knew just the right balance of what to do, so she didn’t have to go through any of this.

The exercises were simple yet challenging. Push here and pull there. The first few minutes she had to wait for her other students to go while the instructor watched them. Most likely to make sure they one, did them right and two, didn’t hurt themselves doing it. For exercises like these getting the form down was just as important as doing the rep. Something her teacher was beating into her head. Either do it right, or don’t do it at all. A few times Wynne wasn’t able to complete the set, but according to her teacher that was normal for a beginner. All she had to do was rest up for a few minutes before trying again. Form first and then focus on getting the actual required number of down.

It didn’t take long until the muscles in her arm burned just as harshly as the ones in her leg. It was clear to Wynne why this course was optional as the majority of her classmates would have been unable to do 90% of the tasks her teacher had presented today. Sure they had been insightful and helpful, but they were also miles ahead of anything they had learned in class. Why this was the case she knew not? Just what was her teacher training this current group for? There were only three other students besides her, so it was a small group. And the tasks they were doing were quite intensive, training only reserved for the most dedicated. It wasn’t anything special, as it was the most basic training, yet they had still been giving a tour of Kirigakure’s special facility, something most people didn’t really have an opportunity to train at. At least not academy students. And they had to have the drive to even be here. Tons of people had this opportunity, and yet only four people seized it. Just what was waiting for them at the end?

“Fifteen minute rest break again. Then we move on to the next exercise.” Reclining against her seat, Wynne had to wonder how much more was left. To her it felt like all she had been doing was working her body. Surely she had no more muscles to work on? She had already worked on her arms and legs, and while she did have more muscles on her body, they didn’t need training, right? Closing her eyes and basking in the cool breeze that was flowing through the training grounds, Wynne enjoyed the relative peace with the rest of her group. The only sounds nearby were the low volume pants and groans from the other students, as they were too tired to do anything else. Any energy they had was sapped long ago from the previous exercises.

Halfway through the break, their teacher gave them some more water while instructing them on the importance of staying hydrated. Working hard was great, but working too hard was not. Overworking was counterproductive so you needed to find a balance. Take breaks and take care of your body. Hence the water. Downing the water in several gulps, Wynne thanks her teacher for his kindness before returning to her rest. She only had a limited time to appreciate it and she had a feeling it would be gone in a blink of an eye. And sure enough, after a few more minutes of cloud watching it was when her teacher announced that their break was over. Back to work.

“Follow me, we’re working with the testing dummies for this next exercise.” The testing dummies that were mentioned were humanoid dolls that kind of resembled puppets. They also didn’t look that pleasant to hit, but maybe that was the point? Wynne wasn’t exactly sure, but there were also different types, so maybe it depended on what type of dummy you were going for? They didn’t look too realistic but if the whole point of their existence was for people to smack at them all day then it made sense that their focus wouldn’t be on believability. Plus Wynne wasn’t an expert on dummy creation, so she couldn’t say too much about it. For all she knew, it was a masterpiece of dummykind. She doubted it, but it could be.

“I’m going to show you the basic academy stance and you can practice on one of the nearby dummies. You're still going to be a little sore from the previous exercises, but that’s life in general so deal with it. We already read about the stances in class but that was theoretical. There’s a big difference between reading something and actually doing it.” Once he finished speaking, Wynne’s teacher walked in front of the group and showed them the basic stance all of them needed to be in. Once they all saw it and picked out a dummy, he allowed them to move in front of it before continuing his speech. “Now the academy style is pretty basic and simple, but that’s a good thing for you guys since that is exactly what you are. Makes it easy for you to learn. Now copy exactly what I do and perform it on the dummy in front of you.”

Watching her instructor perform a move she had only read about, Wynne looked down at her arm for a moment before doing the same move on the dummy in front of her. It was a simple thrust with her arm, one that focused on speed and was meant to catch her opponent off guard. She couldn’t really tell if it worked exactly because her target was a dummy, but judging from the way the mannequin shuddered, it seemed her blow was successful. Although the attack was a little off. Which meant she needed to try the move again, but this time adjust her stance slightly as her legwork was a little off. One wrong movement and while the whole thing wouldn’t necessarily crumble, it would still mess things up slightly.

The next hour was spent with her instructor going over a variety of movements and different stances for the group to perform and memorize. The task proved to be quite arduous and challenging due to a myriad of reasons. One was because of her aching muscles. There was only so much her body could take, and she was reaching her limit. Running, lifting weights, and then punching a dummy was asking a lot. The rest breaks were nice, but it was still quite a bit for her body to take. She might get used to this type of thing in a few days or so, but for now she was struggling.

The other reasons included where to strike and where she needed to be in order to strike. She needed to keep both of these situations in mind in order to be most effective. While she didn’t have to have the whole entire body memorized, knowing the gist of where the organs were would only help her, so that was something she needed to put down for the future. Her footwork and positioning also needed work, something she planned to improve upon. Thankfully after doing these stances, there was no more to do, as the day was coming to an end. However this would not be the last of these such days, and if any of the students wanted to do more of these types of lessons, then they were more than welcome too. And Wynne thought that she might. Sure it had been a lot of pain, but it had been worth it. She had improved way more drastically today than she had all year at the academy which said a lot. Imagine what would happen the more time she spent doing this. Imagine just how much her skills would improve. How much she would grow. How much stronger she would become. She could hardly wait for the next lesson.

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TWC: 4007
OOC: Training in the Military Training Facility for a 20% reduced word count cost bringing my total word count cost from 5000 words to 4000 words for 50 stats.
Stats Claimed:
Vigor: 10 > 20
Chakra: 5 > 15
Speed: 20 > 40
Strength: 15 > 25

Approved. -Wan