Checking out the Facilities

It was still damp and dark when Tenizen entered the training field. It was his first time here and he wasn't sure what he should be expecting. It looked pretty empty at the moment, not a single other person was around. Tenizen still took the practice field furthest from the entrance to avoid company. He was still new to the village and was trying to avoid getting into trouble before his first day at the academy.

He only had three days before classes were to begin. He was determined to utilize every second so that he could be the best in his class. The thought of being around so many young children made him apprehensive He had grown up around nothing but cutthroat adults in his ten years of life. Being stuck in a room with a bunch of sniveling children seemed like a cruel punishment!

He brushed the thought aside and looked around the training area to get his bearings. There were a couple wooden dummies in the middle of a barren field. A few lights were sprinkled around the training area but the rest was just plain dirt with varying patches of grass. On the far side of the pit was a rack filled with multiple types of training weapons. His eyes scanned the rack enthusiastically for a usable sword.

In that moment of searching he truly felt naked and almost defenseless. Without his own sword he felt like a part of himself was missing. He absolutely hated that he had to relinquish his own blade to the village upon joining. It was the first time he could remember truly being unarmed since birth. It was a feeling he didn't like one bit. He was told that if he proved his loyalty and graduated from the academy then his sword would be returned to him. It was meant to be taken as a sign of trust earned. Ten understood their hesitation to let him walk around armed. The village was well aware of the serious list of offenses he had racked up in his short life. It was very logical of the village given the circumstances in which Tenizen was joining.

Just because the young warrior understood didnt mean he was fond of the situation! His arms kept dropping down to his waist to feel for something that wasn't there. He viewed the individual weapons and a feeling of distaste washed over him. He decided to pick up a kendo stick on the weapons rack and swung it back and forth through the air a couple times. The weight was all wrong and it felt like a child's toy in his hands. He flexed it in between his hands to test its durability. It was surprisingly sturdy but could probably only take a couple of good hits before breaking.

He almost put it back but there really wasn't an alternative option for him. He didn't feel comfortable wielding someone else's sword, even if it is just a training sword. A sword and its wielder was a sacred bond that he couldn't take lightly. Until the day comes when he earns his blade back the wooden stick would just have to do.

Ten started his training session with a basic routine of stretches and breathing exercises. Once he felt loose he woul transition into going through some of his basic sword movements. He focused on form and control rather than speed or power. He tried visualizing watching his previous master performing the motions with him to try and imitate his level of skill and technique.

The two had gone through the same regiment training since Tenizen could stand. Even without his master present he could easily see the two performing in his head as if his master was actually present. The old badger was mean as hell, but by far the best swordsman Tenizen had ever come across by a mile.

His master used to always say that mastering one's breathing was the most important aspect to becoming a master swordsman. It was the foundation for most sword techniques and the first step to learning the flame breathing style his master used. Tenizen had been trying to do flame breathing since he could remember but could never get it down. His skill with the blade was exceptional but for some reason he just couldn't progress further. It was something his master pointed out to him time and time again in very painful ways.

One day he would have to face his master in battle and on that day Tenizen is determined to beat him with his own technique. It was the only way he would ever be able to prove that he was actually the best. It was inevitable. It wasn't just his master, the crime lords generals were also many times mightier than your run of the mill criminal. He would most likely have to face them one day also in battle.

As he practiced his speed and ferocity increased with each passing second. It wasn't long before he found himself blitzing all around the training field fighting imaginary enemies. His small frame darted around like a blurr in the early morning light. Sweat began to build up on his skin and the muscles in his hands started to cramp and tighten. His breathing started to get labored and his lungs burned lightly.

Ten was disappointed at how quickly the fatigue was building up. It had been almost a week since he joined up with Kiri. The transition had interfered with his regular training regiment. Until he arrived he had never taken a single day off of training. In just that short time his body had already gone into heavy decline.

I have to step it up if i'm going to be the best! Master would punish me if he saw how weak I am! Wait…. Why are you thinking about that now? Fuck that jerk! You have to get stronger so you can face him! He is going to find me one day. I have to be ready for when that time comes! I refuse to lose! I have to step up my training, no more slacking off! From this point on im giving maximum effort! I will graduate from this academy and use what I learn to kill that god damn bastard! After that I will master every sword style and be the greatest swordsman who ever lived just to say i could! That’s a promise!

With newfound vigor he ramped up the pace of his training. He began dueling the image of his master in his head. The skirmish felt like a very real death match. The fatigue all but vanished from his body with the intensity of his determination to win. Ten could visualize the devastating flame style used and worked tirelessly just to evade the imaginary strikes. He had fought his master everyday since he was a toddler. He had enough real life experience fighting his master that he could accurately create the fight in his head. His master was probably stronger in real life then he was in his head but it was still a good representation.

As the fight went on, Ten's breathing calmed and became more controlled. His brain tuned out everything but the fight in front of him. He quickly found himself in a relaxed state that he had never quite reached before. His movement speed picked up but the energy it tookto wield his weapon felt like almost nothing. He was moving with such efficiency that no energy was wasted in his movements. In between clashes he actually felt like his stamina was slowly recovering. The more he recognized what was happening, the easier it was to harness this new ability. It started to feel natural and instinctual.

The fight progressed for a lot longer than one of their real life fights. Master’s temper was so overwhelming that he would have used his far superior skill to put Ten in his place by now. Master was so skilled that their clashes only lasted a few moments. This imaginary battle let Ten relatively peacefully find his groove. In this enhanced trance he discovered a skill that he didn't know was possible. It was an unexpected but welcomed outcome.

As the battle raged on he subconsciously started letting his chakra flow into the kendo stick. The swishing noise made from the stick grew into a roar as the newly infused blade danced through the air. He weaved in and out as he parried and countered invisible attacks left and right. Tenizen and his fake foe came together and immediately separated again multiple times before finally charging at each other in one final climactic clash.

Ten put all his energy into the attacks. In his mind he was trying to cleave this piece of shit in half. He met his master's downward slash attack with a horizontal strike of his own. Ten didn't realize how much chakra he had incidentally poured into the blade. The air around the wooden sword spontaneously broke into flame with a loud popping sound. The sudden heat surprised Tenizen and he incidentally released his grip on the handle. The blade went harmlessly spinning into the distance before he could deflect his master's strike. The flame that was created had been extinguished as quickly as it had appeared once it left his hand.

Tenizen winced as his body prepared itself to take the strike from his master. It was a fitting consequence for dropping his weapon after all. It took a moment for him to remember that this match was in his head and not real. He felt slightly silly and walked nervously over to his wooden sword to inspect it.

Bits of the wood were charred and there was a big crack in the center that looked like it was caused by a small explosion. Tenizen examined it in attempts to diagnose what happened. He was still new to the inner workings of chakra so it took a minute for his brain to put the pieces together. Out of nowhere the light bulb went off and a big dumb broke out across his face.

Holy shit I think, I somehow put fire chakra into that attack! How did I do that? I have never even used regular chakra let alone fire chakra! Is fire my natural element and that's why it poured into the stick? I remember my dad saying that my mom was from a special clan that could use more types of chakra than most other people. Could that be a part of it? I tried multiple times when fighting my master to mimic his deadly flame breathing but I just couldn't! Maybe I finally had a breakthrough and will be able to do it now with some practice!

WC 1806

Ten was thrilled to keep working. He focused on what it felt like when he was subconsciously pouring chakra into his wooden sword. He wanted to embed that feeling into his body so that he would never forget it. He would replay the make believe fight in his head all the way up until his stick spontaneously combusted. Once there he would rewind the fight in his head and go back to the beginning. This process played on repeat until every movement in that fight was fully broken down and analyzed.

It took a couple hours of this reflection training but eventually Ten started to recognize the start of when his chakra started flowing into the Kendo stick. Once his brain not only recognized the feeling but also understood it better a light switch flipped in his brain. It was like an invisible pocket full of energy was unlocked for him. The better he got at recognizing this energy, the more intense it became until it was impossible not to notice.

So that is what Chakra feels like. It is amazing! I feel like a whole new person. I can tell I am only able to tap into a little bit of it, but even still this is unbelievable! I feel like I could fight a small army right now! No wonder the master was as strong as he is!

Ten could not think of a time in his short life where he had actually been as happy as he was in this moment. His soul burned with determination to master what previously was out of reach for him. He started his next style of training by producing as much chakra as he could. His control over his newly discovered chakra was very poor, each drop created fatigue in his body equivalent to running dozens of kilometers. The more he practiced with chakra, the more the swordsman knew he would spend the entire rest of his life trying to continuously improve this one core skill. Like swordplay, there would always be room for improvement!

Tenizen worked on producing chakra and controlling it all through the day. By the time he made it to lunch, the chakra could be produced throughout his entire body nearly instinctively.  It got to the point he could control how much he produced at any given time reflexively with little to no thought. He had made great progress since he first had his breakthrough earlier in the day. For some reason he still struggled to actually send the chakra out of his body back into the wooden sword. No matter how much chakra he made, It was like an invisible wall around his hands prevented it from escaping.

The young swordsman grew irritated that he couldn't properly infuse his weapon. He did it instinctively the first time but the more he tried the less successful he was. He was angry that he couldn't replicate it again but in a strange way he was even more impressed and equally confused as to how he was able to do it earlier! The only honest truth he came upon is that his control over chakra was just not high enough yet. Frustrated, he decided that  control over his chakra would be more beneficial to him at this point than the actual amount he could produce.

With a new understanding of how to proceed, Tenizen resumed his trance-like state of meditation. Now that Ten could feel the chakra in his body, it was nearly impossible not to notice it. To him it felt like an eternal hum that was just always flowing through his body now.

As he worked on quickly raising his chakra, he had the bright idea of trying to work on suppressing his chakra and then immediately raise it back up as quickly as he could to gain better control.  This rapid switching back and forth was incredibly taxing on the kid's body. The amount of chakra he wasted due to poor control was ridiculous. Over time progress could be seen.

Tenizen’s chakra control was gradually increasing. He kept trying to make his chakra reach new high and lows. His skill had improved so much that he could now easily produce twice as much chakra as when he started. What was even cooler was that Ten stumbled across something equally as cool! He was now able to suppress his chakra so low that it was virtually non-existent. He would need a sensory ninja to verify, but he was confident most people wouldn't be able to feel his chakra now naturally.

As the sun started to set, it got to the point where Ten was thoroughly exhausted from chakra expenditure. His muscles cramped and pulsed violently  in a way they never had before. His muscles were sore and every part of him hurt from exhaustion. He tried to keep pushing through it but he hit his limit and was forced to stop. While sitting cross legged on the practice field he the young swordsman found himself nodding out.

Wc 841

Like most nights, Ten was haunted by nightmares of his past. The bloodied and pained faces of the lives he had taken before joining the village tormented him. The multiples of different people stood around him in a circle, their bloodied bodies falling apart from the wounds Ten had given them. The large group slowly approached to close in the circle around him, each zombie figure pointing a judging finger of damnation at the child murderer. The question “Why did you kill us Tenizen?” echoed like a haunting chorus of cries and wails that were truly fitting of the dead. The ring of sins past began to close in on him leaving the boy no way to escape. They pulled at his clothes and body. Ten screamed hysterically as the mob pulled him violently to the ground.. Just when he felt like he was going to be buried alive by the corpses, he thankfully jolted awake from his nightmare!

What the fuck? Will it be the same dream every night for the rest of my life?

Sweat rolled down his forehead and his breathing was hoarse and ragged. His eyes felt moist and on the verge of shedding tears. It took a moment to process the extent of the heavy emotions he had just felt. Feelings in general were not a strong suit of hisRather than feeling sad or guilty about killing all those people, the boy just felt ANGRY!

He was angry that he was forced to be a tool that breeds nothing but sorrow and despair, he is and would forever be tainted with DEATH! He put much thought into this and had decided a few years ago that he never really had much of a choice in any of those killings, at least…not really! He was forced to kill to survive! His evil master was the one to truly blame for all the heinous acts! He was the one who turned an innocent child into a ruthless killing machine and that is the worst crime of them all!

I will make that bastard pay for what he did! If it's the last thing I do I will kill him and anybody who tries to stop me! I promise I won't let him get away with what he took from me! Revenge will be mine one day!

Ten took to his feet and picked his kendo stick up again with a renewed sense of vigor. He conjured up the image of his master once again in his mind. They quickly took their stances and prepared to pick up where they had left off in their previous duel. The mammoth man pointed his glowing red sword at Tenizen. His hulking frame towered poor tiny little Ten. The two warriors couldn't be more opposite in height and weight. If his master was actually here the two of them fighting would be downright comical to anybody watching.

Without a word the two swordsmen blitzed each other violently. Ten let all his anger and frustrations out in each strike he took. The emotions flooding through him felt so good to release in his attacks. There was a raw ecstacy in letting his feelings pour out. It wasn't just blind fury he was unleashing, there was so much more to it the just that! There was a method to his madness that naturally allowed him to fight with his entire being.

During this bout Ten perfectly applied all aspects of what he had learned in today's training. Ten would keep his chakra fully suppressed right up until the moment of his attack. He would then let it explode violently throughout his body at precise moments to maximize its efficiency. This allowed him powerful attacks and the ability to conserve and recover energy between attacks. When he truly got lost in the battle something became unlocked in his body! That subconscious feeling he had of accidentally feeding chakra into his became recognizable. When he was doing it this morning he hadn't realized what he was doing, now he recognized what was happening and was able to will it into existence without even really trying.

As the battle raged on, Ten's ability to infuse his chakra into the wooden blade got better by the second. It already started to feel like it was second nature to him. He was just naturally meant to be a swordsman. The differences between normal type chakra and Katon chakra became more distinguishable and clear to the aspiring Kiri shinobi. Each strike against his foe sharpened his understanding of chakra in general. After a few intense imaginary clashes with his mortal enemy, switching between the two variations became as effortless as breathing.

Ten took to his feet and picked his kendo stick up again with a renewed sense of vigor. He conjured up the image of his master once again in his mind. They quickly took their stances and prepared to pick up where they had left off in their previous duel. The mammoth man pointed his glowing red sword at Tenizen. His hulking frame towered poor tiny little Ten. The two warriors couldn't be more opposite in height and weight. If his master was actually here the two of them fighting would be downright comical to anybody watching.

Without a word the two swordsmen blitzed each other violently. Ten let all his anger and frustrations out in each strike he took. The emotions flooding through him felt so good to release in his attacks. It wasn't just blind fury he was unleashing, there was so much more to it than just that. There was a method to his madness that naturally allowed him to fight with his entire being.

During this bout Ten perfectly applied all aspects of what he had learned in today's training. Ten would keep his chakra fully suppressed right up until the moment of his attack. He would then let it explode violently throughout his body at precise moments to maximize its efficiency. As he got lost in the battle that subconscious feeling from earlier this morning became noticeable. When he was accidentally pouring chakra into his blade this morning he hadn't realized that he was doing it subconsciously. Only now he recognized what was happening and was able to will it into existence without even really trying.

The mock battle continued all through the night. Tenizen only paused when the wooden stick he was holding snapped from being burned repeatedly from the fire chakra and swung around wildly. The sun finally appeared and with recent events he was finally forced to take a break. He was on day two of his training, tomorrow he would have to start his first day at the academy. It would probably be best to go home and get adequate rest before then. He was completely exhausted at the moment. If he pushed any further he wouldn't be at the top of his game on the first day.

Ten went to leave when his stomach started rumbling. He had some rice and pork he brought with him the previous day that he was able to cook up. He had been so caught up in his training that he forgot to make dinner the previous night. He decided he would make the food here so that he could eat faster. Tenizen looked around for some wood to burn and found a few scraps hidden behind the weapons rack. A moment later he had himself a nice little pile ready to cook on.

Tenizen grabbed the two halves of his Kendo stick and started to rub them together. With zero effort he flooded the two halves with fire chakra. Within seconds a spark lit the wood fully ablaze. Ten’s mouth watered with anticipation as he started making his meal. As he prepared the food he couldn't help but get a glimpse of his hands. They were all chakra burned and pulsing in discomfort. When he examined the rest of his body he realized it was the same all over. Ten couldn't help but grin. The sick side of him was sad to see himself hurt, it meant he was improving. It was uncommon for him not to be covered in various injuries.

Tenizen ate his meal in silence and then cleaned up his mess. He prepared to go home and even started walking towards the entrance when he found himself frozen in place. It was at that moment that he decided internally that he needed to stay. If he wanted to be the best then he would have to train harder than anybody had ever trained before. Calling it just because he was tired was what a weak person would do. Tenizen refused to be weak!

I am not done yet!



WC 1461

Tenizen ignored the screaming resistance from his movements. Fighting a mock battle all through the previous night really took it out of him. It also didn't help that he was super full from just eating lunch. Every part of his body wanted to quit at this point but he just had to keep pushing forward. Mentally he was motivated to want to keep going. The progress he had made over the last two and half days was very impressive. In that short time he fully learned how to produce and utilize chakra, suppress his chakra, infuse his weapon with chakra, and all this training had to be good for his stamina.

He felt like he could fight for days on end now after he got a good night's rest! It is clear that he has changed since entering this training field. He just felt like a much more capable fighter now. Tenizen couldn’t wait to test improvement against actual people. The thought of actual combat gave him a quick second wind and one final spurt of energy to continue training with. When he got to the academy tomorrow he would finally be able to scout some good competition and see what being a ninja was really all about. Hopefully someone there could push him and really give him a good challenge. He hadn’t met anybody around his age that could best him yet, but he had also never been surrounded by ninjas before!

Tenizen continued to swing his training sword around at high speed while imagining what it must be like to be a ninja. He wondered just how much different it was going to be then being an assassin. These random thoughts filled up the last part of this training session.  A few times while training he would get distracted or his exhausted legs would give out on him causing him to eat shit. He was now covered head to toe in dirt from constantly kicking it up around him and rolling in it. His knees and elbows were scuffed and scabbed while his hands were so stiff he couldnt reven elease his sword if he wanted to at this point.

When the sun sank below the horizon Tenizen knew it was time to call it. He put his training sword back and slowly began to shuffle out with his sword still clutched. As he left the facility he couldnt help but yawn and fight back the sleep. It had been a long time since lunch and dinner was now an absolute must at this point. Tenizen couldn't wait to wash all the grime off of himself and get to sleep in a bed again.
[exit]

WC: 446 TWC:4554

Claims:

Ten wrote:
[exit]

WC: 446 TWC:4554

Claims:

Approved!