Shizune wanted a child, badly. Oh, she'd dated a handful of times since returning to Konoha, but she knew what they'd seen in her: married to the job. Genma had even gone so far as to suggest her relationship with Tsunade more literally fit that phrase, but when asked to say it again he quickly and quietly left Ramen Ichiraku. To be fair though, there was no one like Tsunade; Shizune guessed that on some level she wanted someone like her, just... male.
Probably shouldn't have threatened to cut him while I was holding a chopstick. But I think I deserve a Jules Winfield moment every now and then... Thought Shizune, as she studied the textbook. As a medic nin the neuromuscular system was one of her strong points, and the diagram on the pelvic bone of mammalian quadrupeds was very insightful. Motion. That was what she was aiming for, fluidity and grace and power. She thought of the Nara clan's deer, how dainty they seemed. No, not a fragile elegance, she wanted something that hand some oomph behind it. Hmm, I wonder who I'd have to take to bed to get a child like that. I'm on the slim side myself, so maybe... Naruto? Yeah, that radiance he has about his life force, that would be so wonderful. Little miss Pinkie Pie would have t- I mean, this is from a purely genetic standpoint. Theoretically he'd be a good candidate. Ahem. Hmm, the correlation between the with and stride length... then limb length. Can't forget paws- hold on, let me write that down first- okay, paws. Three, four... five on the front, four in the back... yes, it's all coming together now...! Lightning flashed in the background as Shizune held her notes up in triumph.
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The torches illuminated the dark cavern. Shizune thought it really could have been brighter; she felt like the leader of some evil cult as she looked over the scene, and the hooded prayer robe definitely wasn't helping. The three circles had been drawn, the sealing language describing the mind, body, and spirit. Alright, time to step in. Her shakujo jingled as she walked forwards into the center circle, a steady rhythm like a heartbeat. The tags were in place- while Shizune hadn't quite been able to form the Yin Seal, she could certainly seal away chakra by more normal methods. She would need every bit of the power she'd sealed away for the last couple months, and all her own. Through Yin Release she would create the form, and with Yang Release give it life- hopefully. It struck Shizune as somewhat ironic that with Yin, the spirit, she would be creating the body, and that with Yang, she would be giving it life and a spirit.
Now, so to speak, she had stepped off into the deep end. This had been done before, but so long ago the act had faded into myth. For all intents and purposes Shizune would be the first, but she was not fazed by the task at hand. She came to a stop in the middle of the inner circle, and threw back her hood. Shizune banged the staff on the ground three times and rattled the rings, then sat down in the Lotus position, and laid the staff across her legs. Out, from within! The seals on the tags in the inner circle were undone, and the chakra came flooding in. It was redirected through her, taking on the essence of Yin Release and out. From the inside out Shizune "saw" her creation taking shape, expanding from the smallest shred of D.N.A. into cells and bones, muscles and flesh and organs fading into being. Skin and fur wrapped around the frame, and as the rush of energy from the inner circles chakra tags dwindled the body became complete. Taking up the staff, its bottom was rapped against the cold floor thrice, and the rings shaken. "Hah!" The middle ring of tags was unsealed, and the much larger flow of energy filled up Shizune's mind. She was now preparing the body to be brought to life; giving it the ability to grow and thrive, those innate qualities between flesh and spirit. This was worked from the outside in, wrapping around and permeating and fusing the body until it reached down past the D.N.A. and pooled inside the frame. The vast flow of chakra ceasing, Shizune opened her eyes and walked forwards. The body was there, as she had hoped it would be. Rapping the staff against the floor three more times and shook it's rings, and unsealed the outer circle of tags. By design the energy came in slower, so that she would be able to give it the properties of Yang Release. Her finger was stretched out to touch the chest of the body, and she focused it into the flesh and bones, not from within or without but all at once. The chakra grew warmer and stronger, resonating with the body like two musical notes. Finding their harmony, the notes grew closer, and became one. "Awaken!" As the rush of chakra suddenly increased and threatened to overhelm her Shizune struck the butt of the staff on the floor three times and shook the staff's rings, shifting her focus towards being and letting the chakra flow through her freely. With a flash of light the flow ceased, and Shizune blinked. She felt faint and weak from the intense focus of her Yang Release, and let her staff fall to the ground. She felt she was moments away from losing consciousness, and curled up against her creation, ready to go to sleep. There was a soft breath on the back of her neck, and her eyes closed for a moment- then flew wide open.
"You, you're- you're alive!" The creature cocked its head at her, and Shizune smiled. There it was, alive and breathing: it's head and ears perfectly between deer and ferret, not quite as slender as the former's and the ears not as rounded as the latter's. The beast had a deer's slender neck and body, and while its limbs were still slim and graceful they were more weasel than deer, ending in paws, and not hooves. Its long furry tail curled down around its legs, the tip flicking back and forth. It didn't look put together as Shizune had feared, but natural- she was almost certain she'd seen an animal like this before. She ran her fingers through its creamy white fur, stroking its neck. Though a gender had not been part of the plan, to Shizune the bright inquisitive look in the eyes of her child seemed very male. A simple name... "Hello, Tenma. My name is Shizune." The questioning look continued. "I... I'm your mother. You're safe here, don't worry." Shizune leaned down to hug Tenma, tears starting to leak out of the corners of her eyes. Tenma drew her in with his neck, the two snuggling close.
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"Here we are!" Shizune gestured to the edge of the practice field. "Let's see if we can sneak up on anyone training..." Tenma followed her through the edge of the trees, and soon nudged her with his head, and pointed to their left. "Over there? Okay, let's go..." Tenma led the way this time, silently weaving amongst the trees. He stopped abruptly and held his tail out in front of her, and through the trees Shizune could see someone on a pullup bar in the clearing. Inching closer she could see they were a female, hanging by their legs and doing situps while clutching a large rock to their chest. "She's strong, Tenma. See how quickly and smoothly she goes up and down? She's done this many times before, and she puts a lot of work into being strong..." Tenma nodded; something which Shizune was surprised he'd already picked up on. Doesn't look familiar, but that jacket hanging on the balancing post next to her... that's... she's a Kenko. Hmm. I think it'd be good for Tenma to meet a Kenko, to help him understand health. There! She's dropped the rock. "Let's go say hello, Tenma." They walked out from the trees, and the kunoichi immediately turned to look. "Hi!"
"Uh, hey," She said, wiping her brow with her wrist wraps. She was dripping with sweat, her straight hair hanging limp. "You're the Hokage's assistant, aren't you?"
"Yes. My name's Shizune, and this is Tenma."
"Nice to meet you Shizune, and Tenma. I'm Keiko Kenko." Keiko gave a tired smile, and glanced at Tenma.
"Tenma is my son; I've been showing him around Konoha for the last few days."
"Son?"
"Not in the more normal sense, but I did create him." Shizune cleared her throat, and continued. "So miss Kenko, could you tell Tenma here about how you exercise?"
Keiko shrugged. "Sure. So, Tenma, when I first get out here I warm up with a hundred jumping jacks and pushups." Keiko caught a look from Shizune, and demonstrated them quickly. "Those are two of the best and simplest exercises, good for getting your blood pumping. After I do those, I get started with my rocks. This one here-" Keiko picked up the rock she'd used a moment ago- "I usually leave on the balance post, and do some vertical presses with it." Heaving the rock up, Keiko caught it and then pushed it up over her head. "I usually do that for a few minutes, then move on to squats." Keiko took them over to the other end of the clearing, saying, "Most of the ninja I know use iron weights, dumbells. I prefer rocks because there's no easy grip, so you work out muscles you wouldn't get to with a dumbell. Now this rock," Said Keiko, slapping a boulder, "Is too big for me to lift normally. So I dug a trench under it and carved out some handholds, so I can use it for squats."
"What muscles do squats involve?" Shizune said.
"If you're doing them right, they work a whole bunch of different groups; legs, your back, your core, shoulders, really most of everything you'd want to get stronger."
"And how important is that?"
"Well, all the muscle groups depend on each other, you'd be imbalanced if you just work on your arms, for example. A balanced body's a strong one." Shizune nodded, and Keiko continued. So after I'm done here I go back over to the pullup bar..." Leading the way, Keiko briskly walked over, and stooped behind the balance post for a second. "I put on this little weighted vest, and go up," Keiko sprang up and grabbed the bar, then leaned back until her body was horizontal, and brought her legs up. "Then move my legs side to side." The movement reminded Shizune of a metronome, and after a few repetitions Keiko dropped her legs down. "Right after those, I pick the rock up with my legs, like this." Keiko brough up her knees, then lifted her calves until they were level with the ground. "And then after those, I do my situps, which I guess you saw me doing a minute ago." Shizune nodded for her to continue, and Keiko said, "I do these exercises with the rock and pullup bar to have a strong core. Since all your limbs are connected to your torso, having a strong core is the most important thing for fitness."
"Yes. So," Shizune asked, looking at Tenma, "As a ninja, how does chakra affect your strength and fitness?"
"Tenma's going to be a ninja?"
"I hadn't planned on it, I just want him to understand ninja, and how they work."
"Hmm... well, since your chakra is the product of your spirit and your body, having very little chakra left will leave you weak. On the other hand, if your chakra is at a good amount it will flow through the chakra pathway system, and give strength to your limbs- more than you would have with just pure physical strength. Does... that make sense?" Tenma nodded, and stepped a little closer to Keiko. He looked up to her, and hesitantly she reached out to stroke his neck.
Shizune smiled, and after a few moments quietly asked, "So, what's strength to you, personally?"
"Well," Keiko said, "Being from the Kenko clan, it's everything. It's what people expect from us, and it's what we want to give to the village as ninja: being as strong as we can. And me... I've been trying to model myself after Lady Tsunade, her strength and taijutsu. I've been training with the Ascension Jutsu nearly every day since I learned it-"
"But isn't that dangerous?"
"No, actually. It's like any other kind of exercise, your body can get used to it. It's only dangerous if you don't regularly train with it, or completely convert your Yin and go into a mindless frenzy like everyone else who uses it does."
If she really does train with it daily... "If you don't mind, I'd like to see it."
"Fine, I was about to start training with it anyways." Wiping her brow again, Keiko took a deep breath and closed her eyes She clapped her hands, and exhaling steady there was a slight rustling sound. Her veins stood out more than before, but there were no other easily detected signs. "Alright," She said, leaning down and picking up the rock. "Tenma, see if you can run ahead of the rock!" With a small grunt Keiko hurled the large rock into the air and down to the other end, the rock sailing through the air at a surprising speed. Tenma took off after it bounding, building up speed and then almost catching up to the rock. Keiko ran after him, getting there with only six steps. Easily picking up the rock, she threw it back towards the pullup bar, even faster than before. Tenma tore up the turf trying to catch up, and again almost did so, despite the large rock being thrown faster than the last time. Keiko actually ran ahead of him, standing next to Shizune and catching the rock. "Not bad, Tenma. You'll be pretty fast when you're grown up, I bet." Keiko smiled at Shizune and flipped her hair over her shoulder. Tenma gave a soft bark, and Keiko picked up the rock again...