Chapter Ten

The next morning when the girls arrived at the classroom, they found that Hayato had taped a note to the door, telling them that class would be outside in the back practice yard today. Neither of them really knew where that was, but generally going down and towards the back they eventually found it. It was a wide open yard, the fence around the Academy marking the perimeter with a gate for a back entrance as well. There were several trees and practice dummies, presumably for taijutsu practice. The rising sun was just visible over the gate, giving the entire area a warm, golden glow – Peaceful. That, however, was not anything like Ayame was feeling.

"Hayato-sensei, if we're out here, that means we're going to be practicing hitting stuff, right?!" the blue haired girl cheered energetically. Hoshiko rubbed her temples and pinched her nose. She'd forgotten her Dr. Pepper.

Hayato smiled. "Well, it's more complicated than that, but in a basic sense... Yes."

"WOOHOO!" Ayame yell soon turned into a yelp as Hoshiko hit her on the head.

"OH SHUT UP! It's TOO DAMN EARLY TO BE YELLING."

Ayame hid behind Hayato, sulking for a minute before looking up at him and commenting, "She doesn't need any practice."

"Grrrr...."

Hoshiko growled walked towards her, but this time Hayato laughed and held them apart. "Alright, alright. Save the energy for training. I'm not going easy on you guys today!" he chastised lightly.

"Fiiiiine," Hoshiko agreed, settling with a glare at Ayame.

"Alright. So, today we're going to start going into jutsu-"

Ayame interrupted him with another cheer.

"-And if you're not quiet, I'm going to let Hoshiko have at you." Ayame shut up, and Hayato continued. "First of all, do you know how shinobi create jutsu?"

"Chakra!" Hoshiko piped up immediately.

"Good. The chakra network is called the Keirakukei. It's what the byakugan can see, which is why the Hyuuga's Juuken technique is so deadly. Now what is chakra made out of?" For this, Hoshiko had no answer, having forgotten the exact details. Without any answers, he answered his own question. "Chakra is made up of two kinds of energy: the physical energy of the body and psychic energy of the spirit. Both of these are equally important. Next, the chakra is channeled into a hand sign, and from there, the jutsu is created. Got that?"

With nods from the both of them, Hayato continued. "Good. Now, this being said, this is only the way to create one type of jutsu – Ninjutsu. There are three types of jutsu in total, including ninjutsu. Either of you know them?"

"Ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu," Hoshiko answered. Ah, the powers of a true narutard.

"Very good. So, ninjutsu are made using chakra and hand signs. Out of these three, ninjutsu are by far the most versatile – They can be used for attack, defense, or even escape.

"Genjutsu are also made using hand signs and chakra. Genjutsu is the art of illusion, and it is one of the most difficult techniques to master. We don't teach it here at the Academy because it's too complex an art to be included in the basics you're to learn here, but knowledge is of course required, as it's one of the three shinobi arts. The way to escape a genjutsu is to have someone else outside of the jutsu force chakra into you, or to realize it's a genjutsu and be able to release the technique, if it's a weak one. I'll show you how to do that later.

"Anyway, the last ninja art is what we'll be practicing today: Taijutsu. This is one of the most fundamentally important skills you'll learn. To do this, you'll have to spend a long time getting in shape. Tomorrow when you wake up, I guarantee you you'll be sore. Be sure and take warm showers when you get home to ease up the pain. Anyway, in fighting, you'll need to have strong bones. If your bones are brittle, then you'll be in a world of trouble. Here," Hayato lectured, pulling two bottles out of his pocket. "These are calcium supplements. Take two of these a day – Don't slack off, it'll be worse for you," he said sternly. "Now," he continued, producing two more objects from his pockets. "These are bandages. If you practiced without them, your hands would be raw and bleeding in no time. With these, you'll just have some practice. Wrap these around your hands to about your elbows. Hoshiko, since you have shorts on, you'll want to do your lower legs too." Hayato gave the two rolls of bandages to the girls, leaving them to busily start wrapping their appendages.

Ayame was clearly excited; she could easily fight through pain, although she did enjoy bitching. Hoshiko had a high pain tolerance, but it certainly made her nervous. She knew that the stretching wouldn't be too bad for her; doing dance back at home had made her flexible and strong in the legs. Ayame would probably be tighter but have better upper arm strength... Well, they'd both have to fight through it. Hands and legs wrapped up, Hoshiko proceeded to pull her hair up into a high ponytail. Today was going to be hard – But it would be the first step to becoming a shinobi.

The first thing that Hayato did was show them how to throw a punch. "Pull your arm back to your side like you're opening a drawer – Hand in a fist, the underside of your wrist showing. Now, you're going to twist when you throw the punch so you get your entire body into it. Punches start in the feet, not in the arm or the shoulder. Now, when you throw the punch, your wrist is going to turn over and then make contact." The dummy bent and popped back up with the hit. "Now you guys try." For the next twenty or so minutes, he had them go at the dummies, solely punching, without a break, while alternating between left and right. When he at last let them pause for water, Hoshiko could already feel the bruises forming, and it hurt to uncurl her hands from their fisted position.

Next came round house kicks, front kicks, and side kicks. Her ankles hurt like hell from doing it improperly for the first ten minutes, and her knees felt like they were going to give out. The motions were also throwing her off balance, but Hayato said they'd work on balance later. Their friendly, cheerful teacher suddenly didn't seem quite so nice or playful; his serious expression and harsh critique were... well... harsh. The last thing that they learned before a late lunch was to duck kicks and punches. It certainly wasn't fool proof, but when it looked like a high kick or punch was coming at you, you squatted and used your position to potentially knock them off balance. A low kick comes your way and you jump, jump back, or back flip. He promised he'd teach them how to do a back flip later, and the two barely held back a groan.

At lunch, Hoshiko, usually the obsessively light eater, matched Ayame's appetite, bite for bite. Neither of them cared much where they ate; food was the important part. Upon unwrapping the bandages around her hands, Hoshiko found that her knuckles were already edging on towards purple; the bandages were clearly the only thing that had kept her skin from breaking.. She inhaled sharply as she flexed her hand. Ayame moaned in similar pursuits.

Lunch ended far too soon for either of their preferences, and they headed back, legs aching.

"Still excited about hitting stuff?"

Ayame glared in response.

Hayato was fresh as ever, even after that morning's work out, and he pushed them right back into their workout. In continuing with their exercises before lunch, he next had them practicing somersaults – Much to Hoshiko's dismay. After she was approximately five, she'd lost the ability to somersault. Why, she had no idea, but it was simply a fact. This came as a surprise to both Ayame and Hayato; her blue haired friend, of course, found it hysterical. Hayato attempted to show Hoshiko how, but the brunette failed miserably and painfully. He finally gave her some reprieve as an ill disguised mask of defeat.

Moving on from dodging, he next taught them how to block, and again he stressed the importance of taking the supplements. Hoshiko may not have ever listened to her parents when they told her to do something, but that was then. Now she was learning to be a shinobi, and hell if she was going to argue with her teacher on an issue that could potentially land her some broken bones. After showing them to properly brace their arms when blocking a kick, catching the kick, and blocking punches, he proceeded to beat them to a bloody pulp, throwing as many kicks and punches at the two of them as they could take, and then giving them another dozen. Now she knew that she was going to have bruises all over her entire body. Hayato took the two of them at once, randomly alternating attacks so they had to be constantly ready, and by the end of the exercises, Hoshiko was practically weeping from exhaustion.

The sun was already setting when he finally let them go, and half way home, Hoshiko had to stop on the side of the road and throw up into some bushes. Intensity might be her thing, but stamina was certainly not. Ayame had all spades in that one, she thought as she watched her lunch continue to come up.

Ayame stood by her side, holding her hair back and rubbing her back until she was sure that she was okay. The only time she ever left was once to run and get her some water, and Hoshiko was grateful. An idiot Ayame may be, but she was also the best friend anyone could ask for.