Ch. 25: Training Begins
Gray skies, colorful formations of falling stars, sakura petals drifting down like raindrops, Tomoko, wispy pink sugary clouds, metal tanks of clear, cold liquid, Tomoko, smiles, breezes, Tomoko, silky black threads, Tomoko, Tomoko, Tomoko...
"TOMOKO!"
I bolted upright, subconsciously noting I was in bed, it was bright out, I was... in P.J.s... no attackers?
"T-tomoko, could you p-p-please put the k-kunai down? I d-don't feel like getting my th-throat slit r-right now, please please don't kill me, I j-just wanted us not to b-be late-"
Friend. Throat. Kunai. Down.
I woke up fully to realize that, at the waking voice, I had acted on autopilot, grabbed the kunai from under my pillow and shoved it up against the carotid sheath of my "attacker".
I blinked, lowering the kunai.
"Oh. Hi Kazu."
I blinked again at the feeling of something coming in contact with my head. I looked down to see a bundle of my clothing.
"Get dressed," Deki called, exiting the room. "Our training starts in 20 minutes."
I blinked once more as the words took their time in reaching my brain. Waiting for connection... Analysis...
"SHOOT!"
"So what are we practicing today?" I asked as we neared the gates we had entered the village through.
"Debriefing," Deki deadpanned.
"Sure. What?"
He didn't answer and instead explained to the guards at the gate (unfortunately not the goons from last time) that we wanted to leave the village to train, handing him a note he had gotten from Sarutobi-san at some point. The guard scribbled something down and had us all sign a waiver and a sign-out sheet, giving us a pass each, necessary for re-entry. Kazu and I immediately handed ours to Deki, who wordlessly stored ours with his in his shuriken holster.
That was one of his quirks. While we all carried kunai holsters and another holster with shuriken, more kunai, and other smaller assorted weapons as well as a pouch for scrolls and larger items, he carried only a shuriken holster and a pouch for scrolls and larger items.. He despised using kunai and instead carried a ton of shuriken, wire, and gloves to hold shuriken for close combat without getting cut. We all thought he was crazy and had a total distance disadvantage, but he was able to hold his own against each of us, Kaida included, when we used kunai against his shuriken, so we let him be.
We walked back through the entrance, and took off through the bushes.
"I will be up against Sanamori Haru," he began. "He is a shinobi of the Leaf and is known by his peers for his intellect. In taijutsu, his broad frame makes for strength, but he is rather slow and clumsy. Unless I can outwit him, my best chance will be to have greater speed and agility. He also has great endurance, so I will also have to build up my own. Kazu, you will help me to improve speed and agility. I will train with you, Tomoko, to increase my strength."
We stopped at a clearing and Deki gestured for me to take the scroll off of my back. I did so and he released training posts and targets. He motioned for us to help him set them up as he continued to speak.
"Kazu, your opponent is Uzuro Kyosuke. Originally, he was from Oto, the Village Hidden in the Sound, but he and his family moved here in the last year. He is an intelligent and capable shinobi with a family tradition jutsu. He summons different intruments using this jutsu, and these instruments have the ability to give the player control over an element. For example, a trumpet calls forth fire. A flute starts up the wind. Drums control earth. The only issue with this jutsu is that the user can only control the element if they can play the instrument." Deki paused to drive a post into the ground.
"What instruments can he play?" Kazu asked. Giving up, Deki called me over. A few chakra-enhanced whacks with a mallet and the post was firmly rooted.
"He is proficient in percussion and can do some basic trumpet exercises."
"So I'm doomed," Kazu concluded.
"I began a rumor that you specialize in wind jutsus but only have the single water jutsu you used against Tsubasa."
"So?" I asked, curious of his plan.
"It is most likely that he will spend his time learning the trumpet."
"And?" Kazu prompted.
"And thus, I need to teach you some more water jutsus and you've got to improve your taijutsu further so, worst comes to worst, you can physically inhibit him from playing. Tomoko will help you in strength training. We will all have to do work to increase endurance. Understood?"
"Yes!" Kazu and I exclaimed in unison.
"And Tomoko." Deki turned to me. "Do not become arrogant or cocky in thinking that since Yumi is your friend, you know everything about her. Also, do not assume she will go easy on you. Your battle will be difficult because you have to forget she is a friend. Yumi can already do that successfully. You, on the other hand, cannot. Unless you train yourself to fight her as an enemy, you are doomed to fail."
"Gee, thanks for the encouragement," I said sarcastically, but I knew that he, unfortunately, was completely correct.
"You will work on your physical conditioning with us, but in your spare time, try to work on creating a new jutsu." With one more swing of a hammer, he drove the last nail into a target. "Training begins now."
Immediately, he made a water clone and set it to spar with me. The real him challenged Kazu to a race. As they took off, I noticed Deki pulling out a shuriken and his gloves. He was really challenging Kazu to a battle with speed, not a battle of speed.
I swung backwards instinctively at a breath of air tickling my arm and closely missed having my hair trimmed by a shuriken. The clone retreated, gloves on and a shuriken in hand, and stood at the ready, waiting for me to make the first move.
"Taijustu only or are jutsus allowed?" I asked, pulling out a kunai.
"No jutsus," the clone replied. He removed a shuriken from his pocket and motioned for me to make the first move.
I took a step backwards. The clone looked at me questioningly.
"Your move." The clone nodded, stepped forward, then stopped, so I took another step back and the clone pulled on his gloves. Then he paused, so I took a step forward only to find the clone holding his shuriken to my neck. I glared at him.
"Lesson number one. Don't expect your opponent to be fair." I huffed as he stepped back, adjusting his glasses. Quickly, I crouched down and kicked my leg out in a wide arc, hoping to knock his legs out from under him. I made contact and he caught himself with one hand and foot and immediately swung his free leg towards me. I blocked with my forearm and grabbed his leg, swinging it and its owner up and over my head until the clone smashed into the ground and dispelled.
Then I blinked as the same clone stood in front of me, hands in a sign. "Release. Lesson two. Don't expect your opponent to follow the rules." Growling, I hurled a multitude of kunai in a thick cloud. Multiple kunai hit him and the clone went 'splash', for real this time.
I sensed Deki and Kazu getting nearer, and they soon came crashing through the trees. Deki restarted the fight between us, sending out more clones.
Block a kick from above, fling out arms, flip back, spin around, fall back onto hands and bring legs up, kick clones in throat, flip back the rest of the way, chakra aided jump, hurl kunai, land, grab hold of clone, slit neck, make grass grab clone feet, jab at jugular, last one, crush windpipe, then I'm facing Deki. Feint a punch, windmill kick side with chakra added, collapses. Pick up by the throat... punch hard enough to knock unconscious.
Splash.
He didn't.
"And that is what I'm talking about."
He did.
"You're perfectly fine on clones, but on real people- even rogues- you can't kill. You don't have kill before you're even a chuunin. I hope you don't have to, but here's rule number three: be prepared to kill. Class dismissed."
Deki- the real one- turned back into the forest with Kazu trailing behind. Filled with a sudden inexplicable rage, I turned to the nearest training post and leveled it within seconds.
"Close weaponry combat," I muttered under my breath, taking off towards Ruichi-san's weapon store.