AN: Life's been keeping me busy, so I can't guarantee that my writing will be cohesive at all. At this point, I'm just writing and hoping things will eventually go somewhere and be interesting enough to read.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its affiliated media.

Chapter 6: Training Pains

Recap: Shiro lost consciousness during training with Hashirama and Madara.

OC (Shiro) POV:

I woke up feeling cold and wet. And no, it was not because I had an "accident" while I was unconscious.

It felt like someone had stuck me under a cold shower, surrounded by giant air conditioning unit on each side.

I was lying in mud, the sky was dark, and it was raining. Not pouring, just raining. I sat up with a jolt as lightning flashed somewhere, bracing myself.

The rumble of thunder still managed to startle me, the sound loud enough to feel.

"Hashi-chan? Mada-kun?" I called out, a bit scared. What happened? Why was I unconscious?

I didn't feel any pain, just discomforting cold, wet, and misery.

"Guys?"

I didn't receive any response.

Another rumble of thunder.

And this isn't cliché at all.

The thought made me giggle a little, alleviating some of my fear, but even the small bit of hilarity didn't change the fact that I was going to catch a cold if I stayed in my spot longer.

Sighing heavily, I walked over to a nearby tree to see if I could find a little crevice to curl into to maybe get some rest. Afterall, cliché situations had to have the cliché shelter for little old me, right?

I woke up to sunlight and birdsong, but I was still miserable. I could nearly feel the gloom cloud hovering over my head as I foraged for food, when I came upon a tree that looked familiar. It was really tall, too. But then again, all of the other trees were just as tall, if not taller, as this specific tree.

Hey, isn't that my tree? And that's the kunai that Madara went and stuck in the tree and told me to use chakra to climb up to.

Only the handle of the kunai could be seen now. Did someone bury it further into the tree?

No, the kunai looked more battered than it had been before, so I doubt someone had purposely shoved it further into the tree. What would anyone gain from doing that, anyway?

Well, there wouldn't be any harm in staying here, right?

I sensed a familiar presence approaching, so I stood next to the stream, staring off in the direction of the presence, feet apart and arms crossed across my chest, a frown on my face.

I had to dodge a sudden volley of kunai, throwing myself backwards into a somersault to take cover by the nearest tree.

WHAT THE HECK, MADA-KUN?!

Suddenly, I had a kunai pressed against my throat, a larger warm body holding me in place, and I barely restrained the urge to make a sound as the bark scratched my face where it was pressed against the tree.

"Who are you?"

The question was hissed in a voice that sounded a bit different, a bit lower, than Madara's, but I knew it was him by his presence.

"It's me! It's me, Shiro! You-"

I was spun around harshly once my name had been said, my back thrown harshly against the tree trunk, and I saw that I was now pinned against a tree by a boy who was much taller than me. And much stronger, judging by the force he used and the bruises that were probably forming on my back.

I gulped as I looked up into angry red Sharingan eyes.

Oh, shit.

"Madara? Aren't your eyes black?" I asked, trying to think of ways to get the boy to calm down. "Um, did you have a growth spurt?"

"I won't ask again. Who are you?"

"I'm Shiro," I repeated slowly. "You know, the Shiro you and Hashi-chan have been training?"

I was suddenly released, and I quickly moved to put the rest of the tree between me and the now stony-faced boy, who was staring at me. I must have looked silly, since I was peeking around the edge of the trunk at the boy.

"Prove that you're who you say you are."

"Uhhh, my full name. You gave it to me. And… And… You put that kunai there to force me to walk up to it," I said, pointing at said kunai. "And, um, you're an evil trainer from hell?" I added the last part not really knowing what else to say.

"Evil, am I?"

I continued to ramble in the face of his still-stoic face. "Yeah, you forced me to train until I thought I was dead, but I supposed I'm thankful for it. It's not like I actually want to die, you know? Um, you're not going to try to attack me again, are you? I really don't think I'm going to survive another encount- ACK!" I had to dodge a set of shuriken. "Mada-kun!" I cried out indignantly, all fear of death now gone, replaced by annoyance.

"It's sensei to you, brat. Apparently the training's too easy for you if you are actually thanking me for it," he answered with a smirk. "Welcome to your Training from Hell, Part Two."

And then I was forced to shove all annoyance, confusion, and question out of my mind as I focused on dodging for my life as any and everything that could be used as a projectile or a weapon was aimed to hurt me.

"You're slow."

I was fighting for breath, barely able to draw in any as my heart was pounding in my ears.

"You're *gasp* just *gasp* too *gasp* fast."

He was too fast for me, as evidence by the bruises, scrapes, and cuts all over my body.

"Hn."

Pain is weakness leaving the body. Pain is weakness leaving the body. Pain is weakness leaving the body.

I had to keep the mantra up so I wouldn't incite my evil trainer's wrath by commenting on his language skills.

After (being forced into) making lunch, I had another "training" session, after which the (now deduced to be much older) boy silently left as I passed out from exhaustion, wakened later only by stabbing hunger pangs that only intensified the pain in all parts of my body. I was sure that even my poor little heart's muscles were in pain. I ate, stretched, and then went back to sleep, promising myself that I would contemplate life later when pain wasn't clouding my thoughts.

You may ask why Shiro hasn't given up on training yet if she's in so much pain that she's passing out from it. Simple. If she doesn't train, she's not going to survive. Shiro is human and wants to survive, but she is scared of fending for herself, so she is relying on the training she can get from people she knows.

Now, for those who celebrate Halloween, stay safe as you celebrate and have fun! ~VM