Following Sensei's Orders [Private - Yumi]

[Koizumi Mao]

His first class as a shinobi academy student was well...eye-opening. The first peek into the world of ninja proved to be both confusing and chaotic - and it was all just beginning. The best that he can do for now is stay the course and do as his instructor says. Upon leaving their class the previous night, he had successfully made arrangements with his assigned partner to begin some of their introductory training. As the address to the famed Toroano Dojo had already been given to them, they only needed to decide a proper time to meet.

It was odd how throwing some weights on your body made the most trivial of activities exhausting. Sitting up, walking, eating; honestly, the most difficult was taking a shower when their sensei specifically instructed they not remove the cursed outfit. At the very least, he was able to keep his clothes clean. Over time, walking was beginning to get easier as his body adjusted to the added distribution of weight. Either that, or the boy was simply getting used to the aching of his muscles under the constant pressure. After finishing his regular morning routine, the boy would head straight toward the addressed destination to begin his training.

The view of the massive structure was said to be quite spectacular, though perhaps those that say so were allowed a good look from outside of the village's underground caverns. Still, it's size was intimidating, to say the least, as he stepped inside. Even early on in the day, the area was busy with career killers and bounty hunters from all walks of life, all welcome to train in peace. Arata couldn't help but wonder just how peace could be kept after extending such an open invitation. Surely someone in the past had attempted to assassinate another in these very halls. He'd heard of the Cabal's attack here, though made no motion to search for the damaged section of the building himself. Instead, he opted to try and keep his mind from wandering too far in order to stay on task, searching for an open spot near the entrance of the facility for his incoming partner to spot. He doubted it would be difficult for Yumi to find him, considering she barely kept her eyes off of his glasses while they spoke with each other. For now, he opted to stand in place, bracing his body as he threw a few slow punches at the air in front of him with his right hand. His form was far from practiced, and the weight on his limb was enough to feel the muscles in his arms strain already. He had a feeling that this was going to be a long process.

 

[Kazumi]

So far... it was just so far away from the Golden Crystal District. Even after a long relaxing sleep without any super heavy clothes on she felt exhausted. She knew she was supposed to wear them at all times, but there wasn't much she could have done about that, and even then she doubted she would have been able to walk until the Throne of Bone was in sight without it.

Each step threatened to be her last, as she had that itching feeling that if she tripped she might not get back up ever again... That thought sent a shiver down her spine, almost becoming a self fulfilling prophecy of its own as she quite nearly stumbled on some uneven terrain. She managed to stay upright, and with a loud drained sigh she continued heavy step after heavy step in the ridiculous outfit. Something glinted at her from a short distance off...

She focused her attention off from the ground and the weight and finally could tell that it was Glasses, and he was only a dozen or so yards away! Salvation... sweet sweet salvation. There was a loud thud as the girl just fell over and thumped into the ground in a manner that looked quite painful. Even worrying still was that she didn't seem to be bothering to pick herself up...

 

[Koizumi Mao]

It was becoming quite clear that his lazy punches were doing more harm than good. A sharp pain shot through his shoulder, and it felt as if the aching in his limb sank into the bone. Was it the weight? Was his form off? What is even the proper form to use when training? The journey to reach this place alone was more than enough for a full workout; but when training to becoming a killing machine, sometimes that just isn't enough.

Where was his partner, anyway? He felt as if he could have spotted her if she'd walked in. The girl was a little on the small side, but her sprawl of blonde hair was quite easy to spot in the midst of ninja warriors. His footing had already begun to slide slightly further apart, sweating beneath the burden of his training outfit. It was once he took a moment to put his feet back together when he spotted the staggering girl from the corner of his vision. "Eh?" His head turned, watching silently as she collapsed forward under her own weight.

Was she dead? Did her little heart actually give out under the pressure? If that were the case, he was going to have a very hard time trying to explain to his instructor why his training partner wasn't going to be present in any future activities. The boy nearly fell over himself trying to rush past the space between them, stopping to balance himself before dropping himself down onto his knees next to the girl with a huff of breath. Slowly, his hands reached out to grasp one of her arms, pushing her body over enough so that she would be left lying on her back. His shadow cast over her, the light illuminating the room spilling past the outline of his body, his large glasses partially obscuring a worried look. He gave another heavy breath from the energy he'd exerted reaching her side so quickly, checking to see if she were still conscious.

 

[Kazumi]

As he rolled her over he would find that she yet lived! Her breathing was labored and she looked to be in a bit of a daze. Sweat was sliding down the side of her forehead and face as her lunges worked to keep taking in air, despite the weight atop her chest. “So heavy...” she muttered in between labored breaths, “such pain... much tired... wow...” She cracked a small smile on her lips but that only managed to make her groan softly.

It was a miracle that she was able to move at all given her size and muscle mass compared to even the lighter gi. “Can I take this off now...?” She still seemed to be in a bit of a daze, not really looking directly at him or possibly even acknowledging who she was talking to.

 

[Koizumi Mao]

Well, that was a relief. Maybe a little delirious, but at least she was still breathing! In response, he couldn't help but give a somewhat breathless chuckle. "We haven't even started training yet." Or have they? Maybe the challenge was to simply reach the destination. Ah, if only. The boy attempted to shift his position, steadily sliding his legs in front of him so that he could sit next to her.

Strangely enough, if she struggled so much getting here, just how did she survive the last day or so? Their instructor did say that they were supposed to keep their weighted clothing on at all times. Did she just decide not to get back out of bed until it was time for them to meet here? "Give it a little time. After a while of having to carry the weight around, you should get used to it." Either way, he wasn't about to confront her about whether or not she's been following their sensei's exact instructions.

 

[Kazumi]

Yumi continued to lay on her back, her chest still working to fight for every breath she got to take. A handful of seconds passed before her eyes looked over towards him and she seemed to look as if she had just noticed him for the first time. “Is your... lighter or something? I can barely.. breathe in this now.” It was likely more from exertion than the extra bit of weight on her chest, but it all felt the same to her at the moment. “How are we.... supposed to do anything? … might just have to sleep... here tonight.”

She groaned softly and tried to sit herself up, but after lifting perhaps a hand's width off the ground she flopped back to the earth. Now that she was relaxing she seemed to be getting better bit by bit, but it was a tossup as to if she would even be able to get up later, much less do any physical training. “What is your... name again? Sorry.. forgot.” She couldn't even push herself to be shy right now, that was just too much effort.

 

[Koizumi Mao]

Those precious seconds were spent regulating his own breath after having to exert himself into making sure the girl wasn't dead. "Don't think so. But I'm probably more used to lifting heavy stuff." He's done his fair share of work at the orphanage where he stays, and while he was a bit on the scrawny side like any awkwardly growing boy, he didn't share in Yumi's tiny body mass. Even when she asked for a reminder of his name so abruptly, he didn't seem offended, his response rather casual. "It's Arata. What about yours? I'd rather not call you Ms. Tsukino all the time." He wasn't present for the role call in their class, after all.

 

[Kazumi]

She smiled a bit, her cheeks softly flushing before she realized they were attempting to betray her. With some effort she managed to roll onto her side so she could face away from him to subtly hide it. “Boys and your giant muscles...” she sounded a little grumpy all of a sudden, but just as suddenly as that came it vanished. “My name is Yumi... do you think that all students do this?” She honestly didn't know anyone personally who ever attended the academy.

The girl struggled to push herself up to a sitting position, but once she managed it the act wasn't too difficult to maintain. She let her head lull back slightly as she gave out another soft sigh, “I don't think I am cut out for this stuff...”

 

[Koizumi Mao]

Luckily for Yumi, the boy didn't seem to notice her bashfulness. Was he not paying attention? Or maybe he was, and he was just indifferent toward it. It was all a little hard to tell when one can't really see where exactly he's looking. "I know that all the students have to go through rough training." While he also had no extensive knowledge of any specific person attending the academy, he'd heard stories of various experiences. Unfortunately, he was left unsure as to how embellished those stories were.

As soon as he noticed she was beginning to struggle to get herself up, he contemplated offering her assistance, though he debated whether or not it would simply be better for her to deal with the weight herself in order to get better acquainted with their encumbrance. By the time he could actually reach a decision, she'd already managed to accomplish the task on her own. In response to her exasperated venting, the boy couldn't help but shrug. "None of us are cut out for this stuff. At least not yet. That's why they're making us work so hard."

 

[Kazumi]

“I bet it is all just some big mean joke...” She reached up to touch her cheek before she worked to spin herself around so that she could sit facing him. “He is probably really grumpy and miserable and is just doing this to make us be grumpy and miserable. I mean...” she shook her head, sighed and continued. “Why not just teach us how to do that thing he did with that other guy? You know the weirder one.” Weirder? Was she implying there was another guy who was slightly less weird?

“That is what I want to do. You don't need to wear stupidly heavy stuff to do ninja magic. I've heard the stories, all you gotta do is just wiggle your fingers around in certain ways.” She put her hands together and tried to imitate one of the ones that she remembered from the board. It was a passable handseal, but it took her a good few moments to get her fingers to adhere to it.

 

[Koizumi Mao]

Well, at least she was moving around a little more. Maybe they could just take it slow and ease into the training...if only he knew how to do that. He could always observe the more experienced shinobi around here to see how it's properly done. Then again, he'd likely be a little inadequate when it came to replicating a veteran's style. Though at the very least he could pick up a few pointers on how to begin this whole process he's being thrown into.

Wait, was Yumi saying something? He blinked beneath his glasses, realizing he'd been listening to his own thoughts while watching the girl's lips move. She looked pretty stressed. Maybe she was still venting her frustrations of their rigorous training regimen. "Well..." And then he saw her hands, recognizing the similar seal from their first class. They didn't have much of a chance to practice them at all when that really strange guy barged into the room. He barely even got a chance to look at him before their instructor had blown him out into the hall with what he could best describe as a raging windstorm. Is that what Yumi was interested in? "I think our teacher just wants us to get a hold of the basics first. The stuff that'll keep us alive long enough to find our niche." Being a ninja was physically demanding work, after all. Then he would raise his own hands, fingers attempting to mimic the symbol that the girl in front of him had made. It was a little sloppy, but it improved over the course of a second or two.

 

[Kazumi]

“Keep us alive? Being a ninja really isn't that dangerous,” she remarked dismissively, being the super experienced class A shinobi that she was, she should know. “If it was, no one would wanna do it. I mean, get injured maybe, but I'm sure it isn't as bad as they try to scare us into thinking. Just another way to try and mess with us.” She gave him an assured nod as if she really did know what she spoke of.

“So are you like... from the village or something? Kinda hard to tell with those big bulky glasses on your face.... are you like... nearly blind or something.” She actually raised one of her hands and moved to silently wave it in front of her face in case her hunch was correct.

 

[Koizumi Mao]

Wait. Was she being serious. The boy kept a flat expression, watching her assuredly dismiss the fact that they would be risking their lives as a profession. "Uh..." How does someone even respond to that? She seemed pretty convinced, and he lacked the words to try and refute her naive claims. Finally, he settled on, "I look forward to seeing your views change as you improve." Surely she'd cease to believe those things once she experiences what it's really like to be a shinobi. Right?

"Kinda. I wasn't born here, but I was raised here. I was taught that it's important to protect your home." Her guess at his less-than-fair sight brought a small smile to his lips, raising a hand to wave back at her, squashing any hopes that her hunch was correct. "It's just a little hard for me to focus sometimes, so the village thought the glasses would help."

 

[Kazumi]

“They seem a little big though,” she started to lean towards him to get a closer inspection, but quickly stopped once she realized how off-balance that would put her. “I am surprised you can even see out of them at all.” She had pretty decent eyesight and so she never really knew how they worked... maybe the bigger the were the more they helped? Made as much sense to her as anything else did.

She reached her right hand over and slipped a finger under the cuff on her left wrist. With a little effort she slipped it off so that it thudded to the ground before she moved to remove the other. “I'm from pretty far north. Used to snow there quite a lot... you know what snow is right? Fluffy white stuff that gets hard sometimes when it is less cold.” Snow was probably the one thing that locals who never ventured outside of Wind Country would believe to be an urban legend.

 

[Koizumi Mao]

The boy didn't budge from his spot, even as she leaned forward to get a closer look. Unfortunately, it wasn't very possible at all to get a good look through the lenses. Who knew if he even had eyes behind those things. "If I had that much trouble seeing things, I don't think they would've accepted me into the academy." He had no knowledge of any blind ninja running around on missions. If he only knew.

His head tilted down toward her hands, watching her slide a few weighted cuffs off from her wrists. Was she taking off her weights, here in the dojo, when they were supposed to be training with them on? He didn't verbally address this just yet, instead opting to answer her question. "I heard of it before." Obviously, he's never seen it, but he knew that snow existed in foreign climates. While the desert regularly became dangerously cold at night, the conditions are a little too bone dry for anything like frozen liquid to hang around.

 

[Kazumi]

She gave him a sort of expectant look, as if he didn't yet answer her obvious question. “So... where are you from then?” She then tilted her head aside and off a small sigh as she lifted her arms now that they were free from the weights. “Any idea what we are really even supposed to be doing? It was hard enough just -getting- here, much less doing like... any actual stuff.”

A pair of larger muscled men walked right on by them as if they weren't even there, drawing a moment of curiosity from her as she looked up and watched them depart. She waited a few more seconds before she spoke in a soft, but amused, voice. “Hard to think anyone like that ever could have been a student in the academy... they probably were just born all muscular and deformed.”

 

[Koizumi Mao]

She was definitely a curious one. He was unsure if that was a good or bad thing in the career she chose to pursue. "I don't really remember. Probably nowhere far away." Not that he could say so with much certainty. The boy moved his hands down to his lap, opting to keep all of his slightly heavier weights on. Orders were orders, after all. "We're supposed to train. Exercise with the weights on." He leaned forward slightly, whispering in a lower tone. "If anybody else from class comes by and catches you taking that stuff off, you could get in trouble." It didn't seem as if he were going to get her in trouble, but he did want to warn her about what she was doing.

As soon as her head turned to face the more seasoned warriors, he followed her gaze, his head turning to face them as well. "I'm sure they used to look normal. A few of the other kids I live with are in the academy too, and they said that training turns us into that." He couldn't help but quietly snicker at the thought of little Yumi turning gigantic and muscular. "Well...probably not exactly like that. But almost every shinobi used to be a regular kid."

 

[Kazumi]

She continued to eye them as they fell out of view. “If being a shinobi means looking like that... I think maybe I really am not cut out to be one.” Her attention drifted down towards the gi and then over towards the bands on the ground. “No one would say anything. It isn't like we actually wear them at all times anyway, that was just to encourage us to do it as much as we could. No one actually would be dumb enough to try and bathe in this thing.”

She reached her hand to her chest and tugged on the 'fabric' with a little effort before letting it collapse back to its resting state.“Besides, if I don't take something off I am going to collapse from exhaustion... and then you'll be stuck carrying me home like a gentleman.” If she was joking about that last part she was doing a bad job of making that obvious.

 

[Koizumi Mao]

"Well, not every shinobi ever looks like that. The training just makes you a whole lot stronger." As soon as she began to mention their weights, he'd glance back down at his own clothing. He kept his weights on the entire time. Sleeping, eating, even bathing too. Was there a chance that he was the only one doing so? There was no way the instructor was being sarcastic, right?

He didn't dwell on the possibility for too long, looking back toward the girl sitting in front of him as she continued to get comfortable. "If you keep taking it all off, though, you won't get used to it. The next time we meet our teacher, he's gonna notice that you haven't been practicing." His eyebrows furrowed for a moment after the strange statement she'd made. Gentleman? Some of the older people around the village would call him that after helping them, but never another kid. Where did she live around here, anyway?

 

[Kazumi]

“I'm not taking it all off,” she rather suddenly insisted just as soon as he finished speaking. She then looked up straight over at him and angrily exclaimed “It is just two little wristbands. Besides, I'm wearing it a lot more than my parents want me to, and so you can just stuff it...” She was glaring rather annoyingly at him as if he had just stepped on and broke a favorite toy. That expression lasted only a moment through before her red eyes turned away rather quickly.

There would be a few long moments of silence before she spoke up, “sorry. I just was a little frustrated with my mom. Didn't mean to snap at you.” She didn't sound as angry as before, apologetic actually, but that tension of frustration still lingered in her voice. Afterwards she remained almost motionless as she stared off towards some random patch of ground elsewhere.