Training While Idle [Solo Training Thread]

[Samejima]

[So... no sure if this is allowed, but I'm planning on posting regularly in this thread to train, like RPs for new jutsus or something? It's a solo thread xD Is that ok? I'm just going to continue here until told to stop :3]

The area Naoki was in is just a little ways away from the center of the first floor of the Dojo, just close enough to hear any warnings but not close enough to let the cacophony of uncertainties and anxiousness distract her from training. It didn't have any preparations for training, and was as generic as a place could get within the Toraono Dojo, minus anything breakable as it was fairly empty.

Reading over the technique listed in the scroll she'd gone through before, Naoki felt strong enough to once more attempt to execute the Hyper Clap.

Let's retry this one... So I need to focus chakra in my hands... She felt her sound-attuned chakra flow through her veins to her hands as she willed it to, letting it gather there then projecting it out a little, and drew several ragged breaths before clapping to make sure no one was in the vicinity. She thought of disturbing the ebb of her chakra as it pooled at the exact moment of clapping, and anticipated the loud noise it would make as the nerves in her inner ear adjusted to make herself partially deaf for that one moment.

Unfortunately, Naoki didn't know her ears were adjusting to the volume of the anticipated clap, and thought that she'd just executed a regular clap.

What'd I miss...? I did it the same way I did before, and I timed it right this time... As she thought about it, she picked up someone in the distance commenting about a really loud clap in the distance...

[MFT]

 

[Samejima]

Naoki sat down for a moment after her training so far, close to the Dojo's center area. She'd begun to get tired, it showed on her face. The ragged breaths, the sweat on her brow, the less turbulent chakra flow, Naoki felt like she's practiced enough to get into the rhythm of things. As she rested, another sort of rhythm captured her attention. Some kids inside the noisiest area of the Toraono Dojo were playing around, and slapping their thighs, creating rhythms with links to the previous one. The first did a standard four-beat to start it out, and the next punctuated the four-beat with an extra beat after the second. The third changed the first beat into a louder one by slapping his thigh with both his hands. The fourth child was to take her turn next, but she hesitated, for quite some time.

Naoki attempted to predict her beat. Her gut instinct told her the first rhythm the girl would think of was a straight up eight-beat, as it was the next simplest thing. By the current heartbeat of the girl, she was nervous, and by her breathing, uncertain. By common sense though, as an eight-beat is not consistent with the previous one, the girl would likely just make the first and fourth beats louder. Either that or somehow she'd work the second loud one into the third beat, but it was pretty hard to do... The best course of action was the second rhythm she thought up.

The girl however, proved her wrong.

She impressed the other boys in the game by coming up with an unprecedented six-beat, taking the bare minimum required for the boys to allow her to continue the game by carrying the first loud beat along.

Reflecting on this recent mistake, though it was a simple and meaningless one, Naoki thought of how she could make herself more resourceful, more open to new combinations and improvements.

She looked at the Sonic Battle Knife she received earlier today. The jagged edges could be used for something other than punching can't they?

[MFT]

 

[Samejima]

After practicing hard and trying to think up new ways to punch and kick things to a pulp, Naoki was feeling thoroughly worn out, at least for now, and decided to take a short break, going to look for a glass of water to drink.

On the way, she thought about her life with water and how she might miss it after being away from it for a long time. She sure didn't miss it now, but she knew she'd eventually come to long for the salty sea breeze once more from her father's stories of homesickness. He said, a long time ago, he lived in a place where everything was black, even the ground, to make for better camouflage. That was how he and his family stayed safe, as he didn't know anything about ninjutsu or shinobi. They were eventually found though, and taken captive by some strange people. He got away thanks to the rest of his family, but he never saw them again and longs for the days when he'd put on his black outfit, go out and plow the black fields, then try his hand at fishing out some black fish from the black river. Her mother hit his head around this part of the story, so she knew it wasn't true, but she got the point; she'd miss wherever she came from eventually, no matter how bad it seems.

Having gotten her water, Naoki thought to bring an entire canteen-full just in case she needed more. She took a gulp, holding it in before swallowing it to savor the coolness of the liquid at the back of her throat. Just then, inspiration struck. Could she control water too? She's certainly lived around it long enough to know its properties... She decided to give it a try and took in another gulp of water, directing chakra up her throat and feeling the direction it wanted to go: out.

The water shot out in a sharp stream, piercing through the air around it. As she blinked in surprise, Naoki thought, I'm finally going to win against dad at spittoon shooting! before hurrying to clean it up. Thankfully, there was no carpet around the area.

[MFT]

 

[Samejima]

Naoki had begun to wander off, getting tired from the recent training. She wondered when something was going to happen, and catches the sound of a mosquito flying past. It wasn't bothering her much at the moment, despite the buzzing, and so she left it alone for now.

Soon though, the mosquito decided to land on her knee. Not wanting to hurt anything, she decided to just stand up for a while to get the mosquito to leave, and jogged a little in place before stopping again to sit down.

This insect seemed to have taken a liking to the scent of her blood however, and once again landed on her knee. Still a little tired from the jogging, Naoki shook her leg, trying unsuccessfully to shake the bugger off. It eventually got some of her blood, as she really just didn't want to get mosquito bits all over her sweaty hands.

When the mosquito came back for more, or perhaps referred a friend to dine after it, Naoki moved to another spot and hoped it wouldn't follow. It did, and Naoki went ahead and smashed this one, thinking she'll just wash her hands of it later on. She didn't get it though, and became a little frustrated.

This is a bad reason to be using my skills, but... Naoki focused her hearing on the mosquito, locating it about three inches from its previous position. It was flying away to find a less aggressive source of food. She let it fly for a while before pursuing it, lulling it into a false sense of security. As luck would have it though, the mosquito she was after suddenly stopped buzzing, and she lost track of it for a second before it started back up.

Her skills as a member of the Hashigaki were really meant for far more noble pursuits. She convinced herself that she was getting her revenge for the humiliation she was put through as a human though, and continued tracking the mosquito's movements. Inch by inch, centimetre by centimetre, Naoki got closer to the mosquito, despite its now muted buzzing. The lower volume meant it would be harder to find, but it was also getting slower, and this is much better training for her ears than some more jogging. Not long after that,

SMACK!

And her revenge has been served.

Reflecting on what she'd just done, she sighed in a very self-pitying manner, leaving to wash her hands.

[MFT]

 

[Samejima]

Rested up with squeaky clean hands, Naoki started to look around for things to examine. She couldn't examine much without eyesight, but she could still try and sense what kinds of supplies were stocked in the infirmary. She asked around for directions, and upon receiving several with concerns about her own health at present, she arrived at one of the infirmaries within the Dojo.

Among the health pills and energy drinks, which she recognised as little round marbles and cans of liquid, she sensed several false explosive tags. She didn't know what these were or what they did, since they felt much like regular pieces of paper, and left them alone. Naoki asked the person there what all those items were and what they did, and it was all explained to her in a way that made her consider how tactically important items and preparation were. They weren't things that could turn the tide of the battle in a snap, but it was possible to gain small advantages that stacked up and could save her in a pinch. She asked if she could bring some of the items with her and the nice infirmary person gave her a set of basic supplies.

With these supplies, she felt a little more confident about heading out in case something bad happened, but she stayed in the infirmary just in case she had other questions about the items. While in there, she attempted to arrange the items in her backpack, mainly because the person who gave them to her was watching and she wanted to treat them with respect, but it eventually turned into a sort of game where she tried to arrange them so that they took up less space and were less liable to shaking around in the bag. The only other person there became interested in the ventures of the little girl, and joined in on the space-saving game.

That person won, revolutionising the shinobi item-stacking industry by placing the smallest items at the bottom of the bag instead of at the top, so that she could lessen the clinking inside the bag near the top and therefore minimise the chances of the bag rattling around and giving away the user's position.

The stack champion waved at Naoki as the latter left, enlightened and happy to have alleviated some of the tensions of an infirmary worker in the Toraono Dojo.

[MFT]

 

[Samejima]

[Time skip - Several days after the battle here]

"Fuuu..." Naoki sunk down, propped up against a wall, after her latest set of exercises. She'd moved on to the next element she was fixated on: Lightning. She couldn't see how it looked to others, but to her it felt like several short discharges one after the other. Now properly practicing in one of the specialised rooms, designed for ninjutsu trainees, she'd secured herself a quiet little spot in the now relatively empty practice room.

I bet it's pretty noisy on regular days. Where is everyone? ...oh.

Blood now rushing back into her head, she remembered the events that transpired not a week ago. The time she spent in the hospital, the people she saw fighting and doing their best, the reason why she became interested in Lightning in the first place... A lot of things happened in that short span of time.

I want to help out in there, but I don't know anything about healing jutsu... She thought back to the hospital. A lot of people were devastated by the Cabal attack, not least by the bombings. If only she were able to heal, at least burns. Just learning a little about how to use her chakra that way would go far in helping the processes in that hospital move along. She began to reconsider her chosen path, thinking of joining the medical branch. If only for a while.

I'd just pick up the things I need, like how to stop pain and heal minor stuff, then I'll get right back on track. But... She had to consider the fact that she still could not read. Even if there were books in Braille, there were many more books she could draw from that were only printed in ink. Joining the med-nin classes without sight would be a poor choice until she figured out how to see again.

No, can't let myself lose focus! I have to get stronger! That's the only thing I should be interested in right now! Smacking her cheeks a couple times to wake herself up, she tried to get herself back in the mindset needed to channel Lightning chakra.

[MFT]

 

[Samejima]

After a bit of rest (a catnap nestled up against a darker corner), Naoki reflected on her progression with Lightning as an element. She did hear what seemed like appreciative whispers of her ability coming from her nearby fellow ninja, who were training with each other and probably casting occasional glances at what she'd been doing. If there were any burns that stray bolts inflicted on her, she didn't feel them. She didn't know that Lightning burned at all of course, as it seems like she had a mysteriously strong affinity with it. Perhaps it was a happy coincidence, or some kind of celestial whim.

Haha, maybe I have a thing with elements! Lemme try another, another... Hmmmmmm...

She thought a little about what element she'd be most suited to learning, as a member of the shinobi forces of Sunagakure. Naturally, the first element that came to mind was Sand, but based on her common sense, she would obviously need to know how to control Earth first. She was inside a room. It wasn't exactly practical to go outside just to practice that. Breaking the room to get some earth in would be very rude in normal circumstances, and more so in this one, where the Dojo was being repaired from the damage. Besides, as far as she currently knew, she could just do it later.

I should be able to learn anything I put my mind to, so I'll put it off for later. The next most obvious thing... Oh!

Naoki set her proverbial sights on mastery over the element of Wind. It was fitting, Sunagakure is situated in the Wind Country after all, and she planned on bringing its fame everywhere she goes from now on. Settling down, she tried to get a firm grasp on the Wind that she (figured) she was soon to master.

Of course, there wasn't any wind just whistling through. She'd have to make some. If she remembered correctly, what felt like ages ago, Yoko-neesan demonstrated a One-Two Combo that caused even the wind of the blow to feel dangerous. By the same principle, if Naoki started kicking the air, it would begin making wind! So she did.

Several hours later, with frustrated breaks in between, she managed to tire herself out, gaining a humbling experience as well. Ooooh... My knees hurt... I guess I'm not all that great with elements after all... She flopped down on the sweaty mats, for a minute not caring about how much water she might have to use up if she wanted to return to her regular level of body odour after this session. Panting quite a lot, she put her humbling experience into memorable words in her head. Don't decide you're some kind of prodigy just because you get one thing right, you smug little brat! Oooh...

Naoki got up after some time, when her knees stopped shaking as she tried to stand, and walked to the bath area to fulfill her social duty to people's noses. At the very least, she'd learnt how to sustain her own steps by using chakra-imbued breezes in her walk.

[MFT]