Destiny Calls: Soraiyo's Training Thread

[Sol]

Training Thread Index

Chapter 1: Two Days and Nights (http://forum.narutochaos.com/showthread.php?p=593473#post593473)

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~*Training*~

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[Sol]

Chapter 1:
Two Days and Nights


*The interlinked metal loops were scorching from being exposed to the sun for a full day. Yet the boy's back was well protected by the layers of clothing that hung loosely on his body. It had seemed like hours since the Graduation Exam at the shinobi academy had come to it's completion. Yet even though the boy had done well and made the cut, there was nothing for him, save a metal headband that was snugly secured to the boys' forehead. Every one of his peers had family and friends surrounding them, congratulating them on a job well done. However this boy had no such fanfare surrounding him. It wasn't because he didn't have family, its just that none would spare any time for the "little runt" of the family...*

*So there he was, resting his back against the metal fence that surrounded the perimeter of the Academy grounds. Nothing to do but stare off into space, watch the world around him move as he waited for his plan to be accessible. The day wore on slowly, however there was a constant stream of people, young and old, exiting the academy grounds. And although the main exit where most of the people were leaving was only three feet to the boy's left, they all seemed oblivious of his presence. That was all fine with him, he didn't really care for he had other things on his mind. However, the more he reflected on those matters, the more they troubled him. It was impossible to wipe all the thoughts out of his head, but it was painful to even listen to a single one of them. It was an infuriating situation, so much so that the boy wanted to scream to the heavens. Shout about the injustice, shout about a great many things. Yet he kept it all internal. However the shouting, even in his head was still unbearably loud, it almost felt as if his ears were ringing from the inside out.*

*How thankful then he was, when a voice pulled him out of his internal grief...*

???: ...Soraiyo? What are you still doing here? The Graduation ended over three hours ago...

Soraiyo: Huh? Oh hello Shikamaru-sensei. I'm just waiting for... a friend.

Shikamaru: Well don't wait too much longer... the last of the staff is putting the last things away for the night...

Soraiyo: Yes sensei.

Shikamaru: Good. I look forward to seeing you around. Have a good weekend...

Soraiyo: Bye sensei.

*By the time Soraiyo said his goodbye, Shikamaru had already gone off down the road. It was at that moment that Soraiyo remembered what day it was, Friday. Which meant the weekend was upon him. Dwelling on that train of thought, Soraiyo remembered his plan. Quickly the young gennin turned to face the school. His back let out a loud groan and was stiff from leaning against the chain link fence for hours. The price of looking like a carefree bad-ass... Soraiyo didn't think it was worth it. As he looked on, closely examining the school grounds, he could see no movement outside. And inside there were only a few shapes still lingering. It was a perfect time to initiate his plan.*

*Flicking his heavy backpack over his shoulder, Soraiyo crouched down low and began to move forward. At first he walked slowly with caution as he entered the school grounds. However as he began to realize he was still undetected, he began to quicken his pace. He was able to cross the front courtyard and was closely hugging the far side wall on the right side of the campus in under thirty seconds. It was by no means a blistering pace, but it was safe. Catching a few quick breaths, Soraiyo peeked around the corner of the building to examine the front entrance. As he did three adult figures walked out the door of the building and started strolling to the exit. All three walked in tandem, most likely talking about the day's events before they went on their separate ways. Soraiyo kept his profile as minimal as possible as he watched the three leave the courtyard and entered the main streets. As soon as he was sure that the trio were gone and that the coast was clear, Soraiyo continued on the move. Slinking across the right side of the building, careful to duck under open windows and to keep his back firmly pressed against the brick wall, he worked his way to the back courtyard.*

Soraiyo: (Thank goodness nobody is actually looking for me. There is no way infiltrating a rival nation would be THIS easy.)

*Although he knew he wasn't being hunted down and had the element of surprise on his side, Soraiyo played it cool, stopping whenever he heard something and making sure it was nothing before moving on. As he gazed across the back courtyard where the graduation exam had taken place, Soraiyo noticed that everything was well cleaned up. There was not a single sign there was ever a festive moment anywhere. It was a good sign, as that meant nobody was hanging around and would see him. Knowing he would once again be out in the open, Soraiyo crouched down to his knees once more and scuttled forward as quickly as the awkward stance could carry him. Quickly he located the door that everybody used to gain entrance from the academy to the back courtyard and vice versa. Setting his bag to the side, Soraiyo stood up on the tips of his toes to peer into the glass pane that was in the door. The view was limited, but from what he saw he couldn't see anybody inside. Still, that intel wasn't very reliable, he had to uncover more before making his move. Grabbing hold of a nearby edge, the young shinobi carefully shimmied over to a window on the side of the building. Cupping his hands over his face to see inside, this window too told Soraiyo that nobody was inside. And that was all he needed.*

*Returning to the entrance, Soraiyo jimmied with the doorknob. Yet the knob shifted an unsatisfactory distance with each twist. The door was locked from the inside. However, Soraiyo had expected this outcome and had already prepared for this occurrence. Twisting the doorknob as far to the right as he could force it, Soraiyo bent down and grabbed hold of the doormat that was at his feet. With both objects in hand, Soraiyo took one last deep breath. Then in an instant he sprung forward, slamming into the door with his shoulder, causing the door's lock to fail resulting in the door opening with an echoing "twang". A sigh of relief worked it's way out of Soraiyo's lungs as he hefted the backpack over his shoulder once more. With one last cautious peek inside to make sure he wasn't spotted, Soraiyo entered the empty building with relative ease.*

Soraiyo: Infiltration... Successful. This will be a most fruitful weekend.

[Sol]

*The narrow hallway extended to Soraiyo's right and left. His experience in this area told him that the classrooms ran down to the right, while the common, lunch and administrative sections were off to his left. Yet none of these areas interested him for the time being. Instead, Soraiyo focused on the large tiles at his feet. The pale cream colored tiles were fairly large, large enough that the boy could stand within it's boarders with little trouble. Although each tile was unique because of the complex marbling that ran through it's surface, nothing really made one stand out from the others. Still something drove the fledgling shinobi to maintain his focus. Directly from his starting position, he made his way to the left, counting the tiles as he walked. As he moved the standard issue sandals on his feet made ever so faint squeaking sounds on the recently cleaned and waxed floor. Although he did his best to keep the overt sounds to a minimum, Soraiyo didn't waver in his concentration. It was not until his inner counter reached 19 did his pace finally come to a stop.*

Soraiyo: This is it...

*Averting his eyes skyward, Soraiyo gazed up at the ceiling tiles that hung overhead. Although each ceiling tile was smaller then it's siblings beneath Soraiyo's feet, they were still sizable enough for a person to fit within their boundaries, albeit with very little wiggle room. Soraiyo's position put him directly beneath the ceiling tile closest to the wall on the left side of the hallway. Bending his knees to get more propulsion, Soraiyo leaped as high as he could muster, his left hand extended to touch the tile. However the boy was gravely short of reaching the ceiling. A confused and disgruntled look crossed Soraiyo's face upon reflecting on his jump. Realizing that the extra luggage strapped to his back was the culprit for his failure, Soraiyo unstrapped the pack and let it drop to the floor. No longer restricted by his heavy baggage, Soraiyo jumped once more for the ceiling tile. This time he had enough height to push against the tile for a split second. It was just long enough for him to knock the tile out of it's place, causing it to disappear into the dark rafters that were now exposed. With his entry way clear, Soraiyo reached down for his bag. However he was still presented with the problem of getting up there with the added weight. Realizing there was only one option, Soraiyo hoisted the heavy bag over his head. Flicking his wrist round about, the young shinobi spun the bag in a large arc, mere inches from his right ear. As the bag reached the climax of it's third rotation, Soraiyo released his hold in an instant, sending the bag flying upwards and into the darkness overhead. A low pitched "thud" resonated in the overhead tiles that were still in place, letting Soraiyo know that the bag was secure and out of the way. Glancing behind him to check to see that he was still undetected, Soraiyo jumped once more with all his might. This time, without the tile in his way he was able to get a handhold on the overhead frame. Pulling himself up with both hands, Soraiyo ascended into the darkness of the overhead rafters.*

*The ambient light given off by the open eaves and through the missing tile section was not very substantial at all. Still, it was all that Soraiyo really needed. Feeling around in the dim light with his hands, Soraiyo located the bag he had thrown up just a moment ago. Unzipping the top pouch, Soraiyo felt around for a couple of specific objects. Locating the two leg weights and the iron rings was not difficult, as they were some of the largest things in his bag. But as he pulled them out of his pack his wrist felt something poking at his skin and it was sharp. Carefully maneuvering to avoid the object, Soraiyo retrieved his training weights, placing them at the edge of the opening behind him. Reaching back into his bag, Soraiyo attempted to find the source of the sharp jabbing object. When he did, Soraiyo pulled out a large hook-shaped blade with four interlocking pieces.*

Soraiyo: Well... I wasn't planning on practicing with this till tomorrow. But since I have it out already, might as well get some skill with it.

*After placing the imposing weapon with his training weights, Soraiyo quickly liberated a couple handfuls of shuriken and four kunai from his backpack. When all his gear was collected, Soraiyo leaned down the custom made entry way to his hideout, peeking down into the hallway below to make sure he still wasn't detected. Seeing that he was still in the clear, Soraiyo wrapped his kunai in one of the training weight sets and the curved weapon in the other. Placing the dozen or so shuriken in the pouch at his waist and the iron rings on his forearm, Soraiyo plucked up the two bundles and dropped down to the hallway below. Quickly, before any unexpected visitors came around, Soraiyo dropped his equipment on the floor and once more turned his attention to the open tile in the ceiling. Throwing his arms up and leaping towards the tile, Soraiyo was gradually able to swivel the tile back into it's place over the course of five leaps. Still vulnerable of detection, Soraiyo quickly retrieved his gear and just as swiftly exited the hallway by means of the back door. Once more outside, Soraiyo quickly sprinted across the back courtyard, throwing stealth and caution to the wind! In no time at all he was at the fence that separated the courtyard from the academy's exercise grounds. The fence itself was too hight to leap over, especially with all the extra equipment Soraiyo was lugging around. To make traversing the obstacle easier, Soraiyo tossed his equipment over the fence one armful at a time. When all his equipment was "safely" on the other side, Soraiyo quickly scrambled up and over the chain link fence. Once on the other side, the boy once again collected his gear and continued onward.*

*It was no time at all before he reached the academies exercise yard. Before him laid the many objects he would need for the long weekend ahead. Ring targets of various sizes, many dummy mock ups and even some hewn tree stumps. Gasping from breath from the sudden exertion it took to get here, Soraiyo placed the bundles of weapons at his feet, spreading them out to get a quick inventory.*

Soraiyo: Lets see. Which should I try out first?

[Sol]

*It was a couple hours past mid day, Soraiyo couldn't tell exactly as he didn't bother to check the time when he was indoors. Still the sun hung high overhead, there were at least three more hours worth of usable daylight. That was more then enough time for Soraiyo to do what he needed for the day. Turning his attention back to the earth at his feet Soraiyo knelt down, sitting on the heel of his left foot while keeping his balance with his tucked right knee. It was not the most comfortable sitting position, but it was good for stretching his ligaments and provided a quick way to stand up compared to other sitting manners. Both were enough justification for Soraiyo to get used to it, especially in his line of work. Laying before him were several polished pieces of steel in all sorts of shapes. Cupping his chin with his right hand, Soraiyo began to ponder which of the options he would work with first.*

Soraiyo: Lets see: Shuriken, Kunai or Fuuma Shuriken? Hmm...

*Soriayo did plan to work with all of them in the time he had left. However, as usual deciding on which one to start with was proving the most challenging aspect of this training session. Releasing his chin, Soraiyo reached up to scratch an itch on the top of his head, one that had been bugging him more and more over the past few minutes. Yet as his hand clamped down on the annoying spot, a loud shriek caused him to jump! The yelp was extraordinarily loud, very close by and somewhat familiar. Suddenly a large black shape peeked down into his field of vision. It hung in mid air right in front of Soriayo's face, seeming to glare at him with it's piercing crimson eyes. The sudden appearance of the face was unsettling, however after realizing what it was, Soraiyo loosened up a bit.*

Soraiyo: Oh! Yaori it's just you...

Yaori: AaaaaaaaaH!

*Although Yaori's screech sounded the same to Soraiyo as it did to any other person who heard it, the circumstances of it's piercing tone came across clear as day.*

Soraiyo: Sorry buddy. I didn't realize you were up ther-

*Without warning, Soraiyo was sent reeling backwards by a violent volley of pecks to the forehead! The surprise attack completely took Soraiyo by surprise, causing him to lose what little balance he had, leaving him flat on his back with the irate bird still jabbing him in the forehead. If it were not for his newly installed forehead protector, Yaori would probably have been able to draw blood. However, seeing as his pecks were not doing such, Yaori quickly abandoned the attack and fluttered over to Soraiyo's weapon collection. Stunned but otherwise unharmed by his pet's attack, Soraiyo propped himself back into a sitting position, this time with his feet crossed at the ankles. Seeing that Yaori had found a particular fondness with his cluster of kunai knives, Soraiyo knew what that meant.*

Soraiyo: Well at least "that" decision has been made for me.

*Reaching over to pick up the cluster of shuriken, Soraiyo had to move slowly as not to not disturb his perturbed raven. Even then, the bird kept an eye on Soraiyo's hand, making sure that it came no where near "his" kunai. Gathering up the small metal stars in his hand, Soraiyo quickly retreated his arm, so as to not test Yaori's patience any more then it had to be. With his chosen weapons in hand, Soraiyo rose to his feet and walked over to the nearby set of targets.*

Soraiyo: Hachi... kyuu... juu... Alright, looks like I got ten shots!

*The young shinobi wasn't paying attention to where he was walking and his foot struck a solid object. Nearly losing his balance, Soraiyo looked down only to see that he had already reached the firing line. The line itself was made of nothing more then a strip of mounded dirt, but it marked the distance to the target well. Standing behind the mound represented a distance of twenty feet. If a person were going to throw projectiles at people, this would probably be the minimum distance that one would be able to. It was a good starting point for the training that was to come. Bundling up the black stared projectiles into his left hand, Soraiyo organized them so that they all were dispensed out the same as the one before it. Pinching the first shuriken between his fingers, Soraiyo took a spread out stance one that supported his weight as he tossed the sharp objects around willy nilly.*

*Flicking the prepared shuriken from his left to right hand, Soraiyo tossed his throwing hand inward and across his body, releasing the shuriken mid motion. Soraiyo watched the small black shape spin wildly through the air, making a b-line directly for the target. And although the purpose of this exercise was accuracy, it also was to work on his throwing speed. Adverting his attention from the shuriken that was about to impact the target, Soraiyo juggled two additional shuriken into his throwing hand. Sliding one behind the other, Soraiyo tossed his hand off to the right, then back to the left, releasing one projectile with each change of motion. Refocusing on his hands, the young shinobi dealt out two more shuriken into his right. This time, instead of throwing them on a right to left slant, Soraiyo threw his hand high over head then down to his waist line. Like the previous attempt, throwing the shuriken mid motion and using the rest of his movement to gain speed for the next release. With already half his ammunition spent, Soraiyo went for one last go. Throwing three of the weapons into his right hand, Soraiyo quickly snapped his wrist back and to his right. Then with a single crossing throw, released all three shuriken in quick succession. All that was left was the two in his left hand, which were soon loosed into the air with a final flourish.*

*The sounds of the shuriken smashing into the cork target filled the small fenced in clearing with many dull "thwack"'s. After the sounds of striking shuriken died down, all that could be heard in the clearing, was the heavy breathing of their thrower. The actual act of throwing the shuriken wasn't very taxing, it was more the sudden rush of adrenaline and sense of anticipation that caused the young boy to be out of breath. Wiping the bead of sweat that collected on his brow away, Soraiyo focused on the target he pegged full of holes. Walking up to the board, Soraiyo set to studying his handy work. All but three of the shuriken struck the target board, either stuck in the tree behind the target, or bounced carelessly off of said tree. The remaining seven were sparatically spaced around the target, none of which managed to strike the small black dot in the center of the target.*

Soraiyo: Tch... Oh well. At least most hit.

*Carefully plucking out the weapons from the thick cork base, Soraiyo pocketed the weapons and turned back to his weapon cache.*

Soraiyo: I wonder if my kunai have opened up...

[Sol]

*Luckily enough for Soraiyo, his kunai had indeed become available. Realizing that there was a perfect "nest" sized ring in the center of Soraiyo's Fuuma Shuriken, Yaori had moved on from the kunai knives for "greener" pastures. That was fine with Soraiyo, he didn't intend to practice with that object till later in the day. Pulling out the handfull of shiriken from his pouch, Soraiyo set them on the ground beside his Fuuma Shuriken, replacing them with the four Kunai lying less then six inches away. Gripping the four knives by the metal loop at the base of their handle, Soraiyo returned to the cork target from some more ranged practice.*

*The Kunai themselves were much weightier then an individual shuriken, however that meant that they could do much more damage to a target. Because of it's multi-purpose design, the kunai was generally favored over the standard shuriken. With the ability to attack in close, medium and at long range as well as blocking incoming attacks the Kunai was a vastly more versatile weapon. Although the shuriken flew swiftly and silently through the air, most shinobi also employed Kunai as a throwing weapon, because of the greater damage it did when it landed. Such a multifaceted weapon was not going to be overlooked in Soraiyo's arsenal.*

*Already holding one of the weapons by the handle in his throwing hand, Soraiyo positioned himself behind the throwing line and took aim at the target. This time, Soraiyo only had four shots in his clip, so he had to make every one count. Raising his right hand so that it was over his left shoulder and level with his ear, the gennin tensed the muscles in his forearm like a sling. Taking his time to adjust his firing angle, Soraiyo seemed to be locked in a staring contest with the multi ringed target. In an instant the stalemate was broken, it was as if an alarm went off, telling the combatant the right time to take action. Throwing his arm back across his body, Soraiyo released the kunai as his hand past his chest, propelling the projectile like an arrowhead directly at the target. With both hands now back at waist level, it took only a small flick to send another kunai from his left to his right hand. Flicking his hand in a wide arc straight up to the sky, Soraiyo released the newly exchanged kuani at shoulder height. Even before his right hand fully reached it's extension, Soraiyo threw his left hand into action. Tucking one kunai behind the other, Soraiyo threw his left arm in a parallel path to his right, releasing his hold on the kunai at the same time! Now with both hands in the air over his head and only one kunai between the two, Soraiyo decided to try for a powershot. Handing the kunai from his left to right hand, Soraiyo undercut his own stance. As his body dropped straight down to the earth, Soraiyo twisted at his knees, causing him to rotate around while falling. As he neared a sitting position, Soraiyo threw out his left leg, dragging his foot across the ground to both slow his speed and regain his balance. With a full three hundred and sixty rotation behind him, Soraiyo used all that built up momentum and swung his right arm across his body and out to the far right. The kunai launched from the move cut through the air with a sickening whistle as it cleaved into the soft target.*

SFX: Thud...Thud Thud... THWAK!

*Even the dense cork made target was forced to resonate under the strain of the Kunai bombardment. As the tree the target was nailed to shuddered briefly with each strike, it released a handful of leaves into the wind. However, Soraiyo took no notice of the dancing leaves as his mind was once again racing from the sudden burst of adrenaline. Standing only half his full height, Soraiyo's stance was powerful and streamline but at the same time awkward. A couple of heavy breaths later, Soraiyo slowly rose back to a stand, causing several beads of sweat on his brow to catch the sunlight and gleam. It took another few calming breaths more before Soraiyo went to inspect the damage he had caused. Surprisingly, one of the Kunai missed the bullseye of the target only by a few centimeters to the right. Soraiyo surmised that it was the kunai he threw first, the one he had taken the largest amount of time to aim. Fortunately all four of the weapons hit the target, even if they missed the center. Two kunai hit just off of the second ring level, one to the right and the other to the left of the bullseye. These were most likely Soraiyo's second and third attacks, judging from their spacing and their height. The fourth strike however, was the most interesting. Barely managing to strike the target at all, the kunai was drilled deeply into the last ring on the target. Yet it was the weapons punch that made it something special, completely digging itself through the cork of the target and through the plywood backing! Even the target itself was thrown slightly to the right by the force of the strike. Tugging the first three kunai out of the board was relatively easy. However, this final kunai put up much greater resistance. Soraiyo even had to place his foot up against the target for extra support as he forced the weapon out of it's hold.*

*It was arguably the biggest success Soraiyo had today. Even more then that, it took his mind off of the other matters in his life. For the first time in years, he felt... free. As free as any other fledgling shinobi just making a name for themselves. No internal politics, no living in a glass house, no being rejected for the simplest of errors. There was no past and no future, there was only the moment.*

SFX: Thump, Thump, Thump

*Before he knew it, Soraiyo's mind had wandered. No, in truth it hadn't wandered at all. He was so focused on throwing his weapons at the hapless target that his mind was in limbo. Neither here nor there, pondering none of life's tedium nor any great universal truths. His mind was filled with nothing but haze as the boy's greatest concern was: How close could I come to the bullseye. By the time higher thought came back to the boy, he had already thrown three of the knives at the target. None of the three weapons hit home any closer then his first attempts, but it didn't matter to Soraiyo. Flicking his wrist, Soraiyo tossed the final dagger at the target, striking the second ring with only a hairs breadth between it and another of Soraiyo's striking daggers. Walking back to the target, Soraiyo pulled the weapons free and began his return trip to the firing line. Yet as he did, a low rumble from the pit of his stomach snapped him back to attention. The groan grew louder and louder before finally cutting out, leaving only the sensation of a twisted knot in the pit of the shinobi's stomach.*

Soraiyo: I guess I could use a food break...