-Seven hours-
Pov: Takumi Uchiha.
*Swish!*
I tilt my head to the side, feet placed wide and my foundation strong.
The rock swinging from the trees tied up by rope moves past my head swiftly and swings back quickly.
*Swish*
"Do you understand the idea? You do not move from this point at all, but you torso is moving to avoid the rock" I tell him as I twist my neck again.
"I understand that, but what if someone attacks my legs? Ninja battles are very mobile..." He sighs, red faced and sweating heavily on the ground.
"This is your first form- it is a set of evasive forms, your other forms will make up for what you lack here" I tell him.
"Okay... I get it, I think I will like moving though- my thighs are killing me from holding that stance so long" He aches.
"Stop complaining, I am going easy on you. We still have ninety three hours left" I twitch my eye.
I would have been drowned in a thousand hungry rats for a few hours if I ever carried that tone to my trainers. Especially the old fool.
"Get up. Now" I command.
He slowly gets up and takes over from me, I grab the rock and swing it around to reset it's momentum.
*Smack!*
"Ow!" He rubs his head.
"Just a bruise, use your medical chakra" I almost face palm at his instant failure.
"Okay- okay, I got this" He heals the bruise and watches the rock closely.
*Swish* *Swish* *Smack*
"You are watching the rock, paying close attention to it- see it first and then use your instincts to grasp it's movement. A sword swings up in order to come down" I tell him.
"Is that another saying no one else knows?" He mocks as he tries and tries again.
"It is gravity" I reply.
"Oh. Ow!" He restarts.
"To explain further, you can note the speed of an object and then gather the notion of where it will be seconds later. I am training that instinct so you can note key points in battle and react to them swiftly. An evasive form focused on your perception" I note.
"So how long does this training take?" He asks.
"I will write down your schedule later, but hopefully you will train this whenever you have free time. It takes more than just effort and talent to hone something so well that no rust can take it from you" I tell him the unfortunate news.
"Haaa- damnit" He frowns as he rubs his thighs.
"Just remember, you will get used to this and gain stronger muscles"
"I already have thick thighs!" He complains as the rock nearly gets him again.
"But they do not save any lives, do they?" I shake my head.
*Swish*
"Hey- what was that- is that- no! One rock at a time!" He complains again.
"For future reference dedicated training will add more rocks the more you get used to one while standard free time training will be a minimum of five objects at a time" I pull out a blank scroll and start writing this down.
He will need it for later.
-20 hours-
Pov: Saburo Mori.
*Slide...*
"Like that? Isn't it kind of slow..?" I ask as I slowly slide over the ground like a melting ice cube.
...
"Sure. That is a start" The child chokes out, clearly unimpressed with my talent.
*Yawn!*
"Don't blame me, blame my talent" I frown.
...
"So what's this form for? Not complaining, I am glad we moved on from that previous exercise" I smile.
"This is your second form, focused on evasion" He tells me.
"But my first one was evasion" I reply.
"I am using a basic three form structure for this art, best for starting techniques. Well, my favourite for starting techniques. My style is evasive, defensive and aggressive, a well rounded taijutsu focused on the fact that I am restricted without my enemy attacking first. Your technique is Evasive, Evasive and Aggressive- we are focusing on keeping you alive long enough to get close and use that jutsu of yours to cut an artery or two" He explains.
"The first one is about training your basics and setting yourself up to dodge every attack using your second form- which relies on you pouring chakra from your feet unevenly and sliding across the ground" He points at me.
Right, the opposite of the tree walking technique...
"You will slowly increase the speed to make tight turns and remain in motion at all times during battle, you will resemble a flame crawling across the grass as it's upper body dances in the night sky" He puts it brilliantly.
"Why add the imagery" I ask.
"Training is more fun when you can picture yourself as living flame given flesh" He replies.
*Swish!*
-Before suddenly swinging at me, I slide back and feel his finger slide across my gut.
"Dead. Slide faster backwards, your prediction skills are estimated to have grown but probably only temporarily, ensure constant training of both forms" He tells me and throws his next attack at me.
*Swish* *Swish* *Swish*
"Dead. Dead and dead" He slows down further and starts striking again.
*Swish* *Swish* *Swish*
"Dead, dead and finally alive- congratulations, now start sliding faster" He deadpans.
"I am trying!" I push my chakra more.
-36 hours-
Pov: Takumi Uchiha.
*Bang!*
I lower the target dangling from my hand and look at the tree next to me in horror.
"How. How can you be so terrible at this? We have been training for more than a day now, surely you understand the technique required to joust me. A simple joust- just stab the target as you pass by?" I ask with bewilderment.
"Please... don't give up on me..." He yawns as he peels himself from the tree he ran into.
"The only reason I have not is because of your own willingness to continue, your past teachers failed you and I will not. So that means taking away more of your free time to train on your third stance" I let the bewilderment leave me and shake my head.
"That's fine. I will have a lot of free time when I quit the hospital... and earn so much less money" He phases out of existence for a second.
*Snap- Snap*
"Stay focused, keep your job until you can afford to quit" I sigh.
"I know... I know" He gets up and shakes off the pain before sliding back fifty feet through the forest.
*Wooosh!*
Before sliding over the grass and weaving by the trees- I hold the target up high and watch him approach quickly. Or quick for him.
*Smack*
He runs into me.
"Ow- why did that hurt more than the tree?" He fumbles and falls onto the ground.
"Because I sent your impact back onto you. Get up, again" I order.
Two simple techniques, sliding and stabbing- he already learnt one and this training will help him put it into a well used taijutsu style.
*Wooosh*
I watch him slide right past me. He slowly slides back in shame.
-45 hours-
"So... I should just take an hour out of every day and on non-work days I spend a minimum of five hours training" He nods and eats his apple as he reads the scroll I have been writing in, while he had a nap I was updating the scroll to the best of my ability.
"Yes. And ensure that you are properly rested and healed, do not pursue training over yourself as it will lead to terrible consequences" I add.
"So why do you train yourself to death? I know adults that aren't able to keep up with the training I am currently seeing you perform" He tells me.
"Is that so?" I dodge rock after rock, and remove my blindfold to look at him.
"Aren't you going to eat?" He asks.
"Sure, in a bit- but I have to finish this hour cleanly, I hate to finish a training session a second too soon or late" I smile as I cleanly weave my torso past seven rocks that converge on my position.
"What a weird habit. Seriously. You have a problem, you have many, many problems" He tells me.
"Nine" I retort with a smirk.
"Nine successes is good for a start!" He yells back.
"Nine hours, thousands of failures and only nine successful hits to show for it" I chuckle again as the sweat drips down my body.
"You little- just you wait! I bet you that I can get more hits in than you by the next four hours!" He gets up and finishes his lunch.
-49 hours-
Pov: Saburo Mori.
*Pant- Pant-*
"You were worse this time. I would consider some more target practice" Takumi looms over me as I pant on the floor, tree bark still in my hair.
...
So much pain.
So much yawning.
So hungry.
...
But I haven't felt like my dreams were this close in so long, although it will be a long journey I hate working as a 'scalpel' so much that I might just quit to train full time.
...
I truly needed this, I am glad the lazy Uchiha ironically got me off my ass and started my new training.
And how talented that kid is... Takumi, for every mistake I made he has given a lesson to learn from it.
He has pushed me just right and when I start to get agitated and annoyed he backs off and lowers the training so I may cool off effectively and continue my training.
And not only that... this fifty hours I have spent has been on instincts, sliding and hitting a still target.
Three very simple things- but after reading that scroll, I am beginning to see the many paths he will send me on.
The techniques that can be built from this training, it's almost like he has seen every move I will ever make in my life and condensed them down to some images and descriptions.
And he has adjusted his level of understanding to mine too- when I got confused from the first few images, he drew more delicately and made them simpler to understand, adding words beneath to help me know what is being shown.
Chakra sliding and slicing.
I can't wait till I figure it all out!
For my future!
Ow! Ow!
"Yeah, finish your break. That muscle pain will not fade but you can enjoy an apple while it happens" The talented Uchiha drops an apple onto my chest and bites into one of his own.
*Chomp!*
I bite happily.
Even though I am in so much more pain than when working at the hospital.
-57 hours-
Pov: Takumi Uchiha.
"You seem different from when we first met" Saburo mentions.
"Do I?" I mutter.
I finish tying the knot and jump to the next tree above us.
"Yeah, your posture and eyes seem more energetic, clean and proper. Which is weird because mine has gotten worse over the course of this training" Saburo yawns as he ties a rock to the ropes beneath me.
"Your perception is getting better" I agree with him.
I must admit, teaching others is much more fun than I thought it would be.
Considering how much of a pain it was to train another's Aura in my world, I saw it as some laborious and boring task.
But here? I can teach techniques with less labour than needed- I enjoy doing it in fact.
...
Perhaps that is the life of rest I must strive for?
"Is it really? I feel like I am about to faint" He huffs out.
"Thought you did late shifts often?" I taunt.
"I do! But everyone gets sleepy, except for you!" He shouts at me as I head to the next tree.
-63 hours-
Pov: Saburo Mori
Okay... one more try.
"On the second lap you start to drift shake the tiredness off and treat the obstacles as real ninjutsu" He offers more help as I get up out of the mud.
"Thanks. I understood that the first few runs we did" I reply with a mood.
"Rude. I did not deserve your sarcasm, in return I am adding more obstacles" He shakes his head and starts climbing a tree to tie more knots.
"What! No-" I start sliding across the ground, quick to finish this course before additions are made.
-80 hours-
Pov: Takumi Uchiha.
*Shift*
He rolls in his sleep and I yawn as I write more notes down- correcting mistakes and ensuring new paths for his development.
I should get to writing his ranged aggressive alternative as well. But that can wait as he will wake up to finish his training soon.
For now I need to present him with the knowledge he has been training thus far and ensure he retains it- additionally I must run through every training session once more and finally we will be done.
...
Hn.
Teaching is indeed fun, the Saburo Mori style will flourish in his hands given time and effort.
*Tap*
"Rest is over. Let's start up again" I tap his side with my foot.
-96 hours-
Pov: Saburo Mori
"Okay, so mix up the training from time to time and don't train the alternative and additional forms until I have fully mastered the first three... how do I know if I have them mastered?" I ask as I read through the scroll with him.
"You will know, and when you feel that you have succeeded come see me. I am curious as to where this will all end for you" He tells me and I nod along.
"Hopefully it ends good- I can't wait to see this all come together..." I look down at my rough hands.
...
"You mentioned before, the Takumi Uchiha style. Have you mastered it? Trained it's additional forms?" I look back up at him.
"I have it mastered, but nothing additional yet, I am taking my time with my training. I do it for fun not for some big end goal like you Mori" He shakes his head.
"In the end you become lazy again" I sigh.
His shoulders dropped and his eyes grew lazy once more, if only for a moment I did enjoy his energetic self.
I wonder why he chooses to be so lazy?
What burdens his shoulders so much that they drop? He is just a child isn't he?
...
I can't say anything, I have seen to many children leave the hospital physically fine but unable to go on missions anymore.
Whatever happened I won't dig into it.
-100 hours-
Pov: Takumi Uchiha.
*Swish!!!!*
"Haa- Haa- Haa-" I pant out heavily, drenched in sweat.
"What's wrong? Why did you stop?" Saburo gets up and rushes over to me.
I stand inches before the target... and lower my hand.
...
I close my eyes and calm my heart- the equivalent to stomping out a flame.
I just finalised the three forms a few hours ago and I am so close to mastering it, if I think any further on this subject I know I will have taken a step further.
I can feel it- a sense of calm before my mind rushes forward with ideas.
"The training is up. It is time you slept" I swallow my thoughts and passion.
And open my eyes.
"Oh... so soon?" He jokes and stands taller.
The honour of mastering this technique lies with him, I will not use ever again so long as he is still training it.
"Yes, I will clean up. I do hope your life travels well Saburo Mori. Let me know when you have formed a taijutsu from these forms" I bow slightly to him.
"Thank you. Really, out of everything I gained today I appreciated the change in mindset the most. Or rather the reignition of my ambitions" He bows further and I stand tall.
I wait for him to stand tall himself before nodding at him and turning to clean up the mess we made.
He leaves quietly, having said everything he needed to during our hundred hours together.
"I have underestimated you Takumi, such an improvement upon Saburo in such a small time frame..." A puff of smoke pours out into the air and I turn around to see the Hokage dismantling the obstacles with me.
"It was all Saburo. I found a hidden talent in your village, someone you would have made into Anbu if you had known his potential" I pluck a rope down from a branch.
"His potential was a hidden ambition, only unleashed by you and your talent. I appreciate that you chose to put all your effort into this instead of running away from the village, it was unexpected" He tells me.
"Of course. I will deliver every word I spoke, our deal will not break unless you do so yourself" I reply calmly.
"Very well, I must get back to my desk- I am very popular with work these days" He places a few bundles of ropes near me and flickers away.
Saburo Mori. Someone I will not find again, I expect the majority of my teachings to be ignored and failed by those who lack the ambition to complete my training.
But as long as my part of the deal is fulfilled than I am quite fine with resting the entire month instead of training someone who will never be anything.
*Pat*
I pack all the rope and put my jacket on, before walking home to sleep.
Thanks for reading :)