Return to the old Stomping Ground

It was about time Kudo took better advantage of the terrific training facility Iwagakure had within its walls, a place she had all but abandoned after failing to find training partners there. It was mostly higher ranking officers she’d found using them and seldom would she find the courage to go up and ask to spar with them. There were precious few genin that seemed to be in service at the time and her wells of courage only had so much in them. Today was different though, she headed out with the expectation of solitary training, arriving bright and early soon after the sun’s initial rise to find an empty and flat training ground. While the facility was certainly packed with enough stone to practice just about any Doton technique one could desire, her prepared exercises for the day weren’t in the familiar earthen style she so preferred. In fact, today's practice would be one of the basic principles of the shinobi that she had long neglected; taijutsu. For this she would need some help, so forming the clone seal Kudo created a duplicate with which to spar with and practice this Iwagakure style of taijutsu. It was well suited for her, using slow and deliberate movements, she had the clone rush her with a simple and obvious punch. Grabbing her own arm she went to pull the clone along the same trajectory she was already in and attempt to ground her. With too subtle an attempt she failed, the clone simply bashed into her and the two scuffled on the ground before breaking and circling around one another. Again a telegraphed punch was thrown, this time she wrapped one hand around her wrist and flung her over her back into the dirt with a poof of dust rising from the success. Grinning at herself she helped the clone up before jumping into the next set.

Jutsu Trained with 316/150 WC: Gentle Way (D-Rank Open Iwa Custom)

Next was a further extension of the style, using their own strength against them in a leg lock to bind and crush the opponent. Stepping up her game the clone no longer gave an easy opening with which to practice, darting around with the same finesse as the original, both blocking and grazing one another with short jabs and attempted trip ups with their legs. After a few minutes the clone was able to catch her foot and trip her, tumbling into her and almost locking her up before she slithered out. Both panted from the scuffle, a flurry of jabs and parries followed by yet more circling. This time Kudo feinted a punch then went with a leg sweet, knocking her clone over and pinning her with a leg lock as the clone struggled to break free. Once the lock was found to be suitably restraining she relented, releasing the clone from her hold and leaving her alone one more in the training yard.

Jutsu Trained with 165/150 WC: Cradle Bind (D-Rank Open Iwa Custom)

Now that the physical side of the training was over she prepared herself for the strange sights she would be seeing upon successful completion of her next task. Closing her eyes she tried to imagine what her own worst fear would be, it was a strange thing to get this window into her mind with the power of Genjutsu that was similarly ignored in her training. Today was a day for conquering these long abandoned essentials to a shinobi. Running at her clone Kudo feinted a punch before running away as she flipped through the two hand seals required. The clone flinched, but was quick enough to form a countering Genjutsu Kai and retaliate with her own illusion. Unprepared for the adept grasp of the technique, she offered herself the briefest of mental pat on her back before being transported to a nightmarish sight. Before her the world crumbled away, a single call of twin voices desperately reaching out to her, realizing it was her parent’s voices that she hadn’t heard in far too long. Biting her lip Kudo broke through the illusion, running forward to flip her clone on her back.

Jutsu Trained with 192/100 WC: Demonic Illusion: Hell's Viewing (D-Rank)

Thankfully the next one wouldn’t be as mind fucky, a genjutsu version of the basic chakra clones by her measure. Forming the seals a series of Kudo’s rose from the ground, looking a little droopy and not necessarily convincing. Releasing the attempt she made another and smiled at the better resemblance they showed. Not having any kunai or the like, Kudo made use of some of her newly trained Taijutsu moves in tandem with the illusory clones. The clones began to move through each other as they feinted punches unable to land with their non-corporeal forms. Kudo would then run along with them, syncing up with a clone and both aiming to land a punch on the kage bunshin. Her fist connected with her own cheek, knocking the clone down and poofing her out of existence. Releasing the technique she nodded in triumph, excited to keep honing her craft.

Jutsu Trained with 149/100 WC: Mist Servant Technique (D-Rank)

Right back into spoopy land Kudo formed the clone seal to get another helper for the next Genjutsu. The clone knew full well what was coming and went to form the single seal needed to cast it upon the original. She had been waiting for this moment since her clone did it to her previously. Now ready, she formed the Genjutsu Kai seal and countered with her own illusion. It looked like it worked, the clone flinched and looked with a tinge of horror in her eyes. When performed correctly a spectral apparition appeared behind the caster, complete with a doll face and eerie obsession with staring at the victim. Running forward she punched the clone, the physical pain breaking the illusion and leaving the two to scuffle before breaking off and staring at one another in exhaustion. The two tried casting it at the same time at one another, both seeing the spooky image behind the other that they stole a quick glance at before releasing it.

Jutsu Trained with 168/150 WC: Lost Soul (Custom D-Rank)

Having run out of available jutsu at the library that her rank had access to, Kudo decided to head back to the training grounds to get some practice in with the plethora of jutsu she had drilled over the past couple of weeks. Her body had certainly been happy with the small break she had given herself, even taking a few of those days to relax at the hot springs. Having just hit up her favorite yakitori food stand the previous day Kudo felt energized and ready to hit it to it!

Heading to the training grounds nice and early again Kudo was surprised to see a couple of academy students diligently practicing ninjutsu, hardly able to mar the smoothed over ground they trained on. Chuckling to herself she went to an open part of the training grounds and began weaving seals, causing the earth around her to tremble before birthing the stone dragon she now commanded. The kids stopped what they were doing, mouths agape in awe as any child would before an animated and huge version of toy they likely played with growing up. One of the academy students nervously approached and asked if he and his friends could watch for any pointers. Smiling Kudo accepted, even doling out advice on how to properly mould one's chakra into the Doton element.

A few hours passed in the blink of an eye, the kids apparently had gotten up early for the same reason she had to get some practice in before others came to join. As they ran off to the academy they thanked her and expressed their desire to see her again sometime and maybe even practice together. Kudo liked the sound of that and hoped they would meet again on the training field.

The very next day Kudo decided to try and see the ambitious academy students again, though they were nowhere to be seen. It sure had seemed like they wanted to see her again soon after, though she remembered her own time in the academy with the amount of drills and excursions they went on at a moment's notice. Now having the training field all to herself she decided some hand to hand combat would be a nice change of pace, forming the clone seal to create a training partner for her to play with. Giving herself a smile she immediately launched an assault of kicks and punches, none of which connected and after the brief scuffle the two made some distance as they tried to come up with a new strategy to come at herself with.

Finally, Kudo leapt back and formed a few hand seals that began the same rising of the stone dragon from the ground as she had yesterday. Riding its head she commanded the beat to lunge at her clone, using the momentum to try and land an extra powerful kick. The clone got her arms up in time to block the kick, but it still held enough power to send the bunshin flying back into the dirt. The damage was too much and the clone poofed into smoke, signaling the success of the attempt. Glad to have combined her ninjutsu with the hand to hand Kudo tried to think of new ways to utilize her Doton element to her advantage in similar situations.

For the next couple of weeks Kudo continued to head to the training grounds early, each day being disappointed that her academy friends hadn’t shown back up. After day four she was worried that somehow someone had gotten wind that they were practicing together and that they had been reprimanded for doing so. Such line of thinking was totally illogical, but her mind spun to such places with the absence of hard knowledge of what was going on and so on she spun. It got so bad that she started to avoid the training grounds after another week of this, returning to the mountain side every now and then for a brief training session.

One day brought her back around that area at midday on the weekend and she saw one of the students alone at the training grounds. Heading over with an uncharacteristic amount of timidness Kudo barely summoned enough courage to call out to him and ask where he’d been. Turning around, the kid ran towards Kudo and slammed into her with an embracing hug. Apparently there had been an accident on a field trip and his friends had broken a few bones that had put them out of commission for a couple of weeks. The reality of how fragile even shinobi were seemed to be setting in and the young boy had been losing his drive to continue on his path. Kudo kneeled down to his height and placed a hand on his shoulder, saying that she would be there for him and that today they would practice the stone dragon technique they had seen the day they met. Jumping up he wiped snot from his nose as he sniffed, nodding shyly that he would be interested in that. The rest of the afternoon was spent cheering the kid up, learning his name to be Kaito. After training she took him for a celebratory yakitori meal before calling it a day.

As Kaito’s friends recovered, Kudo began meeting him once every week at the training grounds early in the morning to go over ninjutsu drills and try to see if he could access Doton chakra. It was a right of passage of sorts for an iwa-nin to unlock their ability to use Doton chakra. There were some who just couldn’t and there wasn’t anything inherently bad about it, though there was an unspoken expectation that was let down if one wasn’t able to. Some wore this like a badge of honor, to be able to pull themselves up through the ranks without sharing this element with their peers. But there were more often than not those that felt the disappointment from others and let it get to them. Kudo hoped desperately to spare Kaito from making such a decision like this, but if he was forced to she hoped he would gravitate towards the former.

Kudo tried to sprinkle in some Doton training exercises with each of their sessions, though after a while she worried that it might be time to bump up the amount of time allocated towards finding out if the lad had the affinity for Doton at all.

After about a month of training with Kaito his friends had fully recovered and joined them in their weekly session. A couple weeks passed like this, until one day it was Kaito again who showed up with red eyes. Asking what the problem was Kaito blubbered for a few sentences before clearing up and speaking more clearly. It turned out his friends were moving to another village, apparently their parents had ties to Sunagakure and hadn’t liked how the political ties with this nation had shaken up and moved out of the land of stone. Their children who Kudo had gotten to know didn’t know or understand why they were forced to move, only that they were losing their friends and likely wouldn’t see them again. And if they did meet again it could be on opposite sides of a battlefield if they enrolled in a hidden village wherever they moved to.

It was a sobering day, one that Kudo wasn’t able to easily pep up with an exciting jutsu to train. Instead the two of them dealt with it with their fists, a style they were both clumsy in but let them vent their frustrations more easily. They left with bruises and scrapes, feeling marginally better than when they had started. It was decided that they would take some time off from their usual schedule, but that they would try to at least uphold a once a month session together.

It had been a while since Kudo and Kaito had met up, it was nearing the end of the school year at the academy so he had become increasingly busy. It had also brought with it a steady increase on his handle over chakra control, making a marked increase in his ninjutsu success although there was still no sign that he would be able to utilize Doton chakra. This fact either hadn’t bothered Kaito or he hadn't fully processed the matter, it was hard to tell where he fell with hardly ever seeing one another. Kudo’s progress had been slow but the results were finally noticeable. She was faster, had a better eye for things and felt more well rounded than she ever had. Still a far cry from the real elite, but for the first time in her life she had begun to see a projection for her career that seemed impossible before.

Every day she went to the training grounds and did some basic taijutsu exercises and if she had the energy a quick spar with a kage bunshin. This regimen was likely the cause of her increased physical abilities, though her arms were still scrawny and she figured an amount of weight training might be in order to help boost her up in that regard.

Taijutsu remained a sore point for her, much of her energy was poured into this strange new passion. Although her fists still didn’t pack much of a punch she was able to add her quick wit and ninjutsu to help adjust where lacking. So much so that she devoted time to this fundamental shinobi art that she began taking notes and plans to further her education on the matter and perhaps gain the aid of more experienced members of the shinobi force.

The next week she took time off from training to prepare a proper weight lifting routine, wanting to jump into it with a solid plan in place as she tended to do. The first day would be a circuit to cover most muscles and cardio, then separating into specific muscle groups to strengthen them up with intense focused exercises. Heading to the training field on the first day she formed a series of hand seals to create some excess rock with which she planned to lift. An entire makeshift gym formed from the previously flat surface of the yard. Thankfully it was empty and she was able to take full advantage of that fact with a series of different weighted tools.

It was a grueling first day, her legs turned to jelly as she ran laps around the equipment between sets. It was the situps she lamented the most, her stomach ached at the very thought of sitting up on the earthen ramp she formed to perform the exercise. At the half-way point she decided to take a break, perhaps she’d laid out too intense a first day for herself. But she was determined to finish hard, just maybe taking longer than expected.

Ok, maybe much longer than expected. By the third of the five planned circuits Kudo had hit a wall and was sad to admit she should likely call it. Expending a trickle of chakra the earthen gym lost its form and returned to formless dirt, knowing that the training grounds staff would flatten it by the week’s end. It was a slow crawl back to her home, thankfully less literal until she reached her door where she clawed her way into bed. The next day was a recovery day, but she still felt the compulsion to go and do anything even if it was just a single lap around the training grounds.

After a small breakfast she headed out to the training facility, having slept in and lazed around until about noon. It was surely to be filled with shinobi and that hour, thankful that her exercise wasn’t one that required lots of space. Once the first lap was made she continued and pushed herself to finish four more laps before her legs wobbled their way to the bench to sit and hydrate. Grabbing her water bottle she uncorked the bamboo flask and messily drank from it. Throwing it back into her bag she picked it up and went to the hot springs, wanting nothing more than to sit back and let the warm waters soothe her muscles for the rest of the day.

Forcing herself into a couple days of real rest she didn’t get up to any more training other than simple runs in the morning that had become somewhat of a regular part of her schedule. During this time off her mind spun for new ways to spice up her training regimen, thinking of something particularly cool and stupid on the second day off. Arriving at the training grounds extra early, Kudo wanted to ensure that there would be no one there in case she looked extra foolish with her idea. Forming the seals required to form the stone dragon she then coated herself in doton chakra with a single hand seal, curious how effective her empowered fists would be against a jutsu such as her dragon. She also wondered how effective an armor this defense would prove against attacks from the earthen creation, not too excited to test that part out.

Running at the creature she hoped to delay learning how her defenses held up with the aim to get the first strike in. The dragon lept backwards before opening its maw in a silent roar. Gritting her teeth Kudo ran forward and landed a flurry of hits on the tails that the dragon defended with. Even guarded, her punches chipped chunks of rock out of the beast’s tail much to her satisfaction. Jumping back herself she prepared for her next move with a tad more tact and thought this time.

Kudo and her stone dragon slowly circled on another, the earthen creature’s tail still bearing the scars from her onslaught earlier. The creature lunged at her this time, and while she was able to get her arms up to defend against it she wasn’t able to avoid the collision in any way. As the stone construct impacted against her the blow didn’t feel half of what she expected. Her armor had held up stupendously, causing her to grin as she began to feel quite powerful even against a large foe such as she faced. As the momentum of the strike died down she retaliated with another flurry of blow, confidently chipping away at the dragon’s composite. In a frantic haste the dragon tried to run away, but Kudo held tight with one hand while the other continued to wail against the brittle-feeling stone. This kept up for several minutes until the dragon lost its structural integrity and fell to pieces, tumbling Kudo across the ground.

Picking herself up she laughed in a maniacal and triumphant manner, now kind of sad that she didn’t have an audience to witness what she felt had looked pretty cool.

Today’s training required heading to the grounds early again, for the jutsu she had prepared to exercise with took up more real estate than would be acceptable during peak hours. There were many jutsu in her arsenal that hadn’t been used since learning them, not having gone on too many missions to warrant their use. It was to be quite the spectacle what she had planned; with the assistance of a kage bunshin she aimed to combine the destructive nature of the Moving Earth Core with her clone to pincer a target. That was the hope anyway, what happened would happen. Forming the clone seal Kudo sat with her duplicate and meditated before the taxing exercise. This would be an expensive attempt for his chakra reserves, a limit that she hadn’t quite pushed as far as this one might. There wasn’t time for mess ups and do overs, that would require days to recover and try again for.

Taking her time with things was not something that Kudo excelled at, although it was something she had been trying to work on. Shaking her head after ten minutes she decided it had been long enough, she jumped up and faced herself before the two of them formed hand seals to coat themselves in a dense layer of doton chakra. Walking away from one another they formed the seals required for the giant upheaval of earth that was to come. Before releasing the prepared jutsu the original Kudo kicked a rock in between them, releasing the jutsu before the rock reached the middle point between them. In that instant two giant protrusions of rock rose from beneath the two Kudos, propelling them towards the rock and subsequently themselves. Each Kudo went with an elbow jab at the rock, they missed and merely clipped the rising rock that they were riding upon. Crashing down to the ground the clone dispersed and she cursed herself, not excited for another attempt.

Before getting back to it Kudo started off towards the food stalls for a food break before releasing what time it was and that she really should get back to the work at hand. It’s now or never! Pumping herself back up she jumped up and recreated the clone, each nodding to one another before heading off across a smoother field from one another. Nodding once more they started with a run at each other, Kudo kicking a rock before they initiated the attempt once more. Two giant clumps of earth rose beneath the two kunoichi and rocked them towards their target. This time they went with a knee jab at the rock and landed, crushing the small stone into piece. Again the two Kudo crashed to the ground, not having enough finesse to gracefully catch themselves. Grinning and grunting at the same time, Kudo triumphantly rose her bruised arm into the air as she lay crumpled on the ground. Totally worth it.

A few days of recovery was Kudo’s reward for succeeding in her attempted maneuver, curious how useful it would would prove in combat with her limited Taijutsu talent. It was becoming a real sore spot for her with her lacking physical attributes and hand-to-hand talent that she worked to improve. One day she would achieve some real skill in this area, but today was not that day. It was just a simple weight training day that she had planned, something light to keep herself busy but not hurting too badly.

It was a mildly busy day at the training grounds, though Kudo was thankful for it and decided to just run some laps while taking notes on the exercises the shinobi were working on. The ground was getting pretty torn up that day, lots of doton jutsu flung around and practiced with. There was one particular duo who were flinging rocks at one another, Kudo couldn’t keep her eyes off them and almost ran into someone while taking laps.

After some nice relaxing training sessions Kudo decided to hit it a little extra hard on a weekend training session. It was time for an all out rock-flinging fest like she saw the other day, forming a clone she looked at her training partner thinking of what to throw out first. Jumping back from Kudo the clone made some distance, the original jumped back in reaction as they both wove hand seals. The original formed a series of earthen bullets that released from her mouth, the clone grinning as she slammed her hands down to create a protective wall of stone. The bullets chipped away at the wall with little success, Kudo swearing to herself at the obvious bait. Forming a seal she enhanced her defensive and offensive qualities she ran at the wall and crashed through it to force her way towards her target.

The clone jumped back again, or at least tried to as Kudo swiped her legs before she jumped. Lunging at the falling clone she went to slam her elbow down, smacking into the clone and dispersing her. Picking herself up she smiled and patted herself down from the dust gathered from the doton face off. Chuckling to herself she went home to bathe and rest up.

One misty morning in Iwagkaure Kudo embarked on a rigorous training regimen to get herself fit and ready for the bright future she now saw for herself. The recent successes in her Taijutsu training had ignited a passion in her that rarely burned for topics she usually dreaded. Determined to surpass her physical limits, she sought to enhance her strength and agility with a more complex exercise using a simple but effective addition. With unwavering determination, Kudo donned a weighted vest and strapped iron weights to her limbs, ready to push herself to the brink.

At the training grounds, Kudo's every step seemed to defy gravity as she maneuvered through the obstacle course set up with Doton chakra and a few hand seals. The weights strained her muscles, but she refused to yield. Sweat poured down her brow, her heart pounding with each exertion. As she leaped from one platform to another, her movements became more fluid, her reflexes sharper. Kudo's dedication and perseverance were transforming her into a force to be reckoned with, pushing her to seek this sort of strain more often to truly enhance her physical ability to the next level.

Determined and focused, Kudo made her way to the training grounds where the earth waited to be upended once again. With each step, Kudo could feel the energy of the earth beneath her feet as if urging her to get it a new look with protruding rocks and unearthed stone.

There was no empty field today, Kudo quietly lamented but began her training anyway. She meticulously studied the intricate hand signs in a book filled with notes that she brought, eventually channeling her chakra into the ground after much preparation. As she did so, the earth responded, shifting and molding at her command. With a mischievous grin, Kudo created towering walls of earth, surprising fellow shinobi around her as they adapted to the new additions. The training grounds became a playground for Kudo's newfound abilities, as she sculpted the terrain into magnificent landscapes and intricate structures. It was at this moment that other shinobi began to respond with their own unique structures and creations, creating a wholly unique space to train in. After a long and collaborative day at the training grounds Kudo heads off, waving her hand to her training partners.

Once a comfortable distance away from the training grounds Kudo let loose a squeal of excitement at having worked with other shinobi, a rarity amongst the many training sessions she’d had of late.

Today Kudo was to meet back up with Kaito, apparently he’d learned the bunshin technique and really wanted to show it off to her. Little did he know that his training session would take an unexpected turn. As Kaito arrived at the grounds, he was greeted by a group of clones, identical replicas of himself. With a mischievous grin, Kaito realized that his friend had devised a unique challenge for him.

With more honed reflexes and having more experienced techniques, Kudo engaged in a fierce battle against her young opponent, each move executed flawlessly. Today’s exercise was about being outnumbered, she wouldn’t do more than jab at him and pull back, keeping her clones in a repetitive cycle that wouldn’t be too overwhelming but offer a good enough challenge. The training ground echoed with the sound of swift kicks and punches, as Kaito pushed himself to the limits, Kudo was determined to see him surpass his own abilities. With each clone he defeated, Kaito's confidence grew, and his taijutsu skills reached new heights. By the end of the session, the two shinobi stood drenched in sweat, and Kaito weakly jumped up in triumph.

There would be time to continue the line of finding out if Kaito could utilize Doton chakra, but she figured their reunion should be one with less challenge and a more attainable goal.

Under Kudo's watchful eye, Kaito's training sessions were nothing short of intense. They would spar tirelessly, their movements a blur of speed and precision. Now that Kaito was returned they resumed their usual weekly sessions at the training grounds. Kudo's witty remarks and quick thinking kept the atmosphere light, even in the midst of their grueling workouts. With each passing week, Kaito's skills improved, his strikes becoming more powerful and his reflexes sharper.

As the sun set on the training grounds, Kudo and Kaito would sit together on its outskirts, sharing stories and laughter. Apparently the academy had gone on a trip to one of the smaller nations that didn’t have a hidden village, performing some lower ranked missions and helping rebuild some houses after a natural disaster. Kudo was glad the boy was able to travel the world, though secretly she was jealous that his class had a trip outside of the land of stone. She herself still hadn’t and yet this young lad had seen more of the world than her.

So much had the pair of them trained that Kudo had begun to worry that Kaito might not have any friends of his own. As soon as she had this thought she realized that the same could be said for her, even more so with having graduated the academy and now out on her own in the real world. Shaking such thoughts from her head she picked up the pace, noticing that she would likely be late for their meeting. “There you are, I was able to get started without you sensei.” Shaking her had Kudo corrected the boy, not the first time she had to do so as well. “No, no. I’m no sensei. Just another iwa-nin looking out for rambunctious youngsters like yourself.” With that she would pounce him and give him a nuggie, his arms squirming helplessly to free himself. “No fair! We haven’t even started yet, Kudo!” Releasing him she chuckled to herself, forming the hand seal that coated her body in Doton.

“Oh come on, again?” Kaito hung his arms at his side in disappointment, Kudo narrowed her eyes and affirmed his worries. “Again.” Sighing dramatically Kaito formed the same seal, concentrating so much he closed his eyes and hummed a comforting tune that the lad often did when focusing extra hard. Good, it means he’s taking this seriously. After a few attempts he cried out in exacerbation, Kudo sensing his limit being reached and decided to try out some meditation that she’d been reading up on.

“Alright, let's take a little break, eh? Alright, now sit down and try to follow my breathing movements.” Glad to be doing anything else other than earth release training Kaito sat down without remark and listened to her instructions.