Chuunin Exams or Bust

Nao started his day earlier than normal,before the sun had even crested the horizon. The Chuunin Exams were approaching quickly, only a few days left to go before they would set off. Nao knew that if he wanted to be ready for such an event that he was going to have to push himself harder than he had before, or else he would not stand a chance. He had made great strides in his abilities over the past several months, his non-stop training of different Ninjutsu to help him in dealing with opponents at a range but he also knew he needed to continue to improve his physical capability as well.

The member 'Nao' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Bunny Arrival' :

He started the day leaving his small house setting out on a brisk run through town that would eventually lead out into the forest that surrounded the village, this run was simply a warm up for the training that was to come later. This wasn't a simple jog or normal run, he took the longest and most obscured path through the village ensuring that he would have to maneuver around fencing, carts, people and other matters that would otherwise block his path. Occasionally stopping and running in place or stopping to do a random amount of squats or pushups before returning to the run, shadow boxing as he moved through the village all in an attempt to work every muscle as he prepared for the real training to begin.

The member 'Nao' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Bunny Arrival' :

Reaching the gates Nao would pause, stretching the muscles in his legs and arms before doing a random amount of crunches, pushups, and squats. Leaping up to a low branch that hung near the gate, Nao would do a set of pullups as well to ensure all of his muscles felt the burn of this work out. Switching between the pullups and pushups and squats and crunches before starting the process over again and again. Once every muscle in his body burned from the workout, Nao would take the time to take a quick breather and refresh himself with water before continuing on with his brisk run and shadow boxing as he moved through the gates and out into the forest beyond.

The member 'Nao' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Bunny Arrival' :

Out in the forest Nao would intensify his efforts, now unhindered by the obstacles of the village he would run at full sprint before running up a tall tree and taking to the branches as he leapt from one to the other to help improve his agility as well as his balance and speed. His byakugan actively scanning the canopy of the forest, looking for anything that would be an interesting find or anything out of place that might spell trouble for him. He passed many bird nests and startled them into taking flight, not on purpose, simply by jostling the branch upon which the nest was perched.

The member 'Nao' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Bunny Arrival' :

His trip through the forest was not without its own hiccups, on more than one occasion he would accidentally disturb a hornets nest or other angry insect that would then set up on him in a swarm. This however would work to his benefit as getting away from the insects proved to be a struggle and therefore would help him improve, with every string or bite driving him to move faster to get away from them. He would even pass by a couple sitting beneath one of the branches he moved across, nestled in each other's arms as they watched the clouds moving beyond the canopy caused by the forest.

The lovebirds drawing Nao's mind to Hibiki as he wondered what she was doing and if they would get the chance to do any cloud watching of their own once the exams were over. He would come to rest at a small creek not far from the gates, 'I wonder if Hibiki likes going on walks through the forest' he would silently muse to himself as he took a small breather to rest and gather some fresh water into the canteen he had brought with him. He would of course have to ask her about it later, though any time spent with her was worth it in his eyes no matter what they were doing.

His second breather of the day would give way to the sun peaking over the horizon, slapping his face to get himself focused once more as he went straight back into his training again. A mix of pullups, squats, pushups and crunches before returning to the shadow boxing run that he had started his day with and ending back up on the branches of the trees to continue his agility and balance training as he moved deeper into the forest. He would find himself a branch that was thin enough for him to wrap his legs around and hang upside down, while still being strong enough to hold his weight. Allowing himself to simply dangle from the branch for a few moments before beginning a set of crunches while hanging until his legs and core were sore and aching. 

Flipping himself upright, Nao would take a moment as he sat upon the branch rubbing his sore muscles and taking another sip from the canteen. There was little he could do that would take his mind off the burning soreness of his muscles, but the thought of winning the exams would push him to go further. It was going to be a long day and it was just beginning, there was still so much left for him to accomplish and only so little time in the day. He wondered if he would have to make camp later to get actual rest rather than going back into the village, but that was a question for another time and simply distracted him from what he should actually be doing right now.

Of course, the thought of camping would bring his thoughts back to Hibiki and wondering if he should have invited her along. They could have spent the night star gazing, not to mention the fact that if he was going to camp out he would have to find his own dinner and he would bet everything that Hibiki could hunt better than he could.Nao would stand up on the branch he had been sitting on, he could not waste any more time wallowing in his pain or thinking of what could have been just yet. There would be plenty of time later for him to rest, now that the sun was rising he needed to use the daylight while he had it.

With the chuunin exams coming, he needed every advantage he could muster even if it meant grinding himself to mush for a day. Leaping down to the forest floor, Nao would take on the Hakaiken stance. One foot in front of the other, legs bent and his arms at the ready. Facing a large tree that he would use as a training dummy for the time being, the style was a balance of the two great fighting styles of the leaf. Both gentle and strong, an expression of himself in a way. Not focused on offense or defense, but a combination of the two through the use of both parent style techniques as well as a few of his own.

The forest around Nao would seem to grow silent as he focused his breathing, slow deep breaths in and out as he calmed his mind. Like lightning in a storm, Nao would lash out with strikes. Striking at the tree repeatedly with everything he had, hundreds of strikes from basic punches and kicks to an assortment of fient strikes, hooks, and open palm strikes. The tree was strudy, punching it hurt like hell but he would push through, enduring the pain as he continued. Even the enhancement of strength to his chakra would do little to actually damage the tree, but as he had known from the beginning this was but a stepping stone for what was to come.

He had been so focused before upon the spiritual training of his chakra with his Ninjutsu that he had begun to slack in his physical capabilities, he could not allow such weakness to stop him from winning the Chuunin Exams. While Hakaiken was a style of his own creation, Nao did not have much practice with it. With the exception of the spar he had with Hibiki, he had not even used it against another person. This made the training all the more important, and the tree would not wither from lack of chakra. It was this part of his training that was as much of a mental work out as it was a physical work out, in addition to helping his punching strength and form it also helped strengthen his hands to resist pain and wear.

Nao would not stop striking the tree until blood began to smear across the bark, looking to his hands he would see bloody cuts and scrapes on both sides of them as a result from his different punches. After working on his punches for a long while, Nao would wrap his now bloody hands in cloth before he moved to kicks. Starting with basic straight kicks with the heel and sole, some of them for injuring but just as many for creating distance between your opponent. Then he moved to side kicks, this time only with the top of the foot and with the shin of the leg. Nao targeted his kicks to 3 different areas on the tree, each one representing part of a person's body.

The first was at the top and represented the head, kicks to the head could take an enemy out in a single blow if they landed. The second was in the middle of the tree, and represented the ribs. Kicks to the ribs hurt like hell, and even if they didn't take you opponent out they made sure your opponent couldn't fight at their fullest potential due to the pain. The third and last area was the knee, near to the bottom of the trunk. Kicks to the side of the knee could cripple your opponent making it incredibly hard for them to move.

After working on these side kicks for a while, Nao moved on to kicks with the heel of the foot before moving to spinning and ground based kicks. All of these kicks were powerful, but spinning kicks were easy to see coming, meaning he needed to work on the speed of their execution. He worked on those kicks for a while before taking another chug from his water canteen, draining the rest of it's contents. His feet and legs now as bloody and bruised as his hands were he would slowly limp towards the small river nearby to refill the canteen, as he took his time to catch his breath.

He would lower his lower body slowly into the creek, allowing the water to turn red as it washed the blood away before filling the canteen from up stream as to avoid blood in his drinking water. The sun now beginning to set, Nao would take this time to rest and soothe his aching and bruised muscles. He did not have the energy to hunt for food, but he did bring a small pack of provisions with him which he ate as he soaked within the water. Nao would make his way to a small hollow in the trunk of a tree to serve as his shelter for the night, weakly laying himself down to the ground he would try his best to rest for the night.

Making a small fire to keep himself warm without risking burning the tree and himself within it while he slept. Despite his full exhaustion from the training, the pain of his muscles had little comfort on the hard ground, making sleep all the more longing. As he waited for sleep to take him, Nao would find himself reading the same thing he had been reading every night since he had found it. The letter from his mother. He had likely read the letter a hundred times, and would no doubt read it a hundred more, in hopes that each new time he read the letter he would gleam something that he had not before.

It was as if his mother had written the letter throughout her life, or at least throughout his. Maybe she added more and more to it each time she had thought of telling him the truth about his father, or maybe she simply wrote it all at once when she realized her time was drawing nearer. He could not know, he probably could never know. Despite his initial shock and the anger he had felt when he first discovered it, he had since come to an understanding of what his mother might have gone through. Each time he read it he would feel closer to her, as though she was there speaking to him, telling him of his origin.

She had been promised to a Hyūga, though she never stated the name of who it was that was supposed to be her husband. She only spoke of it being against her wishes and that her father had tried to force it upon her, she spoke of her begging her father to reconsider but he would not hear her. She spoke of her thoughts and her feelings of the idea, how she did not wish to marry for duty but for love and how it eventually drove her to run away, sneaking off in the dead of night to get as far away from her father and her husband to be.

She traveled for days on end, until one day she was set upon by a group of rogue shinobi. That was when she met him, his true father. A Shinobi by the name of Lucian Mikiri, he saved her and according to her she fell in love with him the moment she saw him.They were only together for a few days, but in that time she came to knew him in a way she had never known another soul. They would take shelter in Tanzaku town, a small town within the land of fire. She claimed they were kindred spirits, though she knew that her family would never accept him.

In that short time that they were together he was conceived, though she wouldn't learn of that fact till much later. She thought that they were going to spend the rest of their lives together, but then she woke up one morning and he was gone. She searched for him all around the area they had been in, but her father found her before she could ever find him and he forbade her ever going back to the town to find him. Try as she might to sneak out again after that, she never got past the gate of the clan district.