Beginning of a New Life [Flashback Training Thread][Invite Only][NR]

.oO(Alright. I'm starting my Speed training from +5 since that's what I'd naturally have. I'll add the +5 bonus on that I bought after I'm done. I'll be doing this in a form of a flashback for the purpose of adding some posts to Neutral City as well as character development to show what happened after Kouki and her family arrived in this world.)

Eyelashes fluttered against pale skin as Kouki found herself waking up in what was now her new bedroom. A yawn peirced the quiet air and she looked over to find her older and younger brother still asleep in their wooden bunk bed (her older brother on the top bunk and her younger brother on the bottom bunk). Kouki and her brother's shared a room which was 'cut in half' so to speak by a thick curtain to add privacy that hung from the ceiling and which was on a track so it could be opened and closed. However, at the moment that curtain was open since the three of them had fallen asleep to Kouki telling stories of some of the missions she had gone on in the other world.

They lived in a dingy two bedroom apartment but Kouki couldn't care: her mother and father were here and safe with them, as were her older and younger brother. She glanced over to the clock to see that it was already eight o'clock in the morning and knew that her father had likely already left for work - he worked at a steel mill nearby, something that no one in the family liked. However, that had been the work he was able to procure on short notice when they had all appeared in this world. A sniff of the air brought the smell of bacon to Kouki's nose and she knew that her mother was up and making breakfast.

She threw another glance over to her still sleeping siblings before she threw the covers off of herself. She had slept in a pair of boy basketball shorts that were yellow with green stripes down the legs and a matching short sleeved jersey: clothes she found were comfortable. She reached up with her right hand and pushed the hair out of her face before sitting up and throwing her legs over the side of the bed. Toes wiggled as they met the cold air and then she placed them against the cheap tan colored carpet: still not used to having carpet instead of the wooden floors of home. She stood up and stretched, moving onto the tips of her toes as her finger tips stretched skyward. A soft groan escaped her as she pulled her body taught and then she was moving quietly through the bedroom and out of the slightly open bedroom door.

Word Count Speed 5 - 6 Training: 466 / 1,250

She closed the bedroom door the majority of the way behind herself so that the noise of their mother cooking wouldn't wake up her brothers and then she stepped across their little living room. The living-room had wooden paneled walls and the same tan carpet that was in their bedroom. Old furniture that was brown in color littered the room: no television but there was a radio which was on softly with the news adding background noise to the room.

Through the living-room she moved and into their old kitchen. Her mom was standing there with her blond hair back in a severe bun. She had a pretty blue dress with yellow flowers on it that buttoned up the front and which went to her knees. Over this her mom wore a white apron with pockets and lace around it. "Hey, mom.", Kouki said as she walked over to her mother who was standing at the stove and flipping over pieces of bacon with a metal fork.

"Morning Kouki. You kids didn't stay up all night trading stories again, did you?", her mother asked, though her voice was more amused than stern.

Kouki, who was now grinning, gave her mom a one armed hug with a chuckle. "Of course we did.", she responded. Kouki then went over to the fridge where she pulled out the carton of orange juice that was still pretty full. She placed the carton on the kitchen counter and then turned to the cupboard and pulled down a plain glass cup that was several inches tall. She poured some of the orange juice into the glass and then put the orange juice away. She returned to the counter and picked up her glass, sipping it as she turned and leaned her back on the counter. She held the glass in both hands after she had downed about half of it. "Breakfast smells amazing. What all are you making?"

As Kouki waited for her mother to respond she her right hand towards the plate of bacon that sat nearby. Her mother who caught her out of the corner of her eye smacked her hand away playfully. "Nothing, if you eat it all before hand, Kouki." Kouki laughed and then darted her hand in again, snatching a piece of bacon off of the counter and sticking half of the piece into her mouth on the first bite. She chewed quickly and then swallowed. "I'm making more bacon and then a ham egg and cheese mixture.", her mother added as she picked up the plate and moved it back over by the stove so that she could start putting the fresh pieces of bacon that were done onto the plate.

Word Count Speed 5 - 6 Training: 451 + 466 = 917 / 1,250

She watched as her mother moved the last piece of bacon out of the frying pan and on to the plate before she began to put the rest of the bacon package into the skillet one piece at a time. Just as the bacon really got to popping and cracking away did Kouki hear the bedroom door open. She took a sip of her orange juice as she turned slightly to see both of her brothers (the older named Lee and the younger named Yang) making their way out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. Lee sat at the kitchen table and dropped his head down onto the table with a muffled yawn. Yang meanwhile followed Kouki's example and got himself a glass of orange juice; putting the carton back into the fridge when he was finished.

Yang scooted back and lifted himself up so that his butt was on the counter - something that drove their mother crazy. Kouki elbowed him gently in the ribs. "Eww, get your butt off the counter, stink face." Her younger brother, laughing, just wiggled his butt in the spot jokingly.

Their mother turned and waved the wooden spattula she was using towards her youngest son threateningly. "You better get down right now young man..."

"I'd listen to her, that'd hurt on your butt...", Kouki added.

Yang seemed to contemplate his perdiciment for a moment before, grinning, he got off of the counter and snatched a piece of bacon off of the plate before their mother could stop him. Kouki laughed and finished her own piece she had snagged. "My goodness, I think I gave birth to a pack of wolves instead of children who have table manners.", their mother teased playfully as she moved the plate to the other side of the stove.

Lee, her eldest brother, suddenly lifted his head back and let out a howl that was rather real sounding. Yang and Kouki taking the cue from him copied him as well before all of them burst out laughing.

Chuckling their mother just shook her head. "What are you kids planning on doing today?"

"Kouki's gonna teach us some more tricks on how to fight.", Yang responded.

Word Count Speed 5 - 6 Training: 366 + 917 = 1,283 / 1,250
Remaining: 33
Word Count Strength 5 - 6 Training: 33 / 1,250

"You kids better not get yourselves into trouble. People don't see play fighting the same way as they did back home.", her mother said, suddenly looking worried with a frown on her face. She stared long and hard at her children as if hoping to hear one of them change their minds, but it wasn't going to happen that easily.

"Don't worry, mom. I'll make sure I find a hidden spot to teach them. There's a park nearby with a spot that no one really likes to go into because there's no path or anything there. We'll go there and we'll make sure we don't get too rowdy.", Kouki said after a minute, truthfully. She had no intentions of putting her siblings into harms way, or into a situation that could turn out nasty, but she also had no intentions of not allowing them to practice skills that could one day save their life.

Her mother seemed to contemplate this for a moment as well before nodding her approval. "Alright then. So long as you keep an eye on each other and out of sight. We don't need anyone seeing you guys using your jutsu and getting too nosey."

Kouki and her brothers nodded in agreement. Kouki could remember back to the first time she had heard her mother and father utter those words: it was several weeks ago when they had first arrived to this world. Her mother had warned them all about using any of their jutsu or other flashy abilities where prying eyes could see. She said this world didn't operate the same as the old one did, and there was no telling what sort of consequences could come from such a display of power. They might even be attacked or something: it was something her mother had read about in a book she had got from the library about how witches were burned a good three hundred or so years ago while tied to wooden polls because they displayed abilities and powers that frightened villagers.

"Don't worry mom. We'll make sure we keep hidden.", Kouki responded, patting her mom on the shoulder gently and soothingly. She couldn't blame her for worrying because that's what moms did over their children, but it bothered Kouki to see her mother frown. The rest of her family didn't remember what the last few years of their life back in the other world had been, they didn't remember all of the worrying they had done over there and all of the fear but Kouki did, and she didn't want to see that worrying start happening again....

She would have to find them another place to live one of these days... a place where her father wouldn't have to work some shitty job for little pay. A place where her and her brother's could train without worry or risk of exposure. A place where her mother wouldn't have to constantly be worrying about them...

As Kouki thought over where such a place might exist her mother began to make up plates for them...

Word Count Strength Training 5 - 6: 511 + 33 = 544 / 1,250

Kouki and her siblings took their plates but Kouki waited to ensure that their mother got a plate as well before she walked over to the kitchen table and sat down with everyone else. The food in front of her needed no seasoning because her mother was a excellent cook and she dug in along with the rest of her brother's. The egg ham and cheese mixture was eaten first, followed quickly by the bacon.

When she was finished she got up and rinsed off her plate. She grabbed down some glasses and poured her older brother and her mother some orange juice before handing it to them; being thanked by both of them. She put the orange juice away and then finished her own. Once her orange juice was drank she rinsed out her glass and then headed to her bedroom.

Her brother's always ate slower than her so she took the opportunity to grab herself from fresh clothes out of her dresser: a pair of black guy basketball shorts and a black t-shirt as well as under garments. She headed into the only bathroom and shut and locked the door. She turned the shower on, stripped out of her clothing, and stepped underneath of the water spray. The water constantly shifted between hot and cold no matter what the temperature was set at and so she showered quickly: washing and conditioning her hair before washing her body off.

Out of the shower she shivered as she dried off and got dressed quickly. She towel dried her hair before brushing it and throwing it into a ponytail; the purple highlights in her hair showing even with her hair up in a ponytail. She brushed her teeth quickly then and added on her make up: black eyeliner, black eyeshadow, and mascara as well as pink lip gloss.

Completely dressed she left the bathroom, her litlte brother running past her and locking himself in next. "It smells like girls in here!", he commented through the door.

"Well what do you think it was going to smell like?!", Kouki called back, false anger in her voice.

"I dunno, aliens or something?", her brother taunted back playfully.

Kouki laughed and returned to her bedroom where she hung up her towel from her bed post before she returned to the kitchen. By the time she got there everyone was done with the dishes stacked in the sink and she got to washing them quickly. When she was finished and the dishes were drip drying in the draining rack she went over and wiped down the stove and counter tops as well. She then picked up the little pencil that was attached to a string that hung from the writing pad on the wall where their grocery list was kept and added orange juice to the bottom since they had gone through quite a lot that morning.

By then she could hear her older brother now leaving the bathroom; both brothers having had more than enough time while she cleaned up to get dressed. "Kouki, you ready?", Lee called out from their bedroom as he went to put his stuff away too.

Word Count Strength 5 - 6 Training: 527 + 544 = 1,071 / 1,250

Kouki went back over to the fridge and pulled out three bottles of spring water. She placed them on the counter and shut the fridge before she grabbed up her little string-pull back pack. She put the water inside. She then attached her weapon pouches around her and covered them with her hoodie. Feet were slipped into shinobi sandals that were black in color. The whole finishing process of getting ready took roughly thirty or so seconds. She snatched her set of keys up off of the counter and stood by the door. "I am now.", she called out to her brothers.

She could hear them grabbing last minute things before they too met her in the living room. Their mother poked her head out of the bathroom. "Not to late guys, your dad gets off early today and I want a family dinner."

"Alright mom. We'll be back in time.", said Lee while Kouki and Yang nodded in agreement. The three then took off out the door with Kouki pausing long enough to lock both the bottom lock and the deadbolt. She paused long enough to feel the familiar worry of leaving her mom alone in such a place before she turned and followed her brother's down the steps of their apartment building, and there were a lot of steps since they lived on the fifth floor which was the top floor of the building.

The trio was out of the building in under a minute; racing the majority of the way down the steps to the sound of yells of some of the more grumpier neighbors. The three were laughing as they reached the front door and left the dingy hallway of their building. They took a right and headed towards the park in the distance.

Suddenly grinning Kouki looked at her brothers who stopped and stared back at her. "Race ya!", she called out suddenly before taking off without bothering to count to three. Her brother's yelled a chorus of "Hey's!" behind her as they took off and gave chase. Both were pretty fast, able to catch the majority of the way up to Kouki as they all bobbed and weaved their way through crowds of people, street stalls selling anything from fake jewelry to food, and even the occasional car that none of them stopped long enough to care about.

They reached the park within a few minutes and crossed the last street before they were in the trees. They raced along the path for several minutes before they broke off and headed towards the closed in clearing that Kouki had told their mother about. Once there they slowed down and Kouki collapsed on the ground laughing. Her two brothers stopped but began to wrestle playfully as they argued over who had won that race.

Strength 5 - 6 Wordcount: 456 + 1,071 = 1,527 / 1,250
Remaining: 277
Speed 6 - 7 Wordcount: 277 / 1,500

Kouki watched her brother's wrestle for several minutes, allowing herself to take notice of their technique so that she could suggest improvements. They were pretty evenly matched: Lee's larger size and strength evening up against Yang's smaller frame and faster speed. In the end though Lee pinned down Yang and used his heavier weight to keep him there. "Get off me you cow!", Yang called out as he grunted while attempting to throw off his older brother.

Lee laughed and got up and off of him, holding his hand out to him while glancing over to Kouki who was chuckling. Yang took the opportunity to strike and grabbed Lee's hand while sweeping his leg sideways. Yang's leg hit Lee's and took them out from beneath him. Lee went down hard and Yang had him pinned; holding him in such a way that his arms were almost completely behind his back in a grip that was unbreakable from that position.

Kouki laughed harder and just shook her head. "Rule one Lee: never take your eyes off of your opponent." Yang released Lee and both boys were up on their feet in no time at all. Kouki took a moment to access the way her brothers were. Lee's frame was more fitting for power-house based taijutsu: he was what most would call beefy while still standing at an even six feet tall, his height making him look older than the seventeen years old he was. Yang on the other hand was only five feet tall despite being thirteen years old. He was slim with slender muscles: he couldn't hit as hard as Lee but he could hit faster and he was used to utilizing his speed. This was part of why they were so evenly matched. Kouki meanwhile seemed like a mixture of the two: she was both fast and strong naturally, though her training had increased that even more. This was why she was their teacher, their sensei; she had more experience than them.

Speed 6 - 7 Word Count: 333 + 277 = 610 / 1,500

After a little back and forth banter between Lee and Yang the pair turned their focus onto Kouki who had begun to walk around them with her brows furrowed as they often did when she was in deep thought. They claimed it made her look older than she was, and Kouki refused to comment on that: she didn't want to think of the time that she was older. This was, after all, the second time that she was seeing the age of fifteen. The last time she was fifteen she was dealing with a triangle of a relationship and a lot of drama that came with it, including establishing and controlling a new village where one that had been destroyed had once stood.

Not wanting the past to take control of her mind Kouki gave her head a little shake to clear her thoughts. She would keep focused on the here and now: this was where she was needed, not stuck going through the past.

"Alright, let's see... " Kouki pointed to some rocks that were piled up nearby. They had been put there by her the previous evening when she had scouted out this location for training. Each of the rocks were even in weight and would make good training tools for what she had planned, and they gained weight as they gradually increased in size so they could work with them for quite a while. "Go grab the heaviest boulder over there that you can lift right now. Once you have it I want you to start jogging around the circle of the clearing." To their credit her brothers didn't groan or complain: they knew she wouldn't have them doing something that wouldn't benefit them in the end, or something that she hadn't once done herself.

"This'll build your strength while running will build your speed. I'll be doing this with you." She walked over and picked up a boulder, testing the weight of several before finding one that worked. By then her brothers had picked theirs as well and the trio began to jog around the large circled clearing while carrying their boulders. They went around once and then twice.

"Once you feel the boulder start to feel like it weigh's nothing in your arms switch to a heavier one. We're going to keep doing this over and over again until we've each changed up our boulders a few times.", Kouki instructed, feeling sweat break out across her forehead as she jogged in time with her other two siblings.

Speed 6 - 7 Wordcount: 421 + 610 = 1,031 / 1,500

Kouki and her brother's continued to run around the clearing while carrying heavy boulders. Lee was the first to change up his for a heavier one considering his muscle size: his body was quicker to adapt than theirs were. Kouki was the second to change up, choosing a far larger boulder that weighed a significant amount more. Yang was the last to change up; waiting until Kouki and Lee had gone around several more times before changing up.

Sweat was pouring off of all three of them as they continued with this constant training program of Kouki's. A good hour into the exercise, and several dozen times around, Kouki came to a stop and threw her boulder into the pile. "Okay... time to call it quits.", she announced. Her brothers, also panting like her, joined her and threw their boulders onto the pile as well. Each of them had changed up their boulders for heavier ones quite a few times, and they had made it around the circle jogging at least a hundred times. That was definitely enough work for one day.

Kouki moved to the middle of the clearing and sat down as she pulled her bag over to herself. She removed the three bottles of water which were still cold and handed one to each of her brothers who collapsed next to her. They all opened their waters and drank in silence for a few moments.

By the time Kouki had downed about half of her bottle of water she was no longer panting and was in fact breathing normally. She allowed herself to fall backwards in the soft grass and stared up at the sky; watching as clouds lazily floated by over head.

"Ugh, my body is throbbing.", Yang complained softly as he fell backwards too. Lee joined them a few seconds later. Kouki grinned; her body felt like it had a heart beat of its own too, but it was a sign of training well done so she enjoyed it. She had gained some more strength and speed from all of this, and it was going to one day end up being put to good use, she knew it.

She glanced at her watch after a long while, noticing that it was a little past noon by the time she felt up to moving. "Huh, dad will be home in a few hours. Let's go pick up some flowers for the table: you know how much mom would like that, and dad would appreciate it too.", Kouki said.

Her brothers, nodding in agreement with her, got up with her. Kouki grabbed up her bag and downed the rest of her bottle of water. The three of them tossed their empty bottles into the nearby trash as they hit the path and started walking back the way they came. They crossed the street, moving slower than they had been before. They looked through the stalls, coming across a flower one rather quickly.

Speed 6 - 7 Wordcount: 495 + 1,031 = 1,526 / 1,500
Remaining: 26

Kouki stopped nearby the flower stand and her brothers waited behind her: they were leaving this 'girly' stuff up to her which was alright.

"Hello, kids. How can I help you?", asked the elderly flower stall owner.

"I'd like some yellow lillies please. A boquet of them if you can.", Kouki responded politely.

"That'll be twelve dollars, please.", the elderly man said with a smile that caused his eyes to crinkle. Kouki pulled out her wallet and pulled the twelve dollars out. She handed it to him in exchange for the bouqet of flowers. Once she had the yellow lillies she smiled and thanked the man.

Her and her brothers walked their way carefully back towards the apartment building; not wanting to risk ruining the flowers. Once at their apartment building they went in and up the five flights of stairs that led up to the floor their apartment was on. Once there Kouki unlocked the door and walked inside: hiding the flowers behind her back.

She walked up to her mother who was back in the kitchen and preparing what smelled like a roast and potato's for their special dinner. She stood behind her mother giggling, who turned and looked curiously as Kouki. Kouki, now grinning, brought the flowers out from behind her back and presented the flowers to her mother who gasped, took them, and then hugged Kouki and both of her brothers. Kouki grabbed a vase and filled it halfway with water, placing it in the center of the table where her mother then added the flowers.

"That'll be perfect. It adds a bit of color to our apartment. Thank you, kids.", her mother responded. Kouki and her brother's all nodded and went to clean up from their day of training so they would all be nice and presentable for when their father got home. Kouki's mother went back to working on what was going to be a very delicious meal...

[End Training. Addition word count will be used for future trainings. Speed is now +7, Strenght is now +6.]

Word Count: 343 + 26 = 369 Remaining for Next Training