Back to School [Spook or Invite][NR]

Ka'lara ran through the familiar forests of the home she hadn't seen in over seven full years as she neared the proud and strong village of Konohagakure. Ka'lara hadn't changed much in appearance during the seven years she had spent in Edge outside of having grown a few inches and looking a little older. Black hair was back in a messy bun ponytail with loose strands hanging down in her face. Her skin was still the familiar tan color of someone who spent long hours in the sun, and still covered in the full-body jet black in color tattoo of her clan that she had had since she was very young. Her outfit consisted of bandages wrapped around her chest and ribs with a red sleeveless top over this. Bandages also covered the palms of her hands and went up her arms until they stopped at her elbows. Pants that went down slightly past her knees were black and red in color. Feet were planted firmly in black open toed shinobi sandals. Her pouches of weapons hung around her waist and the most important part of her outfit - her Konohagakure headband - hung loosely around her neck where it was in plain view. Bruises were rising up on the back of her arms, back, and legs where she had been thrown through tables and chairs as well as into a wall, but she continued to ignore the throb of them.

Ka'lara slowed herself as she neared the village gates, unsure of what sort of welcome would meet her. She hadn't after all disappeared on purpose - there was no controlling those dimensional tentacles that snatched people up at random. But, would they know that? Or would everyone think she had defected? Would she be missing-nin status with her beloved home? Who knew... she hoped the hell not. She had no intentions of betraying her village or harming anyone within it: she was here to train and to better herself in case that alien kid returned to kick her ass.

Ka'lara stopped just inside the gates and tilted her head back a bit, taking in the view of the village and clearly able to see the Hokage monument where Aisling's head was very clearly in place with no one after her.... so Aisling Inuzuka-Uchiha was still in charge? Nice.

Even now, Spook was still thinking about his spar with Alec. It had been the first actual confrontation he'd been in in a long time. Spook found himself wanting to be involved in a similar battle once again, to test his limits. He hadn't done all of this training for nothing these years...

Alec had woken something up in him. He was currently sitting atop a building near the front gates, debating on whether or not he wanted to go venturing out into the world again. He didn't really want to leave Aisling, but with things as peaceful as they were, he saw no reason to be so guarded.

It was then that he noticed someone approaching the village gates. She looked familiar... Could she have been Natalie? The rumor was that she'd been brought into this world against her will, so she wasn't considered missing. Spook himself had been mysteriously transported here himself, so she wasn't to blame. He was quickly in his feet and down to street level so that he could greet her.

Spook still looked pretty much the same himself, except for the extra muscle he'd packed on. He still wore his trademark gas mask, even though he no longer had to. "Well, look who it is," he said. "Long time no see, Natalie. You and your twin brother were once inseparable, where might he be?"

Ka'lara looked up as she heard herself called by a name she hadn't gone by in a whole seven years. Her gaze fell upon Spook, her sensei, as he landed nearby her and greeted her. A grin spread across her face as Spook asked about her twin, Gekido. "He's back in Edge. He uh... well, it's kind of complicated. He's merged with someone who goes by the name Anthony. So him and I don't even look like twins anymore. I only found out he was Gekido like a day or so ago...", She reached up one bruise covered arm and scratched at her head.

"I uh, I know I haven't been around for a while... but I got a really big favor to ask of you." She glanced back behind herself, half expecting to see that alien kid come running up behind her to attack her. She then looked back to Spook. "So... I don't even know where to begin..." She frowned, not liking feeling this confused, but the situation with the alien kid had escalated pretty quickly. "I kind of got sucked off into this world seven years ago against my will. When I couldn't get back I found a job working for Demi Kane at Zero Sum. I gotta admit I stopped training, there was no point. All I had to handle were some drunks, no real threats... Then just recently I got accepted into the Company."

She shook her head slightly, still not believing her luck in that. "Anyway. Some alien kid appeared over in a place called Ground Zero and Junior Kane, the new boss man, asked for someone to go over there and check it out. Me and some guy called The Vigilante went over there. It turned into a fight... but it didn't end well. This kid, even against two people, fought like a beast. Whooped both of us pretty bad." She paused and gestured towards the bruises that covered the back of her. "The kid moved fast; even seemed to disappear and appear elsewhere. I went to kick him and he was just gone. Next thing I knew he was behind me and kicking me through some tables and chairs and into a wall - I nearly went through the damn thing. The Vigilante did something special with this suit he had on and got the jump on the kid and got us out of there before he could do anything in retaliation. But, I'm kind of expecting him to come back and come after us now... Last we saw he was headed towards a place called Neutral City."

She sighed, continuing. "Anyway. I was wondering if you weren't super busy if you wouldn't mind giving me some more training. I could really use the help. But, I can also understand if you're super busy..." She didn't know if Spook was going to say yes or not, but she was prepared for him to be too busy to help her - though she still didn't know what she was going to do if that was the case.

Her brother was alive and well, and lived in Edge. That was fine. With what happened in the old world, Spook knew no one here was blaming her. There were several that had out-of-body experiences, and none of it was within their control.

She said she'd been brought here against her will, as he had himself. She found a job working for Demi, one of Alec's children. "Zero Sum, yes. I was a body guard there myself briefly," he said. "I'm also still a member of the Company." Spook showed her his Company pendant.

But, then she spoke of an alien. She had Spook's complete attention when she said the alien could fight, and that not only had it bested her, one of his students, but he'd also bested someone else? Both at the same time? He'd nearly knocked her through a wall with just one kick?... Spook couldn't help but to become somewhat excited.

So Natalie had come home for training. It made him wonder if Gekido knew of what was going on. She didn't speak of him traveling with them at all. What was he doing? Did he care?

"Come with me," Spook said, before he took off running, quickly resembling a green blur. He ran up walls, jumped over buildings and Parkour'd his way to the Ramen Shop, above which was his one bedroom apartment...

Spook seemed to grow excited as she told her tale of her encounter with that alien and the fight that had taken place, and she couldn't blame him - it was a very exciting thing even if it had been very dangerous. Of course, the best fights were the most dangerous of ones, and as a shinobi she was no stranger to such a thing as danger. She also was shown that Spook was also a member of the company, and had even worked for Demi as well; two things she hadn't known.

"Come with me.", she heard Spook sensei say.

Spook wanted her to follow him? That meant he wasn't saying no - he wasn't too busy. Ka'lara's grin grew across her face as her excitement grew. She loved training and loved the chance to learn new things. She had no idea what it might be that Spook was going to teach her, but she knew it had to be good. Somewhere in the back of her mind she remembered that Gekido - er, Anthony? - wanted to come to Konoha earlier. She hadn't had a chance to tell him what was going on since the moment she had been called to Darkman Tower, and figured now was probably not the best moment. No, she would have to give Spook sensei her undivided attention.

She took off after Spook, following the same path that he took to the Ramen Bar. The throb from her bruises were a distant memory now: there was no time to worry about that when there was training to be done! Besides, she wasn't so girly girly that she would allow something like that slow her down. No way, no how. "My brother might or might not show up; I didn't get a chance to tell him what was going on but he might catch wind of it.", she said as an after thought. She really didn't know how far the Sibling Bond connection went, and Ka'lara had been in another country technically when she had fought that alien, so only time would tell if her brother was privy to knowing what had happened.

Wordcount: 355 + 898 = 1,253

Spook wondered if it be appropriate to teach her his forbidden techniques. He'd first start with the basics, and then go from there. So, from within his bedroom he'd bring out a set of his weights, and hand them to her.

"If this.. alien you speak of is as strong as I think," Spook said. "Then we'll have to re-train you from the ground up. Put on these weights and run 100 laps around Konoha. Each lap I want you to do either punches or kicks, and switch between them every lap. If you're still alive after that, then perhaps you'll be ready for what's next."

It would be hard. If she couldn't hack it, Spook figured she'd run away. If she could, then maybe, just maybe he'd consider showing her some of his forbidden techniques, the same as he'd done Holeman all those years ago...

Spook brought out a set of weights and Ka'lara realized very quickly that they would be doing this the 'old school' method: she didn't mind in the slightest. She listened as Spook explained that if this alien was as strong as he thought that they were going to have to start Ka'lara's training from the ground up: considering how long it had been since the last time Ka'lara had put a proper day's worth of training in she couldn't help but agree.

She put the heavy weights on as instructed and listened as Spook instructed her to run one hundred laps around the entire village. Each lap she was to do either punches or kicks, and change up between the two every other lap. They were simple enough instructions but she knew it wasn't going to be that easy considering how heavy these weights were that she could feel - and that was while she was standing still listening to instructions, she knew it was going to be worse when she started actually moving. But, she was determined to see this through.

Spook said that if she could live through this training then perhaps she would be ready for what was next: she had no idea what that was and wasn't going to ask. She would find out when she accomplished this task - she was too determined to turn back now. She cracked a grin and gave a bow to her sensei. "I'll see you after I'm finished with my one hundred laps.", she said in a determined voice before she took off out the window and headed for the nearest point of the village's gate that ran along its boarder.

She moved slowly at first; noticing how tiring and hard it was to move with such heavy weights on her limbs, and it took her far longer than it normally would have to reach the boarder of the village so that she could get started on her task. But, she was too stubborn to turn back now. She had never allowed a hard days work stop her before and she wasn't going to start now. She never should have allowed herself to stop training and become complacent, but she had, and this was self 'punishment' of a sort for it. Yes, this is what she would use to make up for all of the slacking she had done, this was how she would prove herself once more.

Ka'lara took a deep breath as she reached the village boarder and stared ahead for several seconds. She breathed in deeply then out slowly, mentally preparing herself for this task while she plugged a pair of earbud headphones into her Company cellphone and then put the earbuds into her ears: music began to play instantly. After a few more times of this deep breathing exercise she started on her task, remembering to switch between punching and kicking as she made her way around the village.

She started out with punching as she got started on her first lap, switching from arm to arm as she did so. Her legs and arms screamed in protest almost from the start but she simply gritted her teeth and concentrated on the music, using it to 'dull' the pain within her mind. Many people began to stare at her as she made her first round around the village. By the second lap of one hundred where she switched from punches to kicks as she went around, even more people had come to watch this 'training', some even going so far as to whisper that this must be the famous Spook-Fu training - but Ka'lara couldn't hear them, she was slipping further into her music, and even began to sing as she went.

"They see you as small and helpless. They see you are just a child. Surprise when they find out that a warrior will soon run wild. Prepare for your greatest moments. Prepare for your finest hour. The dream that you've always dreamed is suddenly about to flower. We are lightning straying from the thunder. Miracles of ancient wonder. This will be the day we've waited for. This will be the day we open up the door. I don't want to hear your absolution, hope you're ready for a revolution. Welcome to a world of new solutions. Welcome to a world of bloody evolution. In time your heart will open minds, a story will be told, and victory is in a simple soul. Your world needs a great defender, your world's in a way of harm. You want a romantic life, a fairytale that's full of charm. Beware that the light is fading. Beware as the dark returns. This worlds unforgiving, even brilliant lights will cease to burn. Legends scatter. Day and night will server as hope and peace are lost forever. This will be the day we've waited for. This will be the day we open up the door. I don't want to hear your absolution. I hope your ready for a revolution. Welcome to the world of new solutions, welcome to the world of bloody evolution. In time your heart will open minds, a story will be told, and victory is in a simple soul..."

The song as she sang it brought her several more laps around the village, and each lap she changed between punching and kicking. Sweat poured down her forehead and into her eyes but she didn't even pause to wipe it away. Her body was throbbing but she pushed through the pain as she started on lap five, the song changing from her phone to something new...

Word count: 937 + 1,253 = 2,190

Lap five led into six, seven, eight, nine, and ten. She continued to switch out between punching and kicking with every lap that passed. She ignored the crowd that had formed around her, and figured that Spook sensei was likely somewhere nearby watching her. But, she didn't pay attention enough to try and find him. No, her focus was on this task placed in front of her: one hundred laps around the beautiful village of Konoha. She knew she wasn't the first one to have to do this, so the task wasn't impossible, but it was hard. It was very hard. And yet hard work wasn't something she was scared of, it wasn't something that she ran away from. So, she continued to fight through the pain of the training as the different aches and pains in her body all bled into one.

Lap ten turned into eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen and twenty. By now her body was beginning to numb as the music continued to thunder in her ears through her ear buds and as sweat continued to drop from her forehead and into her eyes. By now her whole head was soaked in sweat and her clothing was beginning to cling to her due to how damp they were from the liquid as well. All of this was ignored as she continued to sing along with her music and push herself through this training exercise.

"Whoa. With our backs to the wall, the darkness will fall. We never quite thought we could lose it all. Ready, aim, fire. Ready, aim, fire. An empire's fall in just one day. You close your eyes and the glory fades. Ready aim fire. Ready aim fire. Fire. Ready aim fire. Ready aim fire. Off in the distance there is resistance bubbling up and festering. Hey Mr. Motion, making me a potion, shake it all up with your mystery. How come I've never seen your face 'round here? I know every single face 'round here. A man on a mission, changing the vision, I was never welcome here. We don't have a choice to stay, we'd rather die than do it your way. With our backs to the wall, the darkness will fall, we never quite thought we could it all. Ready aim fire. Ready aim fire. A empire's fall in just one day, you close your eyes and the glory fades. Ready aim fire. Ready aim fire. Fire. Ready aim fire. Ready aim fire away. Back in the casing, shaking and pacing, this is the tunnel's light. Blood in the writing, stuck in the fighting. Look through the rifles sight. How come I've never seen your face 'round here? I know every single face 'round here.Here in the heckle, holding the shackle, I was never welcome here. We don't have a choice to stay, we'd rather die than do it your way. With our back sto the wall the darkness will fall. We never quite thought we could lose it all. Ready aim fire. Ready aim fire. Fire. Ready aim fire. Ready aim fire away..."

This next song caused her to hit thirty times around the village and she continued on, still switching every lap around she made between kicking and punching. Many of the villagers by now were cheering her on while others were placing bets on if she was going to make it around a hundred times. Others were placing bets on what lap they thought she would pass out or die on. They were all ignored as the song changed to yet another one and she continued to push herself onward. By now the weighs were beginning to be easier to move with, as if they weren't as heavy as they once had been...

"So this is what you meant when you said you were spent. And now it's time to build from the bottom of the pit right to the top. Don't hold back. Packing my bags and giving the academy a rain check. I don't ever wanna let you down, I don't ever wanna leave this down. 'Cause after all this city never sleeps at night. It's time to begin, isn't it? I get a little bit bigger but then I'll admit I'm just the same as I was. Now don't you understand that I'm never changing who I am? So this is where you fell and I am left to sell. The path to heaven runs through miles of clouded hell. Right to the top, don't look back. Turning to rags and giving the commodities a rain check. I don't ever wanna let you down. I don't ever wanna leave this town. 'Cause after all this city never sleeps at night. It's time to begin, isn't it? I get a little bit bigger but then I'll admit I'm just the same that I was. Now don't you understand that I'm never changing who I am. It's time to begin, isn't it? I get a little bit bigger but then I'll admit I'm just the same that I was. Now don't you understand that I'm never changing who I am. This road never looked so lonely. This house doesn't burn down slowly, to ashes, to ashes... It's time to begin, isn't it? I get a little bit bigger but then I'll admit I'm just the same that I was. Now don't you understand that I'm never changing who I am."

All of the laps began to blur together as she continued to push herself onward. She even lost track of what song she was singing, or how many had passed as she hit lap one hundred. The weights no longer slowed her down, in fact it felt as if she weren't wearing them at all. She was no longer sluggish and was in fact able to move at the speeds in which she used to be able to move without the weighs on. However, she knew that this all meant that when she took those weighs off she was going to be far faster and stronger than she was now. But how fast? She was curious to find out, but now wasn't quite the time.

Around the village for the hundredth time she went until she reached the exact spot that she had started in. She finished hard, pushing herself through the run while executing a series of kicks until at last she came to a stop a few yards away from where she had started.

Ka'lara was completely soaked from head to toe in sweat, her ponytail had come loose from the messy bun that it had been in and she hardly cared. A grin was on her face and she removed her cellphone from her pocket and put a stop to the music that had been blaring out of her headphones. Was Spook sensei still around? Had he watched the whole training process from start to finish? The villagers were cheering her on before going back to what it was they had been doing while at the same time money was exchanging hands between those who had bet on her that she would make it to the end and those who had said she would quit far before then.

Wordcount 1,210 + 2,190 = 3,400

"Good job," Spook said, hopping down from the large fence that surrounded the village. "You survived. Many people had bets going that you'd die. I have to thank you, I made quite a few dollars... Now, I have a kick I want you to practice."

Spook moved through the space separating he and Natalie in what looked to be the blink of an eye. As it seemed he would his her, he suddenly stopped with his foot inches before her face, causing a breeze so fierce that her hair and clothes would be ruffled violently. An ordinary person would have been knocked off of their feet, but she was no ordinary person.

Mossberg 500 Kick:

"I want you to memorize my form, and practice this kick with both of your legs with the weights on," he said, putting his leg back down. "It doesn't have to be now, but if you feel so inclined, then so be it. Just, try not to over-do it... When you can kick over that tree," He pointed to a thick one near the gate. "Then i'll show you a technique with your arms. After that, I think you just might be ready for this... alien."

Nanalie grinned as she heard Spook thank her because he had made a lot of money due to all of the bets - and it didn't surprise her to hear that some people had been betting she'd die before finishing. Nanalie had known better: it had been a tough challenge but she had saw it through to the end and that was all that mattered. She was faster and stronger than she had been before and she knew that if she took the weights off that Spook had given her that she'd likely be even faster and stronger - but, she didn't plan on taking the weights off unless she absolutely had to.

Then Spook said he had a kick that he wanted her to practice and she paid close attention to his next series of movements. Spook moved fast through the space that separated him from her in the blink of an eye and just as it seemed like he was going to hit her he came to a stop with his foot several inches away from her face. The breeze that came off of the kick caused her clothing and hair to ruffle violently in the wind; drying some of the sweat off of it.

Spook wanted her to practice with both legs with the weights on and she was happy to oblige. "I'll do it now.", she said as she looked to the tree that he indicated. All she had to do was be able to kick over that tree and then he would teach her something else - after which he figured she would be more than prepared for another encounter with this alien.

Thinking back to what Spook had just done she practiced several times with both legs while being careful not to over do it before launching the Mossberg 500 kick upon the innocent tree: moving exactly as Spook had just done with her. The tree stood no chance thanks to all of Nanalie's training she had just recently done. The tree, despite how thick it was, went down.

Nanalie lowered her leg down and stood again on both feet, looking over towards Spook sensei as she wondered what else he would have to teach her. This was something else added to her arsenol, and she was glad for it. "That'll come in handy... maybe I'll be able to actually kick that alien kid this time around. What's next?", she asked eagerly.

Word count: 405 + 3,400 = 3,805

Spook nodded his head. He'd forgotten how quickly her family learned new techniques, and were considered geniuses when it came to the martial arts. Considering this, it came as no surprise that she'd mastered his trademark kick in such a short time. It would have been good to teach both of the twins some of his moves, but alas, Gekido was nowhere to be found. He'd also remember that Gekido was a bit of a slacker, falling off of tasks shortly after they were given to him.

He was glad that this wasn't the case with his sister. "Alright then," he said, looking to the fallen tree, then back to Natalie. "Next is a close range fist combo. First, a punch to the groin, to take your opponent by surprise," He aimed a punch toward her groin area then, but stopped inches away like last time, causing a cloud of dirt to be thrown into the air behind her. "Then, three punches to the mid-section, to knock the wind from the lungs," next came three punches towards her mid-section; she be able to feel the force of the punches when he stopped them inches away from her. "Then finally, a upward punch towards the chin." he executed the last punch, which would cause her hair to rise up behind the force.

You're Too Close:

"This attack should knock your opponent airborne. It leaves them open for other opportunities to punish them before they hit the ground, if you're smart. Practice this..." He said this while attaching a metal ball to a chain. He jumped into the tree opposite the one she knocked down and hung the chain from a branch, then jumped down. The ball was about groin level. "This ball has been saturated with dense chakra to make it heavier. When you can knock the ball skyward and cause the chain to be ripped off of the branch, you're done. Again, you don't have to do this now. Don't push yourself, as this is more difficult than the tree. But again, if you feel inclined, go for it..."

Ka'lara watched carefully as Spook began to describe what this next attack he was going to teach her was. The attack started with a hit to the groin followed by three hits to the mid section that was finally followed by a upward hit to the chin. The combo, if executed properly, could knock an opponent airborne which would then leave them open for other attacks if she was smart in her execution of it. Ka'lara simply grinned and nodded.

"I'll practice now. I've got too much adrenaline running to be tired, yet.", she said simply.

She didn't want to wait to learn this, so after he hung the ball infused with dense chakra to make it heavier she took place in front of it. Before she started with the ball though she practiced several times, hitting nothing more than air. She did this about five times until she was completely comfortable with the feeling of this move. The more she practiced while hitting nothing but air the more comfortable she found herself becoming with it.

Once she was sure she was ready to start hitting the ball she did so. It took several tries before the ball began to move at all. Then several more tries before the strength was built up enough to cause the ball to start to move upwards. On the last attempt the ball was launched skyward, breaking off of the chain it hung from. Ka'lara's grin spread back in place upon her face. "Excellent."

Word count: 250 + 3,805 = 4,055

Another period of time passes, and Ka'lara managed to pass the final test. Spook responded with a nod. By now, she had to be much stronger than she was before she got here. Stronger and faster. She would be ready to deal with whatever challenge happened to come her way, alien or not.

"Good job... the latest practitioner of what Holeman started calling "Spook-Fu." You should be able to take this... alien now... If not, I think I may have to show you some forbidden techniques next... but i'd rather not have to."

Spook gave a wave as he turned to head back into the village. "Well, i'll be waiting to hear the results... I don't care how tough you think you are, it's time for you to go get some rest. From the sounds of things, you'll need it..."

Spook moved off into the crowd of people within the streets of Konoha...

/Exit/

Ka'lara gave a nod towards Spook sensei with another grin. "Thanks a lot, Spook sensei. I'll make sure I come back with stories to tell!", she said excitedly. She felt far stronger than she had been when she first showed up, and she was many times faster - faster and stronger still if she were to take the weights off. Ka'lara made a promise to herself though at that moment in time that she wasn't going to remove them unless it was absolutely necessary.

Ka'lara watched Spook leave and then turned, figuring it was time to head home, back to Darkman Tower, for a very long shower and some rest. Her adrenaline was still rushing but she knew that when it stopped she was going to crash hard... she was also starving, she knew it even if she couldn't feel it.

[Exit]