”You're weak, Sicarius. You'll always be weak.”

”Shut up! That's not true!”

”It is true, Sicarius! You're just a weak, stupid, little girl!”

”I said shut up!”

”Make me! You stupid little weakling!”

”SHUT UP ALREADY!”

”Weak! Weak! Sicarius's stupid and weak!” Laughter from the other children rang out, and the young version of Sicarius clenched her hands into fists as her face grew red. As a reaction to her anger her tear ducts went into over drive and began to produce a mixture of water and salt: tears. These tears ran down her cheeks, making her look more like she was crying then actually seething with barely suppressed rage. ”Look at the weak little baby cry!” This latest taunt caused more laughter, and the laughter drew more of the other orphan children over to the small circle that surrounded her of her usual tormentors.

”I said shut the fuck up!”, Sicarius shouted at the kids. Her use of a foul word brought about a round of gasps and shocked sounds.

But, that did little to drown out the sudden ”Sicarius! In my office, now!” that was the orphanages matron shouting at her from the back door where she stood. The kids, laughing, parted to make a path for Sicarius to walk through which she did very slowly, dragging her feet as she walked towards the inevitable. She would be in trouble, again, even if she had been pushed once more to that breaking point. It was the way things had happened each and every time her tormentors ended up cornering her without the matron or one of the orphanages staff members around. As Sicarius reached the back door she turned her head and looked back at the kids; they were all grinning at one another and still laughing. Sicarius slammed the back door behind herself, proceeded to walk down the hallway, and into the matron's office where she was already seated behind her desk.

“Look! I didn't do it! They ma--” The matron held her hand up, effectively silencing the rest of Sicarius's protest.

”I don't care who started it, Sicarius. You know better then to use a word like that, we've been through this before. You know you're going to have to be punished for this.”

”Why don't you punish them?! They pick on me each and every day and yet they never get in trouble for it! It's always me who gets in trouble after they pushed me so far I can't hold back!”, Sicarius shouted, still enraged, and still with tears pouring out of her eyes and down her cheeks.

”Because they're not the bastard child of a criminal of this village, Sicarius. You are. Which means you need to hold yourself to a higher standard then them and prove that you won't follow the same footsteps. Now go to your room and stay there until I tell you to come out.”

”....” Sicarius could form no words to dispute this, even if it made little sense to her. It was okay for them to pick on her because she was the bastard child of a missing-nin and a woman who was raped by him and therefore wanted nothing to do with her? The matron and likely everyone else who knew expected her to hold herself to a higher standard while allowing people to continue to bully her? What the hell was there to stop her from wanting to leave? Hell, what the hell was to stop her from wanting to kill each and every one of them while they slept? Nothing, that was what... nothing at all. Yet, she was supposed to not turn into the man who sired her. So, with those thoughts in her mind Sicarius stormed up the steps, stomping on each and every one loudly, and stormed her way into her room, slamming the bedroom door behind herself.

Outside she could hear the children laughing again, only it sounded more like playful laughter then the taunting laughs that she had heard just a moment ago. Still angry Sicarius stood up, crossed the few feet to her rooms single window, and slammed it shut too. She didn't want to hear anyone else being happy if she wasn't allowed to be happy herself.

Sicarius jumped, startled suddenly out of the dream that was yet another horrible reminder of her young past. Blinking against the bright light streaming in through the window she rolled over and grabbed the hem of the curtain which she then jerked shut. Once the room was smothered in darkness Sicarius raised her hands and rubbed at her face, sighing out loud into the silence of her one room apartment. ”That's not the sort of dream I'm trying to have on a day like today.”, she muttered to herself since there was no one else in the room with her: the lack of snoring told her easily enough that her best friend Sixx was not there after all.

Knowing that she wasn't about to be able to go back to sleep after a dream like that she pushed the blanket down to her waist and sat up. Yawning in an obnoxiously loud way she stretched her arms upward, opening and closing her hands in an attempt to get the numb tired feeling out of them that came with the awkward position she had been laying in moments before waking up and turning over. She dropped her arms and then turned from side to side, effectively cracking her back in the process. She then removed the blanket from her legs and stretched them out too.

Sicarius turned on the bed and let her legs dangle over the side in the air. She reached sideways to her desk lamp and clicked it once; it filled the room with comfortably dim lighting. ”Hnn, I really need to get carpets installed instead of wood flooring., she muttered to herself after sliding off of the edge of the bed until her feet touched the exceptionally cold floor.

With the dream still fresh in the forefront of her mind Sicarius stood up from her bed and walked across the way too cold floor and into the bathroom. Not bothering to close the door behind herself she relieved her bladder and then proceeded to wash her hands. She paused at the sink, looking into the mirror and contorting her face for several seconds as she checked out her appearance. She then ran some more water, splashed it on her face and rubbed it for a moment, effectively waking herself up more so than she had been. When she was done she dried her face off and headed out of the bathroom and towards the kitchen: coffee was definitely in order this morning, as it was every single morning. Coffee was God.

Word Count: 1,152

Sicarius walked across her living room slash bedroom, and into the eat in kitchen. A yawn escaped the pink haired female as she headed straight for the coffee pot on the counter: it was a nicer coffee pot, and likely one of the nicest things in her entire apartment – but that was just how she did things, she went big or she went home when it came to the coffee. But, that was just how you had to do things when you were a Jounin who could be asked to do anything, at any time, and you had to be awake and alert for the job. She opened up the cabinet over top of the coffee pot and pulled out a coffee pot filter, some extra strength caffeinated coffee flavored coffee grounds, and the bag of sugar.

She removed the coffee pot from the machine and went over to the sink. She turned the cold water on and filled up the pot until it was at the ten cups line. She then used the water in the coffee pot itself to fill up the machine until it was filled. The coffee pot was replaced onto the dispenser and then she added a filter into the basket of the coffee machine. She pulled a spoon out and filled the filter and basket up about half way with the coffee grounds before closing the canister up and putting them away. A button press later and the coffee machine began to work its magic.

Sicarius yawned again, and knowing that she had at least ten minutes before her coffee would be ready decided that it was perhaps time to get a nice and long hot shower. She moved out of her kitchen and went over to her bed; it was yet another nice item within her apartment as it served a duel purpose. She threw her blanket back on the bed so that she could get to the bottom of it: it was a bed slash dresser after all. With the drawers lining the bottom of the bed uncovered she began to open them, pulling out various items she would need to get dressed: a black sports bra with matching thong, black yoga pants, a black tank top, and a black long sleeved top that would hang off of her shoulders while being held up by two small straps: the perfect training outfit for a village that was constantly cold.

She put her outfit over her left arm, keeping it all folded in the process, and then stood up. She used her foot to close the last clothing drawer and then turned and headed back into the bathroom. Once more she didn't bother closing the door behind herself – the joys of living alone, and not caring if the one person who had your apartment key saw you naked. She tossed her clothing down on the counter and then turned around and turned the tub knobs onto the on position; moving them into the perfect location for the water to be exceptionally hot, just like she liked it to be. She closed the shower door, allowing the steam to heat the inner area before turning to the dial on the wall and turning it until she heard a click: the floor of her bathroom was heated, but she only ever bothered using it when she was getting a shower.

With the floor already beginning to heat up Sicarius pulled off her nightshirt; it was the only thing she had bothered putting on to sleep in, and even then it had been a courtesy just in case someone had come knocking at her door in the middle of the night needing her for something. Her night shirt hit the floor with a soft plop of a sound as Sicarius pulled the glass see through shower door open and stepped into the steam filled area. She shut the door quickly behind herself and stepped under the nearly scalding spray. As soon as the too hot liquid hit her back her spine arched and a moan of pleasure escaped her.

Singing and grinning Sicarius slowly released her grip from her shower door and stepped properly under the near scalding shower again. She was quick to get her hair soaking wet before adding shampoo and lathering it through her pink strands. Once she was sure every inch of her head was washed she rinsed the soap out until the water ran clear of bubbles. Following this she grabbed her conditioner and worked that through her pink hair as well. Allowing her conditioner to soak into her hair for a moment she grabbed her wash cloth and soap; working a good lather into the cloth. She washed her face, her neck and shoulders, down her arms, down her chest and belly, the sides of her torso, and then her back. Following this she washed her butt and sex before moving her way down her thighs, knees, and shins, calves and feet. Once she was completely covered in soap suds she stepped back under the shower and rinsed herself off. Following this she rinsed out her hair, getting it clear of the conditioner that had been soaking in it.

When she was finished she shut off the water, starting with the cold – allowing the scalding water to remain on her skin for several seconds – and then shutting off the hot. She opened the shower door then and stepped out, glad to find that the floor was nice and warm by now. The steam billowed around her and out of the open bathroom door as she grabbed one towel and wrapped her hair up in it. She then grabbed another towel and worked it across her body, starting from her face and working her way down until she was completely dried off.

Word Count: 971 + 1,152 = 2,123

Once Sicarius was entirely dried off, the towel she used completely damp, she hung the towel on the back of the doorknob so that it could air dry. She then removed the towel left in her hair and ran it through her hair thoroughly, drying as much of it as she could so that it would air dry easier: not that her hair was that thick that it would take a long time without this step. When this towel too was thoroughly damp and her hair was as dry as she was going to get it using that method she hung the towel up on the front of the door where it too would air dry eventually.

Left standing there, completely naked, she yawned and stretched skyward for a moment before picking up her under garments. They were quickly put on, followed by her pants, her tank top under shirt, and then the long sleeved top that would hang off of her shoulders and which was held up with two little straps to keep it from falling down. Fully dressed she straightened up her clothing, twisting and turning in the mirror until she was satisfied. Following this she picked up her hair brush and ran it hurriedly through hair; starting at her bangs until they were tangle free and then working the rest of her hair. She started at the bottom and then worked her way up – while she liked pain, yes, she didn't want to end up ripping her hair out: she liked it too much to risk that.

The hair brushing process took nearly five minutes but eventually she finished and placed the brush down. She bit her lip as she stared at herself in the mirror, contemplating whether she wanted to throw her hair back into a ponytail now or wait until it dried. Deciding on the latter she grabbed her make up bag and applied the usual jet black eyeliner and mascara. Once satisfied, at least for the moment, she put her make up bag away and headed out of the bathroom.

She could already smell the freshly brewed coffee in the air and a satisfied groan left her as she headed in the direction of her kitchen. She took one of the clean large mugs and set it on the counter near the coffee machine. She then took the full coffee pot and poured some into the cup until it was halfway full of coffee. Once the pot was replaced back on the machine she went over to the fridge and pulled out some French Vanilla liquid creamer. This too was added to the cup until it was nearly full before Sicarius put the creamer back into the fridge. Returning to her cup she opened up the bag of sugar and grabbed a clean, dry spoon. She added two spoonfuls of sugar to her coffee and then closed the sugar bag back up before she stirred her coffee thoroughly. When it was nice and light tan in color she brought the cup to her lips and took a long sip of it; tasting the sweet warm liquid. Even after one sip she could feel the effects of the coffee kicking in. She placed her cup back down and went about putting everything she used to make the coffee away and cleaning up any mess she might have left behind.

When she was satisfied that everything was cleaned up and put away she returned her attention to her coffee and picked the cup back up. She leaned her butt against the kitchen counter and held her cup in both hands as she sipped it. She looked around her apartment while she drank her morning caffeine fix down, but her mind was definitely elsewhere. Repeatedly her cup was brought to her lips while her mind wandered: she needed to do some freshening up courses on taijutsu; her ninjutsu and medical ninjutsu was all well and good but she wanted to be able to fight up close, to really be able to hurt someone. To do that she needed taijutsu. It wouldn't be that hard of course because she knew the basics.

Before she knew it she brought the cup up to her lips once more and downed the rest of the contents. She eyed the coffee pot that was still full of the dark black liquid and thought about making herself another cup. However, she knew she had wasted more then enough time already between her extended shower and her current day dreaming. And so she turned to the sink, rinsing her cup out good and thorough before she went over to her shoes and slipped them on. Following this she added her usual pouch of weapons around her right leg, positioned to where they would be easily accessible. She then grabbed her Fubuki hitai-ate, figuring that she might as well use the damn thing to ensure she wasn't stopped for where she was going. She added it around her neck, allowing it to hang loosely there where it would be easily seen.

Satisfied that she had everything she needed she grabbed her keys off of the hook next to the door and exited her apartment, locking the door behind herself and checking to ensure that it was such: she didn't live in the best part of the village after all, and the building her apartment was in was no stranger to break ins though people did tend to avoid her apartment due to the rumors that went around about her extra curricular activities...

Word Count: 927 + 2,123 = 3,050

Out her apartment door and satisfied that it was locked Sicarius walked through her rather dark building: there were no windows in the hallways and the lighting was poor at best, but it worked because it meant that people couldn't really see the coming and going-ons of the place. That was part of the reason she had decided to live here after all: she liked her privacy. She reached the steps, living of course in the top floor, and headed down. As she went she could hear various neighbors: some were watching television, one was attempting to sooth a crying baby, a couple in one apartment was fighting, another couple were fornicating, and yet another had a twitchy junky standing outside of his door beating on it and demanding their fix. Ah yes, the dark and seedy life of Fubuki, how she knew it well.

Sicarius exited her building, not caring if the door slammed shut behind herself or not: everyone was definitely awake, and those who weren't at this point were the sort to be able to sleep through everything and anything. Sic glanced around once outside, realizing that she hadn't bothered – again – to bring her coat with her. Shrugging it off she started down the street, going left towards where she planned on doing her training. There was a specific gym for shinobi only; though many didn't bother to use it for much. Still, it would work for the type of training she wanted to do while also keeping prying eyes off of herself.

As she walked her hastily pulled up her pink hair into a ponytail: it was dry at this point, and she was skilled enough to be able to pull it all up without it looking ridiculous. Once her hair was up she sped up her pace, wanting to get to the gym before it became too populated. She didn't exactly have a problem with people per say, but she surely didn't want to be there during the busiest time of the day. She liked her privacy, preferred it really. And so down several blocks she walked, turning the corner, crossing the street, and then taking a right. Five buildings down she turned again and walked up a freshly shoveled walkway: sometimes she wondered why the people even bothered considering it was snowing so heavily again. It seemed like a waste of time to her, but it wasn't her gym so it wasn't her place to say anything.

Sicarius walked into the gym, paused so that she could flash her identification, and then entered in to the proper gym area. A glance around showed her that the place was mostly empty, thankfully. There were mats on various portions of the floor and walls. A sparring area as well was located dead center in the room: if you couldn't stand the heat of sparing in public then you should stay out of the game basically. Locker rooms for both men and women were located in the back along with several water fountains. There were tables and chairs located up front with a health food snack bar. To the right were your typical gym equipment though in this case the best of the best: weigh lifting machines and what have you.

Biting her lip as she often did when thinking she headed over to a set of mats off in the corner. As she walked she pulled her headphones and music player out of her pocket. The earbuds were popped into her ears while she hooked the loops around the back of her ears to keep them in place. She then started up the player, grinning as one of her favorite songs began to play. She cranked the volume up to the max, completely drowning out everything around her. Once the music was good and playing she slipped the music player into her top where it would remain secure.

She reached the mats and began a series of stretches that would loosen up her entire body...

Word Count: 669 + 3,050 = 3,719

Sicarius spent nearly ten minutes stretching; being careful and gentle with her body compared to how she normally handled herself. But, she knew it was easier to heal a cut or bruise then it was to handle a torn – anything. Plus, pulled muscles were just a straight up annoyance, and she would avoid those as much as possible. Of course, she planned on working out so hard that she would be able to barely move in the next day, so that would make up for this gentle treatment of her body anyway.

Once her stretching was completed she threw a glance around the gym: it was still mostly empty. There were two other people actually using the gym, one of which was across the way stretching just as she had done and another who was using one of the various weight lifting machines. Both had headphones in like her and both seemed just as content as her to ignore each other: perfect. Just the way she liked it.

Now on her feet once more Sicarius took the typical taijutsu fighting pose: she was going to start out things simple by repeating a series of punches and kicks intended to build strength and speed. They would work perfectly for this sort of training while also helping her to build up natural muscle reflexes: the more she was used to doing them the easier they would be because the less she would have to think about preforming the motion or move. Simple and yet complicated all at once. Again, perfect.

Sicarius executed an axe kick with her right leg; her leg being brought up vertically and then sent back down with her heel aiming to hit the target she could picture in her mind. Following this would be a back kick: Sicarius would move from her kicking stance towards the right until facing directly away from her imaginary target, pivoting on her left foot, from there she would continue turning to the right while looking over her shoulder at this imaginary target of herself, she would then lift her knee to her chest to then drive the hell of her foot straight back towards her opponent. From there she was back into her kicking stance. Now was time for a front kick: Sicarius brought her right leg up, pulling her knee to her chest with her foot directly underneath of her knee, she then struck her foot out to strike the imaginary target with the ball of her foot, she then brought her knee back to the first position with her knee to her chest and her foot directly under it, and then finally she would return back to her kicking stance.

Next was a hook kick with her right leg: Sicarius would aim slightly to the left of her imaginary target, kick out with her right leg, and then bring her foot back and towards this imaginary target while using the heel of her foot to attack the imaginary targets head. Next was a push kick with her right leg: she brought her foot up as she did with the front kick only to strike out at the target while being closer, knocking the imaginary target off balance. Next was a round house kick: Sicarius pivoted on her left leg in a half circle while striking out with her right leg at the imaginary target's torso area. Finally was a side kick: Sicarius rotated herself to where her side was facing the imaginary opponent; she then struck out with her leg sideways, hitting the target with the heel of her foot before returning back into her original position.

Now it was time to switch legs and practice with the left.

Sicarius executed an axe kick with her left leg; her leg being brought up vertically and then sent back down with her heel aiming to hit the target she could picture in her mind. Following this would be a back kick: Sicarius would move from her kicking stance towards the right until facing directly away from her imaginary target, pivoting on her left foot, from there she would continue turning to the left while looking over her shoulder at this imaginary target of herself, she would then lift her knee to her chest to then drive the hell of her foot straight back towards her opponent. From there she was back into her kicking stance. Now was time for a front kick: Sicarius brought her left leg up, pulling her knee to her chest with her foot directly underneath of her knee, she then struck her foot out to strike the imaginary target with the ball of her foot, she then brought her knee back to the first position with her knee to her chest and her foot directly under it, and then finally she would return back to her kicking stance.

Next was a hook kick with her left leg: Sicarius would aim slightly to the left of her imaginary target, kick out with her right leg, and then bring her foot back and towards this imaginary target while using the heel of her foot to attack the imaginary targets head. Next was a push kick with her left leg: she brought her foot up as she did with the front kick only to strike out at the target while being closer, knocking the imaginary target off balance. Next was a round house kick: Sicarius pivoted on her right leg in a half circle while striking out with her left leg at the imaginary target's torso area. Finally was a side kick: Sicarius rotated herself to where her side was facing the imaginary opponent; she then struck out with her leg sideways, hitting the target with the heel of her foot before returning back into her original position.

Sicarius then shifted back into her fighting stance again so that she could work her upper body now that her seven kicks per leg were completed.

She struck with her right arm, and then brought her arm back. She struck with her left arm, and then brought her arm back. Deep breath, slow exhale. She struck with her right arm, and then brought her arm back. She struck with her left arm, and then brought her arm back. She then took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She struck with her right arm, and then brought her arm back. She then struck with her left arm, and then brought her arm back. Deep inhale, slow exhale. She struck with her arm right, and then brought her arm back. She struck with her left arm, and then brought her arm back. Inhale. Exhale. She struck with her right arm, and then brought her arm back. She struck with her left arm, and then brought her arm back. Breathed in deep, exhaled slowly. She struck with her right arm, and then brought her arm back. She struck with her left arm, and then brought her arm back. Breathed in deeply, exhaled slowly. She struck with her right arm, and then brought her arm back. She struck with her left arm, and then brought her arm back. Breathed in deep, exhaled in a slow manner. She struck with her right arm, and then brought her arm back. She struck with her left arm, and then brought her left arm back. Breathed in deep, exhaled slow. Eight punches per arm done and she still had a long way to go.

Word Count: 1,244 + 3,719 = 4,963

As Sicarius finished her last set of reps she felt the soreness of her training beginning to kick in. What had started out as a dull burn was now a full blown inferno in her muscles and joints. With a soft grunt Sicarius shifted her stance to a normal one and took a moment to gently bend and straighten her arms and then her legs. She repeated this several times over again until she felt like she could move properly without causing serious damage to herself. She then took a moment to push her sweat soaked bangs out of her face and several loose strands of hair before walking back over to the mats she had stretched on.

Knowing that it was best to stretch after a work out as well as before that's precisely what she did. Several stretches were preformed until each portion of her body was delicately stressed from her neck down to her toes. Her arms, legs, shoulders and back, stomach, neck, and calves were stretched and relaxed smoothly and comfortably.

When she was sure every portion of her body had been stretched out properly she stood back up in a single lithe motion. She glanced about, seeing that the gym was filling up more and more, before heading towards the locker room. She grabbed up her bag, figuring that she would head back home to shower instead of bothering showering in a public place. She slung the strap of her bag over her shoulder and shifted it so that it rested comfortable against her. She shut the locker door and then walked out of the locker room and out of the gym doors.

She glanced about once outside and then headed down the street and back towards home. The closer she got to home the more she found herself longing for a nice long bubble bath intead of a hot shower. However, as she walked in and smelled delicious food - one of her owners were cooking apparently - her stomach roared to life and a quick shower it was.

Sicarius rushed into her bedroom and then into her private bathroom. She stripped out of her clothing quickly after starting up the shower and turning it to almost completely onto hot. Once naked she stepped under the spray and just let it run over her body for several minutes before making quick work in lathering up her sweat soaked hair. Once her hair was washed clean of soap she followed up with conditioner; washing her body while it set in before rinsing both her body and hair off. Once clean she dried and dressed in comfortable but baggy clothing.

She headed out into the kitchen to find a plate waiting for her. She devoured it in silence, listening to the amused chuckles that came from those nearby. When she was done she rinsed her plate off and then headed back into her room where she all but passed out as soon as she hit her bed: exhausted from the day's worth of training.

[Exit]

Word Count: 508 + 4,963 = 5,471

Strength: E to E2 (225 Words)
Remaining: 5,246
Speed: E to D2 (1,475 Words)
Remaining: 3,771
Endurance: E to D (750 Words)
Remaining: 3,021
Perception: E to D2 (1,475 Words)
Remaining: 1,546
Reaction: E to D2 (1,475 Words)
Remaining: 71