Yuuto was woken by his alarm as the sun began its rise over the roofs of Konoha. Pawing around in the dim light, he hunted for the source of the noise, finally finding it. He heard a clatter, as it hit the floor. Issuing an irritated grunt, he dragged himself up off his bed to retrieve the clock. Picking it up, he shut it off and set it back upon the table. Well, he was up now... He rubbed at his eyes, mussed at his hair and padded over to his drawers. He could hear Ana in the kitchen, probably cooking herself breakfast before she left. He idly remembered hearing his older sister was headed out on mission, and wouldn't be back for several days. She didn't mention where, but it was probably some distance away if it was going to take days.
As he dressed, he noticed his blanket shifting slightly. Pulling it back, he saw the little bundle of white that was Yuki. Yuki was still asleep, snoring softly. Yuuto smirked. "Come on Yuki, time to get up" he said, leaning down and giving the little dog a gentle prod. A grumble, a shift. Yuki's eye opened, looked up at Yuuto, then closed again. Yuuto wouldn't be deterred however, shaking the dog again. "Get up, we've got training!"
Yuki stretched, yawned and sat up, smacking his lips lazily.
Some minutes later, the pair made their way down the stairs. The clatter of dishes grew louder as they approached the kitchen, and Yuuto stopped. Yuki's nose worked, and he looked up at Yuuto. Yuuto nodded, and the pair crept carefully up to the door. Yuuto reached the doorframe, Yuki ready at his feet. He leaned in slightly, peering around the door. The kitchen was a spacious affair, with a high ceiling and wide spread, with a central counter that occupied the middle of the room. Standing with their back to the door stood Ana, Yuuto's older sister. She was a tall girl, with short boyish hair. It was normally black, but Ana had always been enigmatic, meaning her hair was now a deep shade of blue. She would often wear a bandana, especially on missions as her hair often drew attention to her.

Yuuto took a step into the kitchen, treading as soft as he could. Yuki followed suit, his legs moving slowly like a hunting dog. They moved closer, and closer. Then, when in range, Yuuto made a quick leap. He sprung off the ground, moving as silently as possible, Yuki doing the same. He almost got his hands on his sister... When she spun around, grabbing him in an armlock, and slamming him face first down onto the counter. "Ow! OW! Easy!" he shouted, as Ana pulled his arm backward. "You're a really slow learner Baby Bear" Ana replied, still holding him down. "Barely out of the Academy, and you think you can take me" She laughed, before releasing Yuuto's arm, and head. He straightened, rubbing his shoulder. Damn, that had hurt! He wondered what had happened to Yuki. But then he noticed, Yuki had troubles of his own. Okami, Ana's Ninken companion was sitting on Yuki, who was stuggling to get out and making a horrible fuss. Yuuto hadn't even seen Okami...

557 Words

Yuuto continued rubbing his shoulder as he sat at the breakfast counter. "Damn it Ana, that hurt!" His sister smirked, hardly sparing her brother a look. "Well, that's why you don't sneak up on Shinobi who are better than you"
Yuuto jumped to his feet, sending the stool he was on skittering across the floor. "You take that back!" he shouted, shoving a hand under Ana's nose. Ana gave him a look, before batting his hand away. "Come on Baby Bear, you know it's the truth. I've been doing this longer than you"
Yuuto fumed for a moment, before recovering his seat. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. She was a Chuunin after all. Yuki appeared at Yuuto's feet, looking up at the boy. Scooping the little dog up, Yuuto placed Yuki atop his head, and setting his head on his hands. Ana was eating ramen, picking over a folder in front of her. Yuuto glanced over at the folder, trying to feign disinterest. Ana's eyes flicked up, looking toward her brother.
"What you got there?" Yuuto asked. "Mission briefing... I'll be leaving pretty soon actually..."
Yuuto nodded, careful not to send Yuki flying.
"Anyway, what are you doing up so early?" Ana asked, "Ever since you finished up at the Academy, I'd be lucky to see you before Noon."
Yuuto shrugged, setting his head back on his hands. "Me and Yuki are going to start to train properly" Ana gave slight smile out the corner of her mouth. "Oh really? Like the training you used to do while in the Academy?"
Yuuto shook his head fervently, drawing a disdainful grumble from Yuki. The 'training' in question had hardly been that at all, mostly him skipping school, trying to outrun his teachers, and generally being a nuisance. "No, no, nothing like that. Me and Yuki decided we're going to have to start taking things more seriously now. We're Genin now, not academy students!"
Ana looked at her brother long and hard. Yuuto couldn't place her expression, she'd always been difficult to read. Finally she nodded slightly. "I suppose you're right, you do need to start taking things more seriously. But don't try and grow up too fast Baby Bear" She reached over and ruffled his hair, making sure not to hit Yuki.

Moments later, the two exited into the warm sun of Konoha. It wouldn't be long until Winter, but today was still pleasantly warm. Yuki was still perched in his usual place atop Yuuto's head, and he barked happily at the day's beginning. The Sun had cleared the roofs by now, and Yuuto realised they were running late! "Hold on Yuki, we gotta move!" he shouted, as he took to the roofs. Soon enough, they were racing across the city toward the training field. Yuuto had borrowed some of his sister's joint weights, bands that went around the ankles and wrists to increase strain on muscles. They weren't heavy, but he could already tell that with a full day of training, he'd be struggling to get home again. Still, he let himself enjoy the trip, feeling the wind rushing through his hair, and the warm sun on his face. Even the feeling of the buildings under his feet felt strangely comforting.
Eventually they reached the training field. Having long since run out of buildings to travel across, Yuuto had taken to the ground and continued at the same breakneck pace. As he entered the field, Yuki leapt from his head and ran on ahead, as he so often did. Yuuto came to a stop, and stopped to adjust the weights on his ankles. They had shifted during the trip, perhaps he hadn't secured them properly? His muscles were already starting to feel it, but he hadn't even begun yet. "Should have maybe gone for the lightest ones..." he commented to himself, before standing again. He started by stretching out, giving his muscles a chance to get the blood flowing. He did a serious of lunges, left foot forward, then right foot forward, a number of times. He stretched out his arms, his neck and back. Finally, he stretched out the muscles in his chest, making a series of arm motions to target each muscle group properly. This was his first day of proper training, he didn't want to pull something...
Now all prepared, he made his way over to one of the standing logs that the training field held. He decided to start off with practicing on this, testing out his strikes.

Having warmed up and stretched, Yuuto set to work. He started slow, working the log over with his hands, striking high, middle and low. He alternated, randomised and shifted his stance, changed his striking pattern... Changing speed and feigning dodges, he began to ramp up the exertion. He began to move around the post, now hitting it from all sides, ducking and weaving, and soon enough he felt himself starting to sweat. He pushed on, faintly hearing Yuki barking happily as he sprinted around the field. Eventually he got himself into a rhythm, an almost hypnotic set of motions that allowed his mind to wander. The sound of his breathing, of Yuki, and even of the strikes against the wood began to slip away. He thought of his dreams, what he wanted. His chat with that Misao girl had got him thinking. He wanted to become the strongest of the Inuzuka, to make his clan proud. Yet his sister, Ana could beat him without even trying. How could he hope to be the best, when he couldn't even beat a Chunin? Both his parents were Jonin!

He sighed, and suddenly he was back in the field. The sun was now much higher in the sky, and his arms were killing him. He sat down heavily, catching his breath. Yuki made his way over from the other side of the field, and Yuuto took a moment to look around him. There were a handful of other Shinobi here, each keeping to themselves and going about their business. Some were training, and a few looked like they were simply passing through. He watched one boy in particular, a tall lanky thing, trying to push a large rock. The rock was easily three times the boys size, and he was clearly having no success. Yuki let out a soft whine, brining Yuuto's eyes to him. "What... do you mean?" he gasped, still drawing in air in a desparate attempt to recover. Yuki looked at him and barked.
"I don't know, the kid is clearly set on it... How long has he been trying?"
Yuki barked, shaking his little head as he did. Yuuto smiled then. "Didn't think you would have... You were running laps, yeah?"
Yuki nodded, before biting Yuuto's sleeve. "Okay! Okay, we'll keep going!"

Yuki had come to Yuuto with an idea the previous night, one that Yuuto thought a good one. The pair made their way into the trees nearby, away from prying eyes. Best not to do this in front of too many people... The pair soon found a section of woods that was open enough to serve their purposes. In fact, it was almost perfect! Yuuto made a note of it in his head, planning to return here more often. Having now arrived, he set himself down onto all fours. Allowing his chakra to bubble to the surface, he felt the slight changes altering his body that he had come to recognise as the activation of the Four Legs Stance. His eyesight seemed to become sharper, and he felt his nails and teeth become longer and sharper. Strangely, it also felt... natural... to be like this. He'd always felt at home in this style, like he was meant to do it. His mother had told it that was the way with the Inuzuka, being more in touch with their primal sides than some of the other clans. Even so, it felt good. Yuki came to stand beside him, and then ran off. He took off across the clearing, until he had reached the far end, before turning back to face Yuuto. Yuki gave a bark, and Yuuto felt a grin touch his now more feral face. In a kick of dust and dirt, Yuuto set out sprinting toward Yuki. All four limbs moving, he idly noted how the weights seemed to fit strangely on his body now, before pushing the thought down. Yuki took off to the side, and Yuuto was once again startled by just how quick the little dog could move. Yuuto slid to a stop, pivoting as he did so and took off after Yuki again. Around and around the clearing they went, Yuuto's breath coming hard and fast in his throat, his eyes locked on the little white dog he was chasing. Yuki seemed intently focused, picking his movements carefully, trying to shake Yuuto off, to widen the gap between them. Suddenly, an idea occured to him. Yuki had been leading Yuuto in a fairly consistent circle, with deviations here and there, but it was definately a circle. That same grin touched Yuuto's face again. Gotcha. Yuuto pivoted on his hands, leaving his legs in the air, to use them to spring off from the ground. Yuki was of course, running as fast as his legs could carry him, and was set on Yuuto being behind him. Yuuto felt his feet touch the floor, and immediately kicked off. He was now going the opposite way around the clearing. Yuki ran, and ran... Then noticed Yuuto was now in front of him, barreling toward him. Yuuto made to pounce... When Yuki disappeared. The look of confusion would have been comical, if there had been anyone around to see it. The following look of shock would have been more so, as Yuuto promptly crashed head-first into a tree. Letting go of the chakra that had locked in his Four Legs technique, Yuuto sat dazed and rubbing his face at the foot of the tree. He heard a happy bark from behind him, turning to see Yuki sitting in the treeline, looking supremely smug. It only took a moment to realise what had happened. When Yuki had seen Yuuto coming, he had slipped off to the side. By the time Yuuto was airborne, Yuki was already changing direction. With all the forward momentum, Yuuto's fate had been decided the moment he pushed off the ground.
"Yeah yeah, laugh it up!" he said, glaring at Yuki. Yuki gave what could only be described as a doggy grin, before coming over to Yuuto. "What do you reckon Yuki? How about we call it a day?"

1819 words

1819+557= 2376

Strength: 0+750WC E-D
Speed: 0+750WC E-D
Reaction Time: 0
Perception: 0
Endurance: 0 + 750WC E- D

2376-2250 = 126