His chest hurt: every single beat of his heart causing the agony to increase but he couldn't stop. His lungs burned: every inhale and exhale of air causing that delicious pain to grow but he still couldn't stop himself. He was pushing himself harder than ever before but in this situation every single second counted. He had heard her screams for help: Nanalie's. That brute of a bastard was back but how he didn't know. Kenta Inuzuka had killed him. He had killed all of them. Tre hadn't had a chance to see the damage for himself but the pale faces and the fact that one of the cleaners who had attempted to salvage the tatoo parlor Nanalie had lived above puking his guts out had said more than enough. The Inuzuka Hokage had destroyed that brute and his friends who had hurt Nanalie. So how were they back? How was he back?

The how's still didn't matter. They would never matter. All he knew was that his cousin needed him and he had to get there before it was too late: before the brute bastard had a chance to kill her this time around. It was horrible though: for every single step he ran forward it seemed like he had taken two back instead. His goal never got closer, it seemed as if he would never reach it. But he had to! He had to save his cousin! Surely the brute bastard would kill her this time around. Murder her as he had intended on doing before. Or worse. So much worse would be him taking her away, getting her addicted to those horrible drugs. Nanalie would get lost to that dark and seedy underworld again from which she might never return - she might not have the strength this time to come back from the drugs that had nearly swallowed her soul whole the last chance they got. So he had to make it, he just had to!

Despite the burning in his lungs, and the painful beating of his heart too fast and too heavy in his chest, the building he had been aiming for had finally come into view. Nanalie's new tattoo shop: a new building since the last one hadn't been properly able to be salvaged. The door was open, but the lights were off, strange indeed considering that at this point in the day the shop should have been open for business. He knew Nanalie's set schedule, knew it better than his own most days. She should be there, the signs should be lit, the lights on, and the shop open to make that lovely green stuff. But it wasn't. The lights were off, the door open. It wasn't right. It was definitely a bad omen.

While Tre wanted to bust open the door and go rushing in to save the day he knew better: he had to play this carefully or else Nanalie could be killed on the spot. Delicate and quiet was better in this kind of situation then brash and loud. So, against his better judgement and against the way his body was feeling, he slowed himself down and approached cautiously. He kept to the shadows as he moved, using them to mask his arrival and his presence. Every foot fall, despite being silent, felt in his ears as if it was a booming step each and every single time. He knew he wasn't making that much noise, but his paranoia was making him feel like he was. He was a trained shinobi, a freshly promoted Chuunin who had spent enough time as a Genin to know when he was being quiet and when he wasn't, but it did nothing to stop how he was feeling. Still, he pushed on because his only thoughts were for his cousin and her well being. In what seemed like forever, but what was truly only about ten to fifteen steps, he reached the open door and was able to peer into the darkness. His eyes had already adjusted, allowing him to see the picture within. Tables and chairs were tipped over, likely in a struggle. Mirrors were shattered, tools laying around, and art work scattered. Nanalie apparently had put up a huge struggle: one which she seemed to have had the upper hand on for at least a little while.

This first room he could see into was empty but he could hear thuds and muted voices coming from up above. Carefully, making sure he stepped around the glass and debris on the floor instead of on it, he made his way through the first room of the shop and toward where he knew the back staircase to be. The noises all continued to come from upstairs; no one seeming to have been left behind below to see if anyone came snooping - the idiots were as stupid as ever before apparently. Tre reached the steps and began to make his way up them, skipping the third step from the bottom as he knew it to squeak when stepped on no matter how lightly that step tended to be. Gingerly he made his way up the steps, one by one, again feeling as if the whole process was taking forever instead of the careful twenty seconds that passed to get up there.

As he reached the top of the landing Tre held back to the urge to exhale his breath: he wasn't out of this yet and neither was his cousin whose muted voice he could hear as if she had been gagged but was still desperately trying to make her case - rather foul mouthed and violently at that - known. From what Tre was gathering it sounded like Nanalie was insulting his mouth while also claiming the man fucked cows or some such. In any other situation Tre would have cackled, but not here, not when he needed to remain silent. Tre turned his head around the corner just as he heard a gruff voice say "Let's shut this bitch up permanently" to find a sight that caused his blood to run completely cold. This brute bastard was lifting a sledgehammer - wasn't that what he had used before on her when he had nearly destroyed his cousins arm? - above his head while his cousin was held in place by the assholes goons. Tre screamed no as he darted forward but he was too late: as if in slow motion he could watch, with every step he threw himself forward, as the giant sledgehammer was brought down inch by fast inch until it smashed into his cousins head... turning it to hamburger.

Tre jumped up from bed, the blankets and sheets so tangled around him that it sent him falling onto the floor, sprawling with nothing but his hands to keep him from smacking headfirst onto the carpet. Unaware to him he had let out a very loud shout of "No!" in the process; one that had his ears ringing. Tre shoved roughly on the sheets and blankets untangling himself and causing one of them - he wasn't sure which one - to rip or so it sounded like considering the tearing noise he had just heard. Once free of the monstrous tendrils of the sheets, and feeling his heart still racing - something he could hear even in his ears as he blushed rushed through him with the quickness - he looked around to find that he wasn't in fact in his cousins tattoo shop,, and wasn't in fact seeing her brains, skull, and blood splattered all over the walls by the brute bastard who had infected her life so long ago like a plague. He wasn't back. He wasn't here. From the grunting snores coming from next door his cousin was still very much asleep, undisturbed by Tre's shout and his own very violent dreams and nightmares. Nightmare. That's what it had been. A horrible nightmare.

Tre remained on his ass for a moment, rubbing at his face with his right hand as he tried to clear the cobwebs from his brain. It had been so real but it wasn't. There was nothing wrong. Nothing but his own sick and twisted imagination that liked to throw horrible false videos up in front of his mind like that while he was sleeping. "Ugh." After several minutes, during which time his breathing and heart rate returned to normal, Tre stood up and looked down at the mess of sheets and blankets he had left behind on the floor. He thought of checking and seeing which one he had ripped in his attempt to get free from them, but decided to handle that later on when his brain didn't feel like mushed jello. Instead, thinking that a good hot shower would help his issues, he headed into the private bathroom attached to his room. Given he was already nude - it was quite comfortable sleeping like that - he simply focused his attention on the shower and turned it on, getting it good and hot before stepping in and closing the shower door behind himself. The steam was already making him feel better but it was like pennies to dollars compared to how the spray felt when he stepped underneath of it. The hot water seemed to wash all of his horrible feelings and emotions away, and with it the remnants of his dream. As he stood there in the spray of the shower for several minutes he allowed himself to process more clearly what his dream had been about, and more so about how he never intended on telling anyone about it: especially not his cousin Nanalie. She didn't need to know that kind of horror, she didn't need to share in the nightmare with him and have to suffer it too. The girl had enough problems with dealing with her arm.

Her arm. The reason he had wanted to wake up early today. Had his nightmare not woken him up then his alarm clock would have done so in roughly an hour. He had had every intention of spending the rest of the day training. He wanted to get stronger: he knew he was no where near his potential and he needed to get there, faster now than ever before. He had almost lost his cousin, his brother had disappeared, he wasn't about to lose someone else. Not if he could help it. He would become strong enough to protect them, to protect all of them, even if it killed him getting to that point. He would do this, not for himself, but for them. The determination had him reaching for the unscented shampoo after tilting his head back into the spray and getting it wet. The shampoo, once pulled into the palm of his hand, was lathered carefully into his short black hair. Every inch of his hair and scalp was cleaned before, with another tilt backwards of his head so that his head was once again under the spray, he rinsed it completely clean of the shampoo. Once his hair was clean he grabbed a clean washcloth from the hook of the shower, lathered it up with some soap, and then followed suite with lathering up every inch of flesh. Once done with that he rinsed himself again and then glanced toward the shower door after cleaning off the washcloth and hanging it back up. He was loathing opening that shower door; it was definitely going to be colder outside of the shower door than it was inside of the shower. Tre steeled himself against the cold air, opened the door, and stepped out...

Wordcount: 1,937

The cold air touched his flesh with the the sting of a whip. A shiver rushed through his body causing little tiny pin pricks of goose flesh to ripple across her skin. He had been right not to want to leave the shower, but it was something he had had to do: the next time he would remember to turn the heat up enough so that this didn't happen again. No point in crying over spilled milk, or cold air on naked wet flesh as it was now, though. Tre reached for the first towel he could see, which was thankfully quite large and clean: a maid had come in at some point the other day while him and his cousin had been out having breakfast and had left the place neat and tidy and well stocked with everything any of them would need. The towel was used first to dry his hair; rubbing at it furiously and causing it to stick up at odd and messy angles in the process that he would have to be sure to fix later on. Once his hair was dry and free of the excess water that would later drip down his skin and simply make him cold again he focused his attention on drying off the rest of his naked flesh: not stopping until every inch of himself was dry - and far less cold than he was before - and the towel was sopping wet.

More comfortable than he was before Tre took a moment to hang the towel up on the hook behind the door - he saw no reason to throw it in the hamper and waste a perfectly good towel (he was clean after all, right?) - before heading back into his room and over to the little dresser that each of these places seemed to have been supplied with. Tre took a moment to ponder if anyone ever really bothered putting their clothing away in the drawers or if, much like he himself had done, they simply put their bag of suitcase of items on top of it. A mixture of feeling a bit lazy, as well as seeing no need to go through all of the work of unpacking just to pack again, had made his choice fairly easy for him. So, as this thought was played with and toyed with within his mind he riffled through his bag to find himself an appropriate pair of shorts as well as other clothing needed for the day of training. It took him a moment to locate what he was looking for, long enough to have him doubting the fact that he knew he had brought it with him in the first place, but sure enough he found the outfit specially designed for long and grueling workouts as well as a comfortable pair of shorts. Clothing was slipped on without further notice - likely to save the maid who he could hear moving about in the other room from getting an eyeful of naked male were she to enter without knocking - leaving him nearly ready to go.

Nearly ready because he still needed to do something with the messy mass of tangles his hair had become on top of his head from the vigorous towel drying he had applied to it. Tre stepped back into the bathroom, wincing as he saw his appearance in the mirror: he looked like he had stuck his finger, or a fork or some kind of other metal tool or instrument - into a light socket and had held it there for several long and likely painfully shocking seconds. Yeah, there was no way he was going outside like this. No, no, and no. His brush, which was something he had brought with him - one of the few items he had bothered 'putting away' so that he could have better ease of access to it where he needed it to be - was run quickly through his hair despite the tangle of knots left in it. He ignored the pain the pulls caused as the knots were removed, wanting to get this task out of the way as quickly as possible so he could get down to the training he wanted to do: besides, it wasn't like it was going to stay all neat and tidy anyway, no chances were it was going to become an absolutely sweat filled and disgusting mess within an hour into the start of his training. So, no point in over doing it and trying to make it look perfect, not in his opinion at least. Once he was satisfied all of the knots were out of it he put the brush down - making a mental note as he had before to grab it when he went to repack their stuff: which would happen as soon as they planned on leaving Mexico again - he threw on his shoes, grabbed up his gear, and headed out of his bedroom: the door of which was shut behind himself.

Tre glanced around the main area of the suite they were staying in, noticing that not only the Inuzuka Hokage but his cousin Nanalie's doors were still shut. He had no idea if they had dressed and left before him - he could no longer hearing his cousins sounds of sleep - or if they still slumbered just a tad bit more quietly than he had. Part of Tre believed that Kenta had had to be gone, else he likely would have busted open Tre's door when he had woken up shouting "No!" the way he had. No, the Inuzuka Hokage was likely definitely gone. The thought made Tre pause a moment: should he leave his cousin here alone or perhaps try and take him with her? She was still sleeping - something which was as rare for her as it was for him - and he loathed the idea of bothering her and waking her up just as much as he hated and loathed the idea of leaving her behind. A note perhaps? The thought popped into his head as if he had come from elsewhere and he followed up on it as if it were his own. A pad of paper was grabbed, along with a pen, and his neat scrawl he jotted down a quick note to Nanalie for her to see when she finally did wake up:

Nana,
I went to train in that spot we ventured to yesterday. Seemed like a good place for some peace and quiet: this way i don't have to worry about anyone being nosy about what I'm doing. If you need anything, or want to come train with me, you'll find me there.
-Tre

It was short, simple, and to the point. So, Tre folded the piece of paper in half to make a tent like shape out of it and quickly wrote "Nana" on the front in bold lettering. He put the piece of paper, facing her door, up on its edges so that even from across the room she would be able to see that the letter was for her. After putting the pen and note pad away Tre was about to walk out the door when his stomach began to growl from hunger. Normally, he would have ignored it, but thinking back to the little exploring adventure him and his cousin had gone on the day before he suddenly realized the last time he had ate was the previous morning. It probably wasn't the best of ideas to train on an empty stomach...

Wordcount: 1,256 | 3,193

No, it certainly didn't seem like training on an empty stomach would be a good thing. The more he thought about the idea the more it sounded bad. He wanted to be at his full strength and full potential, and neither could be reached if he had to keep constantly contending with the growling noises and the empty stomach pangs of hunger that would likely hit at random but enough to annoy the seven layers of hell out of him. Better to sate his inner beast which was his stomach now rather than wait until later on. What to eat though? Tre didn't want to waste too much time on having to cook something or worse having to head out to a restaurant and wait to be served. That would take at least an hour - if not more if he went out - of his time that he could use elsewhere. A glance toward the kitchen area of the suite answered his prayers for him - and made him question why he hadn't noticed the delicious smell beforehand - as he took in the spread of food laid out on the counter. Thinking this might be some kind of illusion - or other dream trick of his brain hell bent on destroying him - he walked over curiously. There was a note left out by the food which he picked up and read in silence:

To the Hokage and Company,
On behalf of Iwa we would like to greet you this morning with a breakfast specially made with you all in mind. Please enjoy this beautiful morning, and if you need anything do not hesitate to contact the manager of the hotel...

There was a name with it, as well as the managers name and contact information. It seemed legit, and some of the food was already gone as if someone had got to it before him and taken their share. Seeing that there were no dead and poisoned bodies laying around, and no sort of warning that the food was bad - it certainly looked and smelled absolutely delicious - he grabbed himself a place (there was some stacked off to the side) along with a fork and got to work picking out what he wanted to eat. In the end he settled on some eggs, sausage, bacon, and a bit of toast with melted butter perfectly smeared along every inch of the lightly golden brown colored toast. With everything he took he made sure there was plenty left behind for Nanalie who was still sleeping and anyone else who happened to want some: he wasn't greedy after all. Satisfied he had enough on his place he made his way to the little kitchen table that was set up in the room and got comfortable before digging in to his delicious looking and thankfully still hot breakfast. A piece of sausage was popped into his mouth first, followed by a bite of toast. Eggs followed this, along with more sausage. Given that the toast and sausage were his favorite bits he finished off the rest of the eggs before finishing off the meat and last little sliver of toast.

With his plate empty Tre leaned back on his chair for a moment, right hand resting on his gut, as he contemplated if he wanted to get another plate of food or not. He wasn't full to the extreme, but his stomach was definitely satisfied. Yet, at the same time the idea of having some more of that delicious food was equally as appealing. In the end, after several silent moments of inner debate going on, Tre got up and put his plate in the sink before grabbing two more sausage links from the still rather large pile and devouring them with nothing more than his fingers - which were properly licked and then cleaned afterward. With himself now clean, his gut properly happy, there was nothing standing in his way of getting his training started. After reaching into the little fridge and pulling out several bottles of water which would likely come into use later on were he to get thirsty while training, he paused and glanced at his cousin, Nanalie's door once more. Even with the letter he was leaving behind for her he still couldn't help but feel tense and nervous about leaving her behind. Her arm had still been bothering her, and last Tre had been told - by Nanalie herself none the less - she wasn't taking the medication for it out of fear of ending up hooked back on drugs. Prescription drugs scared his cousin just as much as the illegal stuff did. He could only assume that fear was doubled because of how easily Nanalie could get the prescription stuff: all she would have to do was keep playing up her pain and chances were Amaya Uchiha would just keep on prescribing them for her. At least for a while, at least until Amaya Uchiha caught on to what was going on. Tre knew this to be Nanalie's fear because she had voiced it yesterday morning: she had told him herself even though he knew it had been hard on her to do. She had been admitting a weakness, something that no one liked to do even in the best of circumstances, but she had done it regardless because that was simply what family did - they were honest with each other.

As Tre thought about what to do - deciding between leaving his cousin here asleep on her own or waking her up to tell her he was leaving for training and to give her the chance to come with if she liked - he bit his bottom lip, chewing on it a bit in the process. He really didn't like the idea of waking her up considering how well she seemed to be sleeping for once, but he also didn't want to just leave a letter behind explaining everything. He knew she had nightmares, quite often in fact, and the last thing he wanted was for her to wake up like he did and have no one here to ground her back to reality if she needed it. With a sigh Tre moved his way out from behind the kitchen counter and headed toward his cousins bedroom door...

Wordcount: 1,046 | 4,239

Tre paused outside of his cousins door and simply stood there while listening intently. He could hear a snore every few seconds but other wise what sounded like deep and calm breathing. There was no hint of a nightmare - none that he could hear anyway - and no hint that anything was wrong behind the wooden decorative door that blocked him from his cousin Nanalie. But, that still didn't ease the way he was feeling. It still didn't make things any better. It did little to nothing to stop him from feeling guilty about leaving his cousin here alone while the Inuzuka Hokage was off doing whatever he was doing and Tre himself was out training in some unknown land. If a nightmare the likes of which he had woken his cousin up from before did happen to occur while he was away there would be no one there for her to wake her up, or there to ground her back to reality once she woke herself up. The idea didn't sit well with him, it didn't sit well with him at all. He just couldn't leave her here, not without at least telling her what was going on. If she chose to go back to sleep afterward then that was her choice, but it still would relieve the way he felt about the whole situation.

Tre lifted his right hand, turning it into a loose fist, and rapped his knuckles against the the wooden door a few times. He heard a grunt from the other side, followed a grobby "Huh?" of a sound. Figuring his cousin might just be thinking she heard the knock in her sleep Tre lifted his hand once more and rapped once again softly against the wood door with his knuckles. From the other side of the door he heard a soft and groggy sounding "Come in!" which he responded to by opening the door slowly, mentally commenting as he did so that it didn't squeak at all. Nanalie, as revealed when the door opened, was sitting up on her bed and using her arms to prop herself up. Her hair was shiveled and her shirt was twisted slightly as if she had been laying on her stomach and had turned onto her back when she had heard his knock on the door. She still looked tired, but alert enough to pay attention to what was going on. "What's up, Tre? Something wrong?". Tre mentally facepalmed, realizing all of a sudden what him waking her up so early and without previous reason might look like.

"Nah, nothing's wrong, Nana. Relax. I just realized that Kenta's gone and I didn't want to leave you here alone, asleep, with no one around..." Tre explained. "I wanted to let you know I was heading out to do some training in that spot we found while exploring yesterday." Tre added, thinking her sleepy and tired brain would do well with more of an explanation compared to less of one. He knew that when he first woke up his brain sometimes tended to be kind of groggy and sleep, hard to process things, or easily forgetting them later on. So, he was just trying to be helpful when it came to waking up his cousin.

"Huh?" Tre watched as the wheels began to work and gears turn in his cousins mind. He gave her a few seconds to think about what he had just said, for her tired and sleep deprived mind to comprehend the fact that he was going training. He felt no reason to repeat himself unless she were to ask him to, and it seemed he wouldn't have to as after a few seconds she added on a more intelligent "Oh right... you told me about how you were planning on doing that yesterday...." as she rubbed at her face and removed sand from her the corners of her eyes. Tre couldn't help but grin and nod.

Realizing he was forgetting something he added on a "You're welcome to join me if you'd like... I'll wait around for you to get ready if you want.". He tacked on the last bit in case she didn't want to be alone. While Tre was in a hurry to get his training started he was considerate and compassionate enough to wait around for his cousin if it made her feel safe.

HIs cousin Nanalie seemed to give the offer some great thought, and once more Tre remained quiet while giving her a chance to choose. If she could handle being on her own after such a traumatic event then he was all for that, but if she needed him to be here then he would. Once again it didn't take her long to respond, having made up her mind on what she wanted to do. "Nah, why don't you go on ahead. I'll catch up with you... I still have to shower, and then eat. That'll take a while. I'll be alright." Nanalie spoke, causing Tre to raise his eyebrows in surprise and curiosity. He had been sure she would want him to stick around, but here she was telling him to go on ahead without him. Odd, but he wouldn't hold it against her.

"Alright. If you need me you know where to find me. Don't take too long, cuz. You might end up showing up after I'm all done..." Tre said jokingly, causing Nanalie to stick her tongue out at him and throw a pillow - which thanks to his awesome dodge skills missed and went out into the hallway. Laughing he turned, picked the pillow up, and threw it back toward her. He watched as Nanalie caught it before making a playful shooing movement toward him with her hand. Still laughing he shut the door to Nanalie's bedroom behind himself, giving his cousin some privacy if she wanted and a chance to start getting ready to go.

Still chuckling to himself he grabbed up one of the key cards laying by the door that would allow him entry back in. After a moment of thought he stuck it into the inside pocket of his jacket, wanting to make sure it didn't fall out later: if so he'd end up having to climb his way through a window and that could likely cause all manner of trouble for him were the wrong person to see him doing it and catch the wrong impression. Last thing he wanted was some kind of stupid trouble with the authorities. He didn't need that. Kenta and the rest of them didn't need it either. Satisfied his chosen spot would keep it nice and safe he opened the door to their suite, stepped outside, and shut it firmly behind himself: even stopping and going so far as to make sure it was really shut since his cousin was the only one left inside and likely was in the middle of getting ready herself...

Wordcount: 1,159 | 5,398

The door was shut firmly behind him, and after Tre gave it a quick check to ensure everything was alright he was satisfied that it was locked, too. Maybe he was being a little paranoid about things but he held the firm belief that his cousin, Nanalie, had gone through enough shit so there was no point in putting her in harms way. Not that he was paranoid about Iwa being dangerous or anything - because he wasn't - but they were in foreign lands and despite the best intentions from everyone so far he would not be fully relaxed until they were back home, surrounded by the lush and green forests of Konoha.

Before Tre went so far as to move away from the door he heard a delighted "Oh! Yummy!" from the other side and figured that his cousin Nanalie had discovered the meal left behind. Chuckling to himself he finally released his hold on the door knob and turned to walk down the hallway that lead to their suite. It seemed like the hotel had either emptied out early, or everyone was still asleep, as he met only a single made who gave him a polite nod before knocking on one of the bedroom doors and muttering "House keeping!" loud enough to be heard through the door but quiet enough not to disturb the other hotel guests who could potentially be slumbering. Tre reached the end of the hallway, biting his lip and glancing backwards to the house keeping, a female, who was entering into the room she had just knocked on with a master key. He couldn't help but hope that for her sake she didn't try just waltzing in to the suite they were staying in simply because she didn't get an answer; trying to do something like that with Nanalie in the shower was likely going to get her punched in the face, or worse. Tre remained where he was for a moment, the scene unfolding in front of him as if he were looking into the future: his imagination was a wonderful thing:

The housekeeper would likely knock at least two different times in hopes of getting some kind of answer, or waking the slumbering residence of the room. Failing that the woman would probably hesitantly use her master keycard to gain access to the room. She would probably even call out a "Hello? Is anyone here?" on her way through the door in hopes that she wouldn't disturb anyone or accidentally end up offending anyone. Nanalie would probably be in the shower at that point, maybe even with some music playing to mask the noise - he had heard tunes coming from the shower the other day when his cousin was in there. So the music, the noise from the shower itself, as well as the fact that Nanalie would likely do as he did and shower in the private bathroom within her bedroom would mean she would be completely oblivious to the fact that anyone was even there. The housekeeping woman, equally oblivious since she had continued to recieve no response by that point, would likewise be unaware that anyone else was in the room and would begin to clean. She would probably start with putting away the food and grabbing up the dishes so that they could be taken to the main kitchen of the hotel for proper cleaning. She might even begin to wipe down some counters, tie up the garbage bag and pull it out of the trash before adding it to the others in her cart outside, and perhaps some other cleaning work before some kind of noise that Nanalie made or something of the sort would draw her attention onto Nanalie's room.

If that were the case then everything would go downhill from there. Nanalie, who'd likely be coming out of the bathroom at that point would freak the hell out over some stranger in her room. Assuming the worst Nanalie would likely attack the woman - probably strike first and then ask questions later. Yeah, that's probably exactly what she would do. She would hurl herself across the room, probably cock her fist back and knock the woman good and soundly in the skull, and then probably follow that up by slamming the dazed woman into a wall and pinning her there. Nanalie would then probably demand to know who the woman was and why she was there and the woman would either be completely unconscious at this point or so scared she would probably cry and piss herself. The puddle on the floor would likely cause Nanalie to realize, as she looked down in disgust, that the woman was wearing a maid uniform. With her mistake realized, and probably feeling more than a little embarassed, his cousin would lower the crying and terrified woman to the floor and try to consule her in some way. Nanalie would likely apologize repeatedly but it likely wouldn't do any good and in the end the house keeper would end up backing away out of the room with her hands raised up in front of her in a defensive fashion. Nanalie, still stunned and upset with herself over what she had done would at that point just allow the woman to leave who, once doing so, would start screaming for help.

This of course would rattle the authorities who would come running. A small situation, a misunderstanding, would be made all the more worse because his cousin Nanalie was not native to Iwa and thus someone - probably some recently promoted bastard - would try to take her into custody. This of course would cause some kind of incident that in the end would have the higher ups face palming while Nanalie raged and cursed worse about rocks and boulders than ever before.

Yup, that was exactly how he was picturing it happening as he stood there in the hallway: wasting more time thatn he needed to since he was supposed to be training. Just as Tre was thinking about talking to the house keeper and asking her to skip the Hokage and companys suite the house keeper came back out of the room she was cleaning, took her gloves off, and pushed her cart down the hallway and past him - not toward the suite they were all staying in. He heard her mutter something about thanking some god about how she was done with work and Tre couldn't help but smile to himself: that was good, that was very good. Now he wouldn't have to bother his cousin again to let her know someone might come in to clean the place while she was there. Nope, he could stop procrastinating and get on with getting to the spot he planned on doing his training at...

Wordcount: 1,134 | 6,532

Tre really needed to get this done. His cousin Nanalie was alright, and probably well on her way to getting ready so that she could meet him at the spot he had picked out for them to train at. He had even allowed all of the 'What if's?' to go through his mind to the point to where he had stood in the hallway of the hotel like a weirdo for a good twenty minutes while dazing off into outer space - or rather the deepest reaches of his very creative and descriptive mind. There really was nothing left to do but to get this over with now. Well, he had to get there first.

Just as Tre was ready to start walking, in the middle of taking his first step towards the end of the hallway, the door immediately to his right opened up and two rather large drunks stumbled out. They were haggling with each other over who drank the last beer, quite loudly at that. The one wearing the white shirt with a capital P on it was waving his hands as he shouted at his buddy about how horrible it was he had drank the last beer: he had been saving that. His friend, who was speaking equally as loud as if the pair of them were on opposite sides of a field rather than standing no less than a foot away from each other, responded quite loudly that it was rude that his friend expected him to save that last beer for him: he had been thirsty and that was why he had drank it. This caused the two to get into each others faces, each having their fists clenched. The combined smell of booze from both what they themselves smelled like and their breath which was drenched in it, caused Tre to wrinkle his nose and take several side steps around them before he continued on his way. He had a feeling that the pair were going to come to blows and he wanted nothing to do with it when and if that happened. The less he had to do with this situation the better - he didn't want to have to tesify to what happened, or worse end up with one of them taking a swing at him and him having to defend himself against what were clearly two civilians.

Even now as he hurried his way down the hallway and turned the corner to leave he could hear their voices becoming louder: he could imagine they were about to start swinging. As he passed the receptionist desk, nodding toward the woman sitting there as he went to move past her she saw him stick her hand up and nod in the direction the shouts were coming from. "What's going on back there?"

"I'm not sure, ma'am. Two gentlemen came out of their room arguing over who drank the last beer... I think they each didn't enjoy what the other said. That's all I know.", Tre said hurridly: he really didn't want involved in this anymore than he now was. Thankfully the woman seemed satisfied, waving him on with a polite smile as she picked up the phone and dialed a number he was sure was the hotel's security personal - or the police. Either way, he was outtie. He pushed open the door and headed left as he had done the day before with his cousin. Since he was new to Iwa he was going to have to retrace his steps to find the place he was looking for, but what was a few more wasted minutes considering how many he had gone through already?

As he headed on his way he used the visual cues around him to mark his way. He remembered the old statue he had thought the other day needed cleaning - and it still did - and then the ice cream place whose painted window sign reminded him of jelly beans - it still did too. On and on he went, making his way through Iwa along the same path - or nearly the same path - that he and his cousin Nanalie had taken the day before. Soon enough he found his way to the little side portion of the park hidden behind some branches and bushes that were slightly overgrown. They did well to block the spacious area and Tre once more couldn't help but wonder if anyone even knew it was there. Sure enough, as he slipped through a hidden gap between the trees and bushes, he found the place to be as equally empty as it had been the day before. The park beyond had likewise been empty meaning that the chances of Tre being disturbed before his cousin showed up were null and void.

Tre moved off to the center of the clearing, near the spot that had the most sun. He sat down for a moment, enjoying the heat upon his form, before he began to do a series of stretches aimed to relax and prepare every inch of his body for the training that was to come. It took him nearly half an hour, at which point he assumed his cousin Nanalie was likely on her way. Deciding he would simply wait for her to show up before he began he allowed himself to lay back on the grass in the sun, using his arms behind his head as a pillow. He stared upward at the sky watching as clouds began to pass by - pondering at certain points why a particular cloud looked like a ship or a boat or a bunny rabit or some other such creature. As he laid there he remained unaware of his eyelids drooping shut and sleep claiming him until it was too late. As if a light switch had suddenly been flicked off Tre went from laying there comfortably and waiting for what was going to be his training partner for the day to suddenly sleeping (and probably praying that the nightmare which had woken him up didn't try to claim him again)...


Wordcount: 1,016 | 7,548
Sidenote: -20% reduction to training per stat tier, thus numbers have been recalculated to show that

Speed C0 -> C1: 7,548 - 460 = 7,088
Speed C1 -> C2: 7,088 - 480 = 6,608
Speed C2 -> C3: 6,608 - 560 = 6,048

Strength C0 -> C1: 6,048 - 460 = 5,588
Strength C1 -> C2: 5,588 - 480 = 5,108
Strength C2 -> C3: 5,108 - 560 = 4,548

Endurance: C0 -> C1: 4,548 - 460 = 4,088
Endurance C1 -> C2: 4,088 - 480 = 3,608
Endurance C2 -> C3: 3,608 - 560 = 3,048

Reaction Time: C0 -> C1: 3,048 - 460 = 2,588
Reaction Time C1 -> C2: 2,588 - 480 = 2,108
Reaction Time C2 -> C3: 2,108 - 560 = 1,548

Perception C0 -> C1: 1,548 - 460 = 1,088
Perception C1 -> C2: 1,088 - 480 = 608
Perception C2 -> C3: 608 - 560 = 48

Remaining: 48 WC