The air is cool and crisp as a slight breeze rolls gently through the open fields of Kirigakure's training grounds. The sky is dark except for thousands of tiny twinkling stars and the soft pale white glow of the moon casting just enough light to see. The grassy field is covered in morning dew and all is silent except for two steady footsteps crunching the tall grass down. Biru then stops walking tilts his head back and looks in to the sky before closing his eyes and taking a long deep breathe. The cool air filled his lungs and finished off the waking up process he had been going through this early morning. His head rolled back forward to its normal position and he opened his eyes. His pale blue eyes peered over the field and then he exhaled. It was still cold enough for him to see his breathe as he exhaled, but to him this was the perfect temperature. In the moolight the pale white skin of his upper face and arms could be seen. It was almost as white as the moon itself and looked nearly inhuman. Biru then began walking again toward the southern end of the training field to his usual spot. The crunching under his feet was relaxing to him it made him feel at home. When he reached his usual training spot Biru then began doing his preworkout stretches. "It's always important to be stretched out and ready to go before a workout." he heard in his father's voice in his head. After his stretches were complete Biru walked up to one of the sparring dummies and took his stance. It was a very basic martial arts stance with his left leg leading and pointed straight forward and his right leg back with that foot perpendicular to his left. His knees were bent and his left arm was stretched forward about half way with an open hand and his right arm tucked tightly against his body with a clinched fist.

In an instant a loud cracking sound could be heard clacking across the field had anyone else been there to hear. Biru's right hand had been launched forward and collided with the wooden dummy. In another instant Biru was throwing half a dozen more kicks and punches as he danced around the dummy moving backward and forward and shifting from side to side as if he were recieving return fire from the dummy. He remembered reading many  times about close quarters combat and how important it is to always stay on the move and to be as unpredictable as possible. After the inital barrage of his attacks Biru pushed himself back with his lead foot several feet creating distance between himself and his made up opponent. As he slid backwards he raised his right hand to his mouth kneading his chakra into water before spewing out a powerful jet stream that from the short distance he was from the dummy almost instantly collided with it. As the water shot in to the wooden dummy it began to splash high in to the air and rain back down on to Biru and the surrounding area making a large puddle at the base of the dummy and giving Biru a light misting which cooled him off. Hopping backwards a few more times as quickly as he could Biru created about a 15 meter gap between himself and the traininng dummy before stopping and then raising his left hand. The air around the dummy grew colder and then out of thin air 8 four inch long senbon made of ice appeared in front of his hand shooting forward at an incredble speed closing the distance in only a second. The ice senbon weren't aimed for the the dummy though they  were aimed for the large puddle around it. Sticking in to various spots around the base of the dummy the ice needles then began freezing the water. While much faster than it would normally take to freeze water it wasn't a fast process by any means. Biru's eyes watched as the needles slowly turned the water into ice and solidified the puddle he had created around the base of the dummy. It became clear to Biru that this combo would be no good in trying to capture an enemy's feet in ice it simply froze the water too slowly for anyone who wasn't completely oblivious to caught in it.

Walking back up to the wooden training dummy he had been using and thinking to himself he knew knew he would need to master more powerful ice release techniques to be able to trap opponents quick enough that they couldn't simply walk away before the effect reached them. Still it was proof of concept that this combination of jutsu could be used at higher levels to possibly freeze an enemy in place if not freeze them entirely all together. With that little experiment out of the way Biru turned his attention to another training dummy near by and continued his taijutsu training still pretending the dummy was a real opponent he darted back and forth from one side of the large log in front of him to the other. This continued for around an hour with Biru taking time to rest in between bursts of intense training. By the end of that hour Biru had coated himself in sweat which wasn't something easily done by his people. Their naturally low body temperatures kept them from overheating durinng exercise too easily and they rarely needed to sweat unless enduring long intense physical exercise like Biru had just perfomed. As Biru stood next to a large pond that was part of the training grounds he pulled out a bottel of water from the sack he had brought with him and drank from it nearly finishing what was left. He could see the reflection of the sky in the pond and saw the sun was starting to come up. He turned to look out over field and could see with the warth of the rising sun begining to hit the ground the dew was evaporating and creating the thick fog his country was named after clinging low to the ground. Soon other shinobi would be coming to train here and that was not something Biru wanted to be around for. Fininshing off his bottle of water and tossing it in his bag he would then sling it over his shoulder and begin walking through the fog and toward the exit of the training grounds. As he walked he could here some early risers heading in toward the training grounds. It seems he had finished up his early morning training just in time. He walked past the two young boys who were much shorter than himself and didn't give them a second glance. They were obviously young genin who had most likely just graduated from the academy. Continuing down the road away from the training grounds and toward the city Biru's stomach began to growl very loudly. A shift under his wrapped face gave away the slightest hint of a smile and he said to himself in soft but moderatly deep vioce "I guess it's time for breakfast, hopefully I still have some food in the fridge to make. I don't want to have to go back home to my parents to beg for food again"

WC 1250

It's just past noon and Biru is heading back toward the training grounds for his second of three training sessions for the day. Luckily as is usual in kirigakure the sky is covered with clouds and there is a slight breeze keeping the humidity of mid day from being unbearable for the cold blooded Yuki clansmen. On his walk down the path toward the training grounds Biru is going over the jutsu scrolls he was reading during the break between this mornings training and now. Going over all the exact nuances it takes to perform each jutsu and all of their applications in combat or otherwise. While  he enjoyed his mornig taijutsu training sessions ninjutsu is where Biru truely excelled. While he hadn't perfected many jutsu due to his complacency for the last few years he still had plenty of talent for learning them and quickly at that. He had taught himself all of the jutsu he knows aside fromm the academy jutsu just here in the last few months by studying scrolls and practicing them every day during his afternoon training sessions. It was easier for Biru to train jutsu during the hottest part of the day as to not completely drain himself physically. He did have yet another training sessionn waiting for him later in the evening and that is the most intense one of the day.

Snapping out of his deep train of thought as he felt the transition from the hard worn dirt trail he was on to the softer lush green grass of the training grounds. As he looked over the training area he could see a dozen or so shinobi training across the field. some by themselves and other paired up sparring or teaching one another different techniques. Luckily today wasn't too crowded and he saw an open area that no one was really using. Biru leaned forward and began running over toward the open area to claim it as his own. When he reached his destination he set his bag down and took another look around to make sure he had enough space around him to perform his training exercises without anyone getting in the way. It looked like he had plenty of room the next closest group of people were nearly 50 yards away from him. The first jutsu Biru had plans for today was his wind release stream technique. He wanted to see just how far he could push the techniques capabilities. Taking off sprinting forward as fast as he could Biru would launch himself in to the air. As he flew forward through the air Biru kneading chakra in his lungs then released the power current of air from his mouth nearly stopping his momentum instantly and then dropping to the ground. After landing Biru turned around and ran back the way he came from. This time kneading thee chakra as he ran then as soon as he went to jump once his feet left the ground he  looke sttraight down and released the torrent of air at the ground. It kicked up dust all around him and lifted his body an extra 2 meters in the air compared to what he could normally do. As he began to  fall he realised he'd never fallen from this far up before. Somewhat panicing right as his feet began to hit the ground Biru stiffined up, the last thing you want to do when falling from that kind of height. His stiff legs slammed in to the ground sending the force from his fall all the way up in to his back. As his knees began to buckle he could feel his back tighten up and Biru fell to the ground rolling forward in pain.

Laying there on his back Biru could feel his pulse in the soles of his feet. His knees aching and feeling like his legs would fall off if he moved. The most painful part however was his lower back. His landing had wrenched all of the muscles in his back and he could feel the knots squeezing on his spine. Laying there for a bit more the pulsing in his soles began to fade and his knees while still sore began to feel a little better. Biru pulled his knees as far to his chest as he could stretching out the muscles in his lower back slowly. It was rather painful and all Biru could think to himself was how stupid he was. He knew he should has tucked and rolled as he landed to minimize the impact of falling from nearly 25 feet in the air but he froze. Is this how he would react in a mission if faced with a life or death situation? Slowly Biru sat up and forced himself to his feet. Stretchinng downward to touch his toes he could tell his back was going to be stiff for a few days, but he had to push through it. He had made so much progress in the last 6 months there was no way he could afford to take a couple days off for something as stupid as falling the wrong way.

Stepping forward Biru then began scanning the field tot see if anyone had noticed his little tumble. Fortunately for him everyone else seemed too wrapped up in their own training to notice the embarrassing display he had put on. "Time to get back  to work." he said to himself. This time Biru performed a single hand seal and from a near by pond water morphed up on to land and formed itself in to an exact copy of Biru himself. The clone began charging and once it reached him it began throwing a barrage of attacks at him. Biru managed to block most of them but with the soreness in his knees and back he was a little slower than normal. With the clone throwing a punch right for Biru's face he reacted by raising his hand in front of the punch as if he were going to cathc it, but instead nearly instantly a thin sheet of hexagonal ice appeared blocking the punch effortlessly. Biru used this this opportunity to counter strike throwing his own punch with the remaining free hand. The punch connected and threw his clone off balance. Following up the punch with several more and then dropping low to the ground and swinging his leg in a sweeping motion Biru swept the clone off of its feeet and as hit hit the ground the clone dispursed back in to nothig more than a puddle of water. Biru had a small smirk on his face although it wasn't able to been seen with the wraps hiding his face.

Biru continued this training for some time after that intial spar with his clone. He would create a clone and defeat it using different combinations of the few jutsu he knew. All of this went on for nearly an hour and a half before Biru was too tired to continue and didn't have enough chakra left ot create anymore water clones. This session however was diferent from most as he actually had a little bit of adversity to fight through. The pain in his knees and back had gotten worse toward the end of his training, to the point that as he was packing up his things back in to his back he had a visible limp. Throwing the bag over his shoulder Biru began the long walk home. It was going take probably twice as long as normal but he didn't mind. There had obviously been some progress made today and that was what kept him going. Nothing was going to stop Biru from reaching his potential. Again like the walk home early this morning Biru's stomach began to growl loudly and he knew he was going to clean himself up, eat a huge meal, then take a nap before his final training session of the day later on. Looking back toward the training ground before they were out of sight Biru smiled and thought to himself "I'll be  back soon, someone better be ready."

WC 1367            Total: 2617

It's late in the evening the sky is begining to grow dark as the sun will be setting within the next hour or so. Footsteps can be heard coming from the road leading in to the training grounds and anyone who was still there could see it was Biru making his entrance. He looks tired and stiff as he almost shuffles his way from the road out in to the center of the training grounds. As Biru walked to the center of the training grounds he looked around for other shinobi still training. There were about 5 people left there most of which looked like they were about to leave for the night. Once he reached the center of the training grounds Biru spoke out asking for one of  the 5 people still there to spar with him. He got a couple looks from a pair of what looked to be academy student as if he was crazy. They declined and headed off down the road. Another sinobi that was packing up looked over to Biru and said "You look like crap you should get some rest. There's always tommorow ya'know." Biru recognized this shinobi it was one of the student he had graduated with a few years ago. He had heard that the man was promoted the the rank of chuunin last year. Watching his former classmate walk away Biru turned toward the two  shinobi that were left. One was a female who was about a foot shorter than Biru with long brown hair. She wore her headband around her left upper arm. The other was a male only an inch or so taller that the female. He looked at Biru and could easily be seen to look uncomfortable. The female spoke up and said she would spar with Biru as she handed her bag to the male and jogged out to the center of the training grounds to meet him.

"Hello, I'm Biru. Thanks for helping me out." he said. She replied with a smile and said "No problem I'm Mei. Lets get this started and over with though I have to be home for dinner soon." Biru nodded and stepped back a few meters to create enough distance for both of them to have a fair start. Taking his fighting stance Biru focused his gaze on the small woman and waited for her to ready herself. She took her stance and then immediately bolted toward Biru. She was fast, faster than he had expected her to be at least. Taking to defense Biru began attempting to block her attacks, but she had closed the distance between them and she was already inside of his guard. With his long limbs it was difficult for him to defend himself with her being so close to him. She obvioulsy knew what she was doing and intended to end this sparring session early. Biru threw a front kick toward her chest and she blocked it but as he finished through with his kicked he lifted his back leg to allow himself to push off of her and create some distance between himself and her.

Landing about 10 feet away from her Biru felt his knee ache and his back start to tighten up from his training sesson earlier this afteernoon. He wouldn't allow himself to give in to the fatigue though and pushed forward toward the girl through several punches and kicks. Now he was on the offensive and made sure to keep the young woman at a distance. The girl was able to keep up with all of Biru's attacks it seemed like this was an even fight. As they pushed each other Biru began to feel  the full affects of his two training sessions from early today. His muscles felt like they were on fire and his feet were throbbing with pain. Every punch he threw felt like fire was shooting through his veins and every step was like walking with broken glass in his shoes. Biru knew he needed to win now or he would collapse and lose. Putting all of his strength in to one punch Biru blasted the girls arms as she blocked the hit, but was knocked back. While Biru threw that punch however he had been kneading chakra in his mouth and as the girl was knocked back he raised his free hand to his mouth and released a torrent of water right at her. The stream made direct contact with her chest from only a couple feet awayand he could hear the wind knocked out of her. As it pushed her backwards and on to her back Biru was also knocked back and fell down. Laying there on his back he knew he was finished whether the girl got back up or not the sparrig session was over. Biru heard footsteps coming toward him and knew it was the girl. As he layed ther on his back breathing heavily the girl walked over to  him and looked down at him before saying with a smile "Looks like I win." She was completely drenched and her hair was a mess now but she didn't seem to mind.She reached down and Helped Biru stand up. "Thanks for the help, and for the spar." he said then began the long walk home.

As Biru began walking the girl and the boy she was with passed him by. Mei turned to wave goodbye and biru waved back. The pain in his body was still really bad and he knew it would be a long walk home. The sky had gotten dark and the moon was visible now as the last bitsof sunlight were falling beneath the horizon. It wouldn't be too much longer until Biru was back here again, hopefully a nice big dinner and some sleep would have him back to his normal self tomorrow morning. He couldn't afford to take any days off or miss any of his training sessions or missions. As the night sky got darker and the star began to shine brighter Biru kept his eys on them. Wondering what was out there and while he did so it helped keep his mind off the pain while he walked home.

WC 1049 Total 3666