Yoichi was at the training grounds, for what seemed to be the billionth time that week. He'd really been hitting the training hard lately. His growth was accelerating at an enormously quick rate. His lack of training, some had said, would make it impossible for him to keep up with any of those that had trained their entire lives, but he found that by pushing it off until his mind was fully developed, and his body had stopped growing, he could easily train and push his body. Even now, it was becoming perfectly sculpted. Sure, he was far behind where he would be if he'd trained from the get go, but it wasn't taking nearly as long as he thought to catch up.

He stood, sweat dripping from his face, heavily panting, in front of a wooden training post. It had been beaten to all hell by the numerous people that trained on it, and Yoichi was one of the vast many who had. For once, he was a bit different than normal. His eye patch still remained over his scarred eye, and his piercings were all in, but his vest, emblazoned with the Uchiha Clan Crest, the long sleeved undershirt that served to complete his jumpsuit and uniform, and his Forehead protector were piled up, off to the side, neatly placed in a fold and stacked in that order.

Yoichi's body was pale, but otherwise mostly unmarked. Not many scars or blemishes, other than being drenched in sweat. It was a hot day, and he was training hard, after all. His muscles weren't huge, but they were definitely visible. His workout was paying off and many would call him lean.

After a few more rounds of the old one two combo, which basically consisted of him punching and kicking the post a lot, Yoichi walked over to his water bottle, taking a gulp of water to keep refreshed. He was giving himself a little bit of a break. While he did so, he looked over at the other people in the training grounds, watching them do their routines. Most of them were a deal larger and looked stronger than he did, but that really didn't faze him much. After all, he was here to train, no pick fights with random large men.

Wiping the sweat off his face, Yoichi sighed. There was a pair of men who were obvious fitness buffs who were making everyone look like pushovers with the amount of muscles they had, and the training they were doing. It consisted of a large, weighted metal ball, and they were tossing it back and forth like it was nothing. These were the type of people who were all brawn, and no brain. He shook his head. How anyone could be so into fitness, he had no clue. It was boring to him, and he had to force himself to do it almost everyday.

WC: 486
TWC: 486

Sora relaxed within the Training Grounds. There would always be a day for physical activity that called for practicing combative techniques, but for him, today wasn't that day. He had enough of combat for the next day or so, preferring to instead focus on different forms of training that he needed to dive into in order to not end up rusty. Such fields included Medical Ninjutsu, for starters. Sure, he could have chosen the hospital as a destination to go learn or even just went to a library or something else and read through a medical book, but what was the point in that, anymore? It was beginning to become dull for Sora to use the same old methods for studying every time he wished to study. He has had plenty of practice with words, but none in regards to actual testing.

There was a difference between learning from a mere book and actually practicing a specialization. While one would give him general knowledge and a decent understanding, there is only so much he can do with a collection of paper with words on it. One cannot practice upon a reading device, after all, but they can practice on something real, something living. In a field such as the medical field, one can learn as much as they wish through the means of a mere book, but without being able to put their acquired knowledge to the test, it may as well have been a waste of time. It wasn't good enough to practice it though. One required a living, injured subject in order to practice the medical techniques Sora has learned.

Unfortunately, the typical fish that regular medical practitioners would use either cost money or usually was only used under the observation of an instructor or a teacher of some sort, either of which Sora had none of. Human experimentation is highly looked down upon morally, both by the authorities and by the public themselves, thus meaning that Sora would probably end up in trouble if he tried to fight someone, somehow win said fight, and then offered medical aid only for experimentation opportunities. Some days he wished it wasn't wrong to do so, but it is, and that he would just have to live with. His final option would be to have to catch a living, wild creature around the Training Grounds and experiment upon it away from anyone else that could be around it. He knew that even though it wasn't exactly an illegal thing to do it would still be something that would probably be looked down upon, but Sora himself craved to experiment and practice his medical training badly.

Walking around, Sora minded his own business while his sandal-covered feet made no sound upon contact with the blades of grass and the occasional patch of dirt below. After each step had crushed the green blades, they would simply unbend themselves and return to their normal form once more, almost as though no one had stepped upon them in the first place. The wind blew gently throughout the tree-covered area that he traveled through, offering a gentle breeze of sorts, almost as though nature would be caressing Sora's gently, cooling him. This contrasted with the temperature of the day currently, which felt as though it was eighty four degrees out. It was quite warm, sure, but the moving wind helped even out the heat with a cold feeling as well, thus creating an overall nice day to be outside.

The trees surrounding Sora were nothing special, really. They were their natural colors and they all still had their leaves due to it being the Summer. The only thing which the yellow-eyed Shinobi whose mahogany hair moved ever so lightly as his own head switched from facing left and right at a timed pace would see would be emptiness. These trees which had held life before bore no fruit for today, conveniently. It was as though a deity above was telling the boy through symbolic means that he shouldn't give in to his hidden desires and begin experimenting on an animal yet as though it was something cruel and unjust. Sora, in response, would just shrug his shoulders and move on with things, hoping that some other area within the Training Grounds would have an animal of some sort for him to use.

Arriving upon the other side of the collection of trees Sora was venturing through, he would emerge out into the open once more, only to see what appeared to be another male practicing, or at least taking a break from practicing. From where the young rookie stood, he could see that the male had been possibly been practicing on the nearby, worn out training post, an object used and abused by many others before this male. Sora could also see that this male also had what appeared to be an eye patch over one of his eyes. Could he have possibly been in an accident of some sort or would this have been the sign of a battle gone wrong? Either way, it was a bit of a mystery in itself, though one which the thirteen year old couldn't think solely upon. Other than these features and a few others such as his raven colored hair and bare, pale skin, Sora couldn’t make out much more about the fit-appearing male that would be around fifteen or more meters away from him. If Sora was truly interested in this person, he could perhaps venture closer and take a closer look, or he could simply move on by him without saying a word, either way though the distance will need to be closer than where they are currently, as this stranger was in the direct path of the direction he would be taking.

After adjusting the mahogany wraps covering his forearms and shins along with his black hoodie and white shorts before he begun to move away from the tree-line, making his way directly along the same path as before, gradually closing in upon the stranger with only partial intent.

wc: 1027

Yoichi's break was seemingly endless. He'd reached that point of his training that he'd gotten the rush from his exercise, and that was akin to a runner's high. Now, granted, he wasn't exactly comfortable, or even relatively happy about having to push himself in training so much; it was hot, he was sweating, it was a generally uncomfortable thing, that not many people really enjoyed, even if they enjoyed exercise. So he was actually casually watching some of the others in the Training Grounds, getting a feel for how they were. Sometimes someone to train with wasn't exactly a bad thing. Or sometimes someone to talk to while training simply passed the time. He wasn't big on sparring, as that generally denoted a holding back of sorts, and he was a fighter who went for the kill.

It occurred to Yoichi rather quickly that there wasn't going to be any amusement gathered simply by watching the two fitness buffs do their practicing. While they were perhaps the strongest men he'd seen, they wouldn't provide any knowledge on fighting in the slightest. Although, they could potentially be useful test subjects for his soon to be conducted experiments on the Venom Serum. Two massive hulking powerful beasts with insane strength would certainly provide a decent addition to Lady Risu's forces, if even just as enforcers or pleasant body guards or distractions. Mindless as they seemed to be as it was, all that mattered if they were subjected to the venom would be supplying them after the addiction began, and they'd do anything asked simply to continue using the Venom Serum.

Then again, it wasn't really worth it to recruit anyone, and Lady Risu was good enough at that on her own. Perhaps he'd shadow them later, as they were always here it seemed, Yoichi hadn't missed seeing them a single time he was there. It appeared training was their life style. His view shifted, passing over some genin and chuunin who were taking the time to train, but there wasn't really anyone that was taking a break at all, or not training. All except one person. The only exception to his observations. A young man who had just stepped clear of the tree lines, approaching the Training Grounds. This person seemed to be well younger than Yoichi, perhaps 5 years. From the looks of things, he was a genin himself, unless he was a really young Chuunin.

Yoichi took another drink from his water bottle, not really saying anything, but sized up the kid with his good eye, looking for physical indicators of his abilities. There wasn't much he could see, to be honest, so he had no clue what his specializations might have been. All shinobi had basic taijutsu combat abilities, so he could safely guess that he knew at least basic Taijutsu. Of course the Academy Jutsu were a must have for all shinobi as well, but that didn't mean he knew how to use Ninjutsu very well. It was simply a mystery to him. Konoha had a large variety of different shinobi lately, and it was unfortunate to him that he was still a genin at the age he was, having started late. Of course, that made it better, and he was on his way to Chuunin rather quickly, so he'd be closer in age to other Chuunin, while still off the radar, but that would be the only beneficial thing he could think of to being so far behind others of his age.

WC: 585

OOC: Apologies Sora. I know you've been busy. Perhaps we can thread some other time, but I've been waiting 17 days now for a post.
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Yoichi finished drinking from his water bottle, emptying it completely out. His training had worn him out for the day, and it was about time for him to call it quits. Nodding his head at the man who had just entered the training grounds, Yoichi went on his way, simply leaving the normal route. His thoughts were then moved on, discarding any previous thoughts about the boy. If he was important enough, he was sure he'd catch wind of him eventually anyhow. The Chuunin Exams weren't too far away, and it was a great place to scout out some fresh talent. A small smile of anticipation crossed Yoichi's face.

Heading over to the two bulky fitness buffs, Yoichi decided to talk for a few moments before he departed. "Hey. You two. What are your names and ranks? I'm curious, because you see, you seem like two of the strongest people I've seen, and I'd really appreciate finding out your training regimen." he asked, hoping they'd indulge to tell him. He didn't care at all about their training regimen, but if they'd tell him, then he'd be able to track them down later. The first step of subterfuge was to get as much information as possible of course. If they were Special Jounin or higher, then it didn't matter. It would be difficult to steer them towards his grasp.

They both stopped tossing the large metal ball and examined Yoichi. They were quite a deal larger than he was, bulkier and taller, which made them almost impossibly huge. After hearing them speak, Yoichi knew that they weren't very smart. They had a certain sound about them and way they spoke that made that part apparent. "I'm Tafu, and this is Kiron. We're both still genin, but that's not because of our strength." one of them said.

Yoichi smiled at them rather kindly. "Oh? You're stronger than a genin, but not smart enough to pass to Chuunin level? I see. Well, I'm smarter than a genin, but not strong enough just yet, so maybe I can help you, if you can help me. What'd you say? Help me train here, and I'll help teach you some smarts. We'll all make Chuunin together, as friends!" he said cheerfully. Sometimes his job was a pain in the ass, but strong people like this as dumb as they were would be invaluable pawns later on if he won their loyalty early on. Both of them nodded vigorously. "Good good! I'll be here tomorrow and we can start our training then, okay? We'll do some sparring and then we can see how much I need to improve, and I'll start helping you out right away. Anyhow, I have to go. See you later, Tafu, Kiron. Ciao." he said, and with that, Yoichi left.

WC: 471
TWC: 1542
Training Raiton D-C: [1500/1500]
EXIT THREAD