The training grounds were clear for anyone to have a go at honing their skills. It was an important thing to do if one had the need to stand their ground against a foe. Power and agility, intelligence as well. What could anyone do without those things? Mi Sarutobi could only think about the meaning of each word as she entered the training area. She didn't have much planned for the day, except for the training. Yet, she felt that some other ideas would come to mind as soon as she got started with what she already had set.

The morning was as beautiful as it could get as the sun poured over the gates of Konoha. Mi went over to and stood in the middle of the training grounds, just a short distance from the main part of the Hidden Leaf Village. As a Genin who would soon be taking part in the usual duties of a ninja, she awoke early to come out to this spot in order to practice and increase her fighting skills. After all, the body was an important tool for a ninja intent on joining the ranks of the best. This was the best way to begin the day... for some, and it would hopefully not end like the previous day when she had absolutely nothing interesting to do. Today was going to be different, however. It was the beginning of her training bout.

A dummy stood tall just six feet away, untouched by any sort of sharp tool or dents from someone's fists. In her right hand was a single kunai knife to spice up the training just a bit. There were three shuriken on her person, too, but they were to be used for something else in the young Genin's training. What she had planned for the kunai was a bit uncommon. Since she didn't have a katana or any other kind of blade on her person, she resorted to using the kunai knife like it was a sword. Uncommon, or completely unusual, but she wanted to excel in the art of kenjutsu and this was how she was going to get started down that road.

Mi twirled the kunai with her index finger, which was keeping the tool spinning from the loop at the end. She had a small smile on her face. Despite it being training, and not a mission of some sort, she was happy to be making some progress in her life ever since that time...

**
A young Mi Sarutobi walked through the streets of Konoha with a single flower in her left hand and a Leaf headband in the other. A wide grin and happy eyes reflected the pure joy she had. Some other children who had forehead protectors in their possession walked alongside Mi, but only until certain routes broke off.

She was a new graduate and it was time to go home and tell her parents. After a few minutes of walking, the young girl finally made it to the front door. But, her face twisted into a look of confusion. The door was cracked open already, but she wasn't sure why. Usually it was securely closed, and she'd have to use a key to get inside. "Mom...ma?" the young Mi called out to her mother with a bit of struggle due to her condition, and slowly pushed the door open. "D... Dad?"

Inside, everything was unnervingly dark. Mi stepped inside, but failed to flick the light on when her eyes fell on two slumped figures in the living room. Cautiously, she walked closer with furrowed brows. Standing at the side of the sofa, Mi saw who they were and reached her hand out to nudge the one closest, but the body fell to the ground-- motionless...
**

"Er..." snapping out of the flashback before it could finish replaying, Mi shook her head and let out a short sigh that was inaudible to her ears. 'Why am I thinking about that now?' she wondered in her mind, and stopped twirling the knife to let it hang from her finger. That was the last thing she ever wanted to remember. The day she found her parents... lifeless in her home. Every time she remembered, it made her want to scream. So, pushing it out of her head, Mi took a breath and focused back on the task at hand.

Setting her sights on the dummy, Mi Sarutobi pushed the dark recollection away and readied herself to begin the training. Her feet were shoulder width apart, and body squared with the dummy's motionless form. The kunai gripped loosely, but not too loose, in her right hand pointed upward with the tip of the knife aiming at the sky. Mi took in a breath of fresh air and lunged forward at the dummy with her first attack maneuver in progress.

The first strike on the dummy was a downward slash that left a shallow slice from the tip of the nose to the middle of its chest. Following that was an open-palm strike to the dummy's abdomen and a kick to its left side. One more horizontal slash beginning from the left and to the right, leaving a mark on the stomach of the dummy. Mi exhaled and sprung back ten feet with a flip to put some space between her and the intended target. Now that she was no longer at the melee range, she turned to using a projectile tactic.

Mi held the kunai knife up with her index, middle, and thumb fingers keeping the weapon steady. And, with one flick of the wrist, she threw the dagger-like tool. Her aim wasn't the best of the best, however, which was evident by the kunai sticking near the base of the post holding up the dummy. '...I definitely need practice with throwing things,' she mentally scolded herself, and reached into her weapon pouch and pulled out three throwing stars.

One at a time, each shuriken was thrown at the dummy for a bit of practice on aim and accuracy, but even they strayed from any bulls-eye marks. One struck the dummy in the shoulder, and another in the right thigh. The last of the three dug into the grassy ground just under the kunai, an embarrassing failure somewhat.

Straightening her composure, Mi sighed as she examined the effort she put into the day's training. She could feel her body getting a lot stronger in several different ways in spite of not having the best accuracy when it came to throwing projectiles. Her best feat was with pretending that the kunai was a sword and using it like she would with a weapon for kenjutsu. 'I think that is enough for today,' she thought quietly, moving to pick up her equipment. The dummy was left behind for the next training session, or for anyone else who wanted to use it for training.

As for Mi Sarutobi, the teenage ninja left the training field to rest up and consider doing something else with her time. Perhaps, try to make friends or see what there was to do in order to earn some money for a good living in the village. And, with ryo on her mind, she did want to see about buying a sword to use instead of playing around with a simple knife and swinging it around as if it really was a sword. Perhaps some missions would do her good, and keep any icky thoughts out of her head. The last thing she ever wanted to remember was the loss of her parents. So sudden and unthinkable... Unbearable. Now that she really thought about it, that unexpected event left her without a family and completely on her own to take care of her own needs without any support from loving parents.

'There has to be something out there to give me a hand,' Mi thought to herself, and walked away from the training field, back to the streets of Konoha to find something else to do for herself. Although she was a bit under the weather from the day's practice, she had that same smile on her face. Maybe participating in a mission would be the best choice. Other than that, a Genin did need the experience to do some jobs around the village. She could earn money and take care of the rest of her training, as she wanted to do with her Bukijutsu training. And, after that, or whenever it comes around, she would probably take part in the exams for future Chuunin.

As she was walking by herself, Mi quietly giggled to herself for a moment. It was just as she had thought before. By the time she was finished training, the ideas for the future were popping up like fireworks in her head. Of course, she needed to figure out how everything was supposed to go. Just thinking about doing it all was not enough, and it sounded easier that way. But, it needed careful planning if it was to be a successful run. She'd have to pace herself...

'And once I get that done, I'll be able to achieve my dream,' Mi smiled, her eyes looking up at the blue sky above as she departed from the field. A morning of hard work had passed, but there would be more training in the future. Mi was positive that those days would go a lot more smoothly than today. At least, she prayed for that to happen.



Word Count: 1601
Training: Strength: E --> E-3, Speed: E --> E-3, Reaction: E --> E-2, Perception: E --> E-2, Endurance: E --> E-2
Thread Status: Exited