After the Birth - Speed Training

Solo Speed Training by Kumiko Kyoko

Well, after the birth of Yukio – Kumiko found herself
sleeping for a good day or two. Her mind kind of wrapped up in a blanket of
exhaustion. She had yet to hear from the ANBU which was fine with her. The
Hoshikage would get his in due time. The woman was beyond outraged that the
snake had decided he was going to try to kill a newborn. The woman awakened to
early morning light, rolling over in her empty bed and placing her hand over
the pillow that should have had her Fiance’s head on it. “Masaki…” She
whispered softly as her eyes closed. She reached underneath her top and pulled
the Konoha pendant from under the fabric of her shirt. She clutched the
pendant, pressing it to her lips and crying softly as she kissed the metal. “I
love you… “ She whispered softly as she rolled from the bed. The bed they could
have been sharing if her father and brother had not killed the only man she had
loved in her 26 years of life.

She had been chased out of, and made a criminal, from Konoha
because of what she had done in retaliation. It was still a haze to her as she
got up and prepared herself for her day. A shower to wash the grime away, a
brushing of her hair and then putting it up in the customary bun it was always
in. She put her glasses on and dressed in her shinobi gear, strapping her
pouches and weapons to her towards the end of her dressing. Today she was
planning on working on some of her speed, and knew that she would need to work
rather hard to start advancing her skills. But still her mind was hanging heavy
with the truth of the world around her. Seeing Kaiiaki and her new family had
brought a pang of pain to the woman. That could have been her and Masaki,
smiling and laughing while cradling a beautiful child between them.

Kumiko was reaching her apartments door when the sob of pain
left her, she shoved her fist in her mouth and put her forehead on her door
frame as her body shook with the pain of the tears she had yet to properly
shed. She released a long breath and then pulled her fist free as she pushed
herself from the door. She walked out from her apartment, found a vendor for
some breakfast and ate while she walked out towards where she was going to
train. The training grounds were a good place, but Kumiko needed to get her
head into what she was doing. There shouldn’t be anything but working on her
speed. She was fast, but not fast enough. Her mind kept playing on what could
have happened in that room with the Hoshikage, and it made her blood boil.

Upon reaching the training grounds the woman dropped into a
seated position. She began to gently rub and stretch out her muscles, being
precise and careful in her movements. It was always good to warm up before
running if you could, because it helped the muscles not spasm or seize up. She
followed the same truth when it came to the end of doing any form of speed
training. Maybe one day she’d combined speed and stamina, and see where that
got her. Speed combined with stamina would improve chances of surviving running
long distances at higher speeds. That was something she would need to work on
in time.

Slowly the woman rose and cleaned her glasses off, she put
them back on and did a few practice lunges before her attention was turned to
the outer edges of the training area. She was going to put everything she had
into this, ground and trees and just run as fast as she could for as long as
she could. She’d start with a more moderate speed, to get herself going and
then work herself up to the higher levels of her speed. She started her run,
combining the ground and trees as she ran. Using branches to push herself off,
landing on other branches and running through trees. Periodically she’d drop to
the ground and duck and roll around obstacles at the edges of the training grounds.

Speed training could be fun, but most people didn’t know how
to do it in a way that it would make it challenging. Kumiko challenged herself
by adjusting the way she was doing it each time she went around. Patterns,
patterns were important, and puzzles were fun. She tried to find new ways to
jump through the trees, running across branches, pushing herself harder and
harder. It was not that hard, it seemed, and she half wondered by people didn’t
just train more often. She had wanted to be a Shinobi her entire life, and that
didn’t happen till she was 18.

She let her mind wander on sub pathways as her mind focused on the running,
letting everything leech out through her bones. After the fifth lap around the
grounds she boosted up towards the mid level of her speed. The patterns she
made before had to be adjusted, her reaction times increasing. The branches had
made small scrapes and cuts on her exposed skin, but the Jounin didn’t seem to
care as she was running herself through the things she needed to accomplish
soon. After her training she’d probably go home and shower, visit Kaiiaki with
some presents for a new mother. She knew she could come up with quite a few
things, even had some things she had managed to steal from home before she ran
away.

She returned her mind to the task at hand, caramel eyes
narrowing behind her glasses as she realized she had passed her fifth lap
again. She pushed forward now and then boosted herself up to her full speed.
Her body blurred for a moment as she pushed off, focusing on the patterns now.
Her body getting into a routine as her heart slammed in her chest. She breathed
evenly as she put her full focus on her traveling now. Through trees, and on
the ground she rushed through the training grounds blurring and completing the
five laps. Now it was time for a rest and then she’d go to the next part of her
training regimen.