The Winding Road

[Kao]

Tsuken had always had a talent for taijutsu, but his strength had always been a bit lacking. In his early days as chuunin, he typically relied on his sister as the heavy hitter, and he would supplement her style with a series of quick attacks. Those day were gone, however, and now he would have to rely on his own strength.

To do that, he had to train, and to train, he had to get out of bed. When he wasn’t being forced into evaluations on his physical and mental health, he had taken to hiding from the world in his dark apartment with only juice and food to comfort him. That changed one morning when he heard an insistent knock at his front door. Of course, he didn’t answer, and instead curled up tighter in his nest with his eyes practically glued shut.

The knocking became incessant and threatened to give the chuunin a headache, but he still didn’t stir. The sound from the front of the apartment eventually stopped, but almost as soon as it ceased it started up again, this time much closer. The sound somehow came from his bedroom door. He jerked wildly from out of the blankets and fell in a heap on the floor and groaned when his temple collided with a dirty mug he’d tossed aside the day before.

“Shit, bitch, you live like this?”

Once again, Tsuken startled, but this time his body twisted itself into a low defensive stance and he held the now cracked mug in front of him like a weapon. The intruder laughed and snapped his foot foward, but Tsuken knocked it away and threw the mug and it shattered against the wall. Before the shards hit the floor, Tsuken found himself in a headlock, and only then did he recognize who had unceremoniously interrupted his sleep.

“Damn it, Shinzo, how did you get into my house?! Let me go!”

The intruder, Shichigawa Shinzo, was an old friend of Tsuken’s. They went to the academy together and were on the same genin team, but they hadn’t talked much since each of them were promoted to chuunin. Shinzo smiled broadly and swiped his long, dirty blond ponytail behind him. “It’s an apartment, sweetcakes. And I came in through the front door.” He released his tight grip around Tsuken’s neck, and the latter gasped to catch his breath. After a coughing fit, he straighted and glared at the small objects his friend dangled in front of him: two long, metal pins that he had likely used to pick the locks.

“You’re a fucking criminal, Shin. How did you even know where I -“

“I asked your sister.”

He choked on his words and looked away. That statement opened a door to topics Tsuken didn’t want to discuss. Unfortunately, those topics were exactly why Shinzo broke into his apartment, and that became apparent when the blond leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms. He wasn’t leaving anytime soon.

“I heard you weren’t doing so well, Tsuken.”

“It’s really none of your business how I’m -”

“It’s one thing to leave home. That, I understand. But no one’s seen you in weeks, and it’s clear that you’ve become a reclusive slob who won’t talk to his friends or family.”

Tsuken bit his lip and slowly sunk to the floor, folding his legs up under him and lowering his head. The Henrin certainly wasn’t known for his social prowess, but he had certainly never been known as a recluse. Sassy and rude with a domineering attitude to boot, friends were few and far between. But the friends he did manage to make, the ones who could handle his constantly shifting moods and foul temper, were lifelong friends who cared about him, no matter how long they went without speaking or insulting one another.

Still, Tsuken was suprised to see Shinzo there. Very few people had managed to talk to him in the past few weeks without him erupting in enraged outbursts, and fewer people tried to talk to him about what happened on that fateful mission and how he was holding up. No, those who had tried to talk to him more focued on his ability to continue on as a shinobi.

He wanted to say he was fine and let that be the end of it, but the lie was too bitter on his tongue and he instead choked it back and remained silent. The wind howled outside his window as a sand storm kicked up, sand and rocks hitting the glass panes to create a tinkling, almost musical sound. The pause was awkward for him, especially since he wasn’t able to openly talk about what happened. His mind blanked and he shut down, an unconscious attempt to keep painful memories at bay. A tender hand reached for him and rested on his shoulder, and after a few more moments of silence he lifted his gaze and looked into his friend’s face.

“Tsuken. It’s okay if you don’t want to talk. Really, it is. But you don’t need to be alone right now, okay?”

If Shinzo expected a response, he would be disappointed. The Henrin simply stared at him with a dazed expression and didn’t move, not even when Shinzo stood up and looked around the room.

His bedroom was pitiful and nearly bare; the only furniture was a large bed, a nightstand, and a chest of drawers. On the floor were several empty plates, glasses, and mugs, and there were potato chip bags strewn every which way. The rest of the apartment wasn’t much better. In the front of the apartment was a couch and low table not high enough for chairs, so it instead was surrounded by a few stained pillows. The kitchen counters were covered in dirty dishes and the trash looked as though it hadn’t been emptied in weeks. There was a faint smell of garbage and sweat permeating the bedroom, and Shinzo wrinkled his nose as he took in the scene.

“I’m gonna clean this place. Uh, as best as I can, anyway.” He looked down but Tsuken still hadn’t moved, so he sighed and headed towards the front of the apartment. “Keep in mind, this is a one time thing. Don’t get used to this, I’m not your wife.”

A few moments later, Shinzo was rummaging loudly in the kitchen and grumbling to himself, no doubt about how his friend was living in filth now that he was out on his own. Tsuken listened to the ruckus for a moment and sighed. With languid movements, he picked up the dishes scattered about the room and took them to the kitchen.

Shinzo was bent over the sink, vigorously scrubbing a particularly crusty plate. The scene would have been funny under different circumstances: a somewhat short, stocky blond man with his long ponytail twisted into a messy bun on top of his head, lips pursed as he almost angrily scrubbed away. I could have been funny, but it wasn’t. Somehow it reminded him of his twin sister, who often performed the very same chore in a house full of kids.

He used to make fun of her and add more dirty dishes to her burden, which would earn him a stern look and an occasional punch to the arm. Eventually he would settle next to her and help, deftly drying dishes, and they would work effortlessly together while simultaneously engaging in taunts and harmless sibling banter.

The image made his stomach churn.

He dispelled the memory of Atsumi by physically shaking his head. A few dishes nearly fell out of his arms, but he managed to catch them before they dropped to the floor. He set each dish gently on the counter and looked at his friend out of the corner of his eye. They briefly met each other’s gaze, though Shinzo quickly looked back to what he was doing. After lot of hesitation and twiddling of thumbs, Tsuken grabbed a dish towel and a clean plate and began drying.

The silence wasn’t exactly comfortable. It was heavy and thick with unspoken grief, but the lonliness that had saturated the apartment and hung over him for weeks had already started to dispel. The road to healing would be a long one, but it was one that Tsuken wouldn’t have to walk alone.

[Kao]

SAVING A SPACE

[Kao]

The sun had barely risen, but Shinzo had dragged Tsuken out of bed and out of the apartment and to a training ground across the village. It was near the village’s valley walls, somewhat in the shade because of the high walls and low sun.

Tsuken, grumpy and tired, stretched his muscles and looked over to his friend. He was arranging a bunch of strength training obstacles. They were mostly heavy looking weights and the like.

“Lift weights, Tsuken. I’m almost done over here.”

Grumbling, the chuunin walked to the nearest weight: a pair of large dumbells with green weights on the end. This training was the absolute most boring training he could thing of. As he picked up the two dumbells and started lifting them, he remembered how he used to train with Atsumi. They’d do weird obstacle courses, pull ropes, throw things. He typically had to warm up by stretching and doing weight training, but it was so boring that he wanted to scream.

He lifted the weights in his hand, one after the other, and started the curling motions. He lowered both dumbbells to his side, and used one arm and raised it towards him. He made sure to keep his elbow close to his torso and rotated the palms of his hand until they faced forward, then he lowered them and did the same with the other hand.

He pumped once, twice, three times then four, them paused. Then Tsuken repeated the motion. Once, twice, three times, four times, pause. Once, twice, three times, four times, pause. He wasn’t sure how much the dumbbells weighed, but they weren’t much of a challenge for him. He increased the pace, grunting as he did so.

He lifted them again. Once, twie, three times, then four. Instead of pausing after four, he continued. Once, twice, three times, four times, five times, six times, seven times, eight times, nine times, ten times. At the tenth round he paused and noted that this was a bit more of a workout. Not by much, but it was somewhat more intense than only doing four pumps then stopping. He continued to do sets of ten without tiring much. When he reached about a hundred sets he started to sweat quite a bit and feel the exercise, so he set the dumbbells on the ground and flexed his arms.

“Why’d you stop?”

“This is boring as shit.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. But you doing the boring lifting is giving me enough time to set up. Just keep going til I’m ready for you”

Rolling his eyes, Tsuken moved over to a larger pair of dumbbells. He lifted them, and these weren’t much heavier than the previous ones but he could definitey feel a difference. He did reps of twelve this time instead of ten. He lifted the dumbbells in one arm, lowered the arm, and did the same for the opposite arm.

He did this roughly thirty times before he set the dumbbells down. He hadn’t exercised in ages. Tsuken wasn’t tired, he just didn’t want to overexert himself and get injured. After the last set, he jogged over to his friend. He had set up a course of what looked like huge doors. They were six of them arranged in a row, several feet between them.

“Uhh…what am I supposed to do with that?”

“Nothing yet. Let’s climb up the side of the valley.”

Tsuken didn’t even have time to protest before Shinzo was sprinting away from him. He half expected him to climb the cliffside by focusing chakra in his feet, but no. Not his friend. Instead of doing that, he held one hand behind his back and began to climb with one arm. It was no simple feat. There were plenty of holds for him near the base of the cliff, but the holds weren’t steady and one wrong move and the hold would crumble and send one tumbling below.

“No chakra, Tsuken! Muscles only! Race you to the top!”

Sometimes he really hated Shinzo. But he didn't like to lose, so he rushed to the cliff side and grabbed on with his right hand, leaving his left arm folded behind him. His muscles were already a bit tired from lifting the heavy weights so fast, but they would hold. Hopefully, they’d hold.

He began the long climb, at first focused on overtaking Shinzo and beating him to to the top. It was maybe two hundred feet to the top. Possiblly more. But the more he climbed, the more he found that he had to focus not on beating Shinzo, but instead on finding a sturdy hold and not falling. The valley wall was sturdy, but the cracks and dips in the earth weren’t quite as strong. About 10 feet above the ground was when Tsuken almost fell the first time. He reached for a hold and instead of finding a firm grip, the hold was must more shallow than he expected. He could barely put his fingers in the dip and pull himself up. When he tried, his fingers slipped out, and he quickly had to grab at a rock jutting out only a few inches to the right.

The Henrin winced as the rock cut through the cloth that resembled bandages wrapping his hands and drew blood. Red droplets stained the rust colored rocks but were quickly absorbed due to the heat and dryness of the rocks. He scoffed, thinking that he would have to invest in some more durable wrappings. The wrappings were black so he thankfully wouldn’t be distracted by the sight of his own blood, so he gritted his teeth and kept going.

He was roughly thirty five feet above the ground. At this point it wasn’t too difficult to find holds for footing, but he was beginning to feel tired. If his hands weren’t wrapped, he wasn’t sure that he would be able to maintain a strong grip on the rocks. But the wrappings soaked up the sweat, and he was able to keep at it.

Forty five feet above the ground. His right arm was growing tired. He wanted to switch arms, but he wasn’t sure if that would technically disqualify him from their competition. Rocks fell onto his head from Shinzo dislodging stones and sand. Positive that his friend was doing this on purpose, Tsuken started to move to the left of Shinzo so that the rocks wouldn’t fall on top of his head and possibly into his eyes.

Eighty feet above the ground. Giving up was not an option, but Tsuken’s body was starting to tremble. If he didn’t switch arms, he would probably fall, and losing on a technicality would not be as bad as walking away from the training with a serious injury, or worse. When he was sure Shinzo wasn’t looking, he raised his left arm from behind his back, held onto the same ledge as his right hand, and then dropped his right hand to his side. The relief wasn’t at all immediate, but his muscles in his arm and hand thanked him for the change.

Shinzo was way ahead of him, at least 30 feet above his head. Grunting, Tsuken went into overdrive and pushed himself to the limit of his strength. Sweat fell in sheets from his forehead and chest, but he kept going. He used his upper body to practically launch himself upward, and used his legs to balance, which was not at all an easy feat. Several times he nearly lost his footing, but his grip with his rested left hand was strong enough so that he didn’t fall almost a hundred feet straight down.

At once point during the climb, he didn’t see a nearby hold for his hand. Shinzo was near the top. Knowing he likely wouldn’t win, the man gritted his teeth and just focused on completing the climb. There was another hold, a rather large one, roughly twenty five feet to his left and nine or ten feet above his head.

If he could use chakra, it wouldn’t be so difficult. But Tsuken wasn’t a cheater, so he took a deep breath and focused. He would have to use all of his strength, and maybe even more than that, just to reach the hold. Even if he did reach it, he would have to hold on to the hold with one hand. After a few seconds of mental and physical preparation, he brought his body closer to the cliffside and did a sort of vertical crouch. With a mighty yell, Tsuken used his legs to push away and up from the cliffside as hard as he could. With his left hand outstretched, he reached for the ledge and focused on getting a grip on it.

He almost didn’t make it. In the blink of an eye, his left hand slipped, and his feet scrambled to press against the cliffside. Almost reflexively, his right hand shot up and somehow managed to get a grip on it. At the same time, his left hand reached up almost desperately and grabbed onto the ledge.

Holding on with both hands, Tsuken panted heavily and tried to catch his breath. His muscles were on the verge of giving out on him, but through sheer willpower, he held on.

“You alright, Tsuken?”

He didn’t look up. Tsuken didn’t want to see how far ahead Shinzo was. Hell, he was probably already finished and waiting for him at the top. After a long pause, the chuunin yelled a short, exhausted affirmation. After he caught his breath, he dropped his right hand behind him again and kept climbing.

The climb was a bitch. His hands and fingers hurt. His legs hurt. His abdominal and back muscles hurt. His head was starting to hurt. Everything fucking hurt, but he had to keep going. He kept using his legs to balance and press against the cliffside as he reached above his head with one arm, pulled himself up, and found more footing. It was tedious and difficult, but he had to do it, not only to prove to Shinzo that he could, but to prove to himself that he was still strong, and would continue to get stronger.

One hundred feet above the ground. The top of the cliff wasn’t very far away, and Tsuken continued to push himself. Once again, he found himself unable to find a nearby ledge to grip. He cursed under his breath. No matter how much he searched, he didn’t see anywhere to grab, and without using chakra, blindly reaching around would almost guarantee he would lose his footing and fall.

Left without much of a choice, he slowly and carefully slid back to the ledge immediately below him that he had just used to launch himself to the current one. At the lower ledge, he found another rock jutting from the side of the cliff that he could use to continue the climb. It was quite a bit to the right of where he was positioned.

He was exhausted. He had exerted himself much more than he thought he would at the beginning of this training. That wasn’t something to focus on at the moment. The sun was beginning to peek above the cliff, and if he didn’t hurry he would have to make the rest of the climb with the sun beating on his back.

“Do you wanna quit, Tsuken?!” Shinzo’s voice rang above him, and the Henrin growled.

“Fuck, no! Shut up and let me focus!”

And with that, Tsuken gathered the remainder of his strenght and forced himself to exert his body even beyond that. He pushed his body toward the cliffside again and focused before leaping to the side with all of his might. This time, his grip didn’t falter, and he was able to grab hold of the ledge with relative ease. Pleased with himself, he climbed the rest of the way up the cliffside.

When he reached the top he nearly collapsed. His breath came in heavy pants and he was on all fours with Shinzo waiting next to him. The blond wasn’t at all winded, and it would have annoyed Tsuken if he wasn’t so tired.

”Goddamn… I need some water.

“Sure thing. Just climb back to the bottom of the cliff, I brought a couple bottles.”

“Fuck you!!

strength training. 2,063 words