Narration:Fi found himself on edge.The training grounds seemed to be an eternal crossroads, a catalyst for transition no matter what station or power level one held in their life. For some it was a necessity and for others it was an assignment. Part of Fi's rehabilitation from the hospital was to participate in live spars when his recovery reached a certain point. He was a little hesitant to jump back into it but he also understood that the best way to get back to a point where he could join a squad was to follow instructions to the letter. Whether it was a boring assignment like gate duty, tracking down lost pets or literally putting up an add for a training partner.
Which is what he did about two days ago.
The add read as follows:
WANTED - TRAINING PARTNER AT THE LISTED LOCATION.
GENIN LEVEL ONLY PLEASE, APPEAR IN PERSON TO PROVIDE PRACTICE IN A VARIETY OF DISCIPLINES. ALL MANNERS OF TRAINING ALLOWED AND ENCOURAGED.
He had tried to make it simple, to the point and as convenient as possible so that anyone on their way to the training ground would be able to pass by anyways and not have a problem finding him.
Not necessarily afraid but definitely excited about what could happen. Sparring was one of the final steps that he had to go through before he would be allowed to join a team again, something he sorely wanted to do. Despite the tragedy that had occurred over a year ago he found that he needed to fill the void that his team had left behind. He wanted nothing more than to be out there conducting missions and learning how to work as an efficient team with others. To do that he had to have a certain amount of time sparring with comparable opponents, he didn't necessarily have to win but the implication was that the better he did the faster he would be considered 'recovered' enough to be put on team based missions instead of the solo chores.
He briefly reviewed the tools that he had at his disposal. Three of his kunai had a paper bomb wrapped around the handle so that when he held it the explosive tag was completely concealed. Above all else, deception was the cornerstone of ninjutsu and he valued it highly as a battle tactic. One Kunai had a wire already tied through the eye-socket at the end of the handle. Fi ensured that the knot was tied properly so he wouldn't have to waste time trying to make a trap on the fly. Whoever showed up would most likely be specialized in some type of combat, Ninjutsu, Taijutsu or Genjutsu.
Fi reasoned that the best way to approach a fight would be to scout them, control the battlefield. Get them to show their hand and then decide where the best position to keep them on the battlefield would be. Stealth, intelligence and application of technique were the best things he could utilize.
He had selected a battleground that was familiar to him, often used by higher ranking shinobi. The clearing was circular. 50 meters from one side to the other perfectly. The grass was mostly undisturbed through some unknown means and came up to about mid shin. The training ground was dotted with kunai target, wooden posts that stood six feet tall and were wide enough for a person to hide behind. The targets were about 30 in all, placed variously throughout the field and they had seen better days in terms of wear. The outside of the battlefield was densely lined with trees to separate it from other areas, the woodline would provide ample places to hide if he needed to move to it.
Fi stood on one of the posts, towards the center of the clearing and slowly struck matches to light them. He would watch the match burn completely before putting it out underfoot. He passed the time patiently as he waited to see if anyone would show up today.