Three years earlier...
It was on this day that Haruhi swore she wouldn't wake up her sensei. Getting ready and preparing breakfast was no easy feat--more so when one tried to be quiet. She had tried, but to her dismay, as soon as she attempted to slip out the door, her name was called. Turning to say good morning to Mika, Haruhi found herself gripped into a hug by her sensei's strong arms. A short
"Have a good day." and
"Work hard." was said before she walked away to the kitchen. Sighing, Haruhi said in her happiest voice.
"I'm going to go train with Takeshi sensei. ...you should come by if your not busy." she waited but only silence followed. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. Giving up on this battle, she slowly slipped out the door and made her way to the training grounds. Passing through the Hidden Mist early this morning seemed different. Small details she never noticed before began to stand out, making this once familiar route seem not so familiar at all. She couldn't put her finger on it...so as in her nature she chose not to dwell on it.
Upon reaching the grounds, she noticed a figure leaning against a tree. Upon closer approach, she saw it was Takeshi sensei...and he was sleeping. Smiling to herself, Haruhi removed her pouch and other tools from her body, deciding to start running laps while he slept. He would need his sleep afterall, because she had planned to spend all day out here training with him.
Stretching and silently looking around she wondered how many laps would be five miles.
Hm...how many feet in a mile...then multiply by five, okay then... she started off at a slow jog counting her steps. She would wait until she reached that many steps. And should she not be able to do five miles today, tomorrow would be ten.
Cracking one eyebrow as he heard the sound of footsteps, Takeshi saw that Haruhi had arrived and was already starting to do some laps. Smiling to himself, he closed his eye once again and attempted to fall back asleep. After a few moments he realized that it was a fruitless attempt. Sighing to himself, Takeshi stepped away from the tree an watched as Haruhi completed her laps. He saw no need to motivate her, the girl looked like she was pushing herself well enough. Standing with his arms crossed slightly, Takeshi simply waited for her to finish her laps.
After an hour, Haruhi's lungs were past the point of burning...she wasent entirely sure they were working anymore. Twelve thousand three hundred and sixty steps...that was in five miles. Nine hundred and four to go, but really Haruhi was sure her heart was going to give out on her. Though as she thought about how many medical nin's had told her she wouldn't live past the age of eleven, here she was four years past that with her 'weak heart' as it kept beating no matter now hard she pushed.
A few minutes later she finished her steps and fought back the urge to lay down. Instead she jogged over to her now alert sensei and waved to him.
"Take...ha... okay wait I cant breathe." she panted and put her hands on her knees.
Approaching the exhausted girl, Takeshi smiled. She had just performed an impressive feat for a genin.
"Good morning Haruhi. You should take some time to catch your breath." He let out a small chuckle. Waiting a moment more with his arms still folded across his chest, Takeshi wanted to see how quickly the girl recovered.
"So are you ready to learn something awesome?" He asked with a playful tone.
A few moments of heavy breathing was oddly enough time for Haruhi to collect herself. The burn in her legs was fading faster than usual and for a moment she wondered why...
Shrugging, Haruhi stood straight and waved to Takeshi.
"Yo, sensei. Feels like we just saw eachother like five minutes ago." she said with a smile.
"And you better believe i'm ready!" she said with an excited hop. She walked over to the tree he was previously snoozing against and grabbed her pouches, putting them back on.
Seeing Haruhi recover quickly, Takeshi smiled.
"Well it is good that you are ready, because today I am going to teach you a new technique. It's called the Chidori." He cocked his head to the side slightly, waiting to see how the girl would respond. He had a feeling that she would like the technique, though whether or not she would be able to master it would be another matter entirely.
Haruhi's eyes widened and she did a little hop.
"All right! A new technique! she said excitedly. Absently she wondered how hard it would be to get it mastered. If it was anything as awesome as she thought it was, it was going to take
a lot of practice. Though thats something Haruhi never minded.
Grinning, Takeshi raised one hand to fend her off.
"Now now, let's not get ahead of ourselves. First things first I need to know if you're ready yet. We're going to spar. Whenever you are ready Haruhi, give it your best shot."======================================
Takeshi stared at Haruhi for a moment after the fight, saying nothing... And then he broke out into a large smile.
"I must say I'm impressed Haruhi-chan. That was a very unique tactic you used. And very effective too, might I add." He said, rubbing his arms for good measure.
When Haruhi's feet touched the ground, she stumbled back a bit on the uneven ground. When she looked around and saw what she did, part of her was proud and the other part was wary.
"Thanks sensei... I uh, didn't hurt you did I?" she asked even though he smiled. Already she felt exausted and she thought maybe she overdid it a little once he rubbed his arm. She too rubbed her hand before a slight smile formed on her face too.
"I have to add a bit of bragging...cuz that was pretty neat. I didn't think it would work. You're way too fast. That was literally my only attack that hit." she said.
Takeshi nodded and crossed his arms.
"Yes, it's hard when your opponent is faster and stronger than you. But... there is always a way to win. In this case, you did exactly what you were supposed to at the last moment, I think without you even realizing it.""Oh... really? What did I do?" she asked curiously.
"You used your head. The key to fighting someone faster than you, is to make them move the way you want them to and visualize where they will be in a particular moment where you can make a deadly strike. Essentially, doing the right techniques in a certain order can allow you to predict the movement of your opponent long before he does them. For example, I know that if I aimed a low sweep to your feet, you would jump backwards or straight up to use a counter. If I tried to throw a kunai at your right side, you'd deflect it or move away to the left. By doing a series of moves to create a desired action from your opponent, he's always right where you want him.""That sounds like a load of crap, sensei." she said placing a hand on her hip. Takeshi laughed and shook his head.
"Just try it. Come on. Lets go again. Afterwards we'll get to the fun part.""Aye!"