Not for today, but tomorrow

Following the defeat by the hands of the jounin, Raleth. Katsuragi knew that he was in desperate need of training. Be fore arriving to the sand village, Katsuragi was in hiding along the borders of the shadow country. reason being that he attracted a lot of attention doing jobs for a certain crime syndicate. Katsuragi new this to be inevitable, but with great risks comes great rewards. He'd need such favors from the major crime outfit in the future to help aid him in future endeavors. The underworld was no different than the business world. It wasn't what you know that gets you ahead in life most of the time, it was who you knew. Walking along the side walk, with fresh bandages along his ankles and forearms, he returns to the same training grounds to begin his much needed training. His eyes, those weary from lack of rest, held a light of determination. Much seen in youthful folks, a undying light that could bring about change or a much hastened death. Within the dome, the climate was favorable, cool breezes breeze every so often, with the clouds blocking the rays of the sun.

Katsuragi's attire consisted of a thin black jacket, which underneath he wore a solid white shirt. His pants were a pair of black jeans. His boots also being solid black with an emblem labeled "EU", it's made of metal stitched to the tongue of the boots. His hair, still vivid, was a solid dark purple. His tools and such were all assorted evenly along his attire, given no hint to their whereabouts. He possessed nothing here but the clothes on his back, no apartment room what so ever except small living quarters for those not born within these lands. Regardless, despite his fancy taste for the finer things in life, Katsuragi preferred it this way. it was better to travel light as opposed to traveling heavy with things weighting him down. As of now, his future didn't involve him moving here and settling down here for good. A young hustler like himself must always be ready to be on the move, ready to seize any opportunity he can. he looks around the training grounds, scanning the area to see if anyone was around. Not a single soul, except for the ground keepers that maintained the area. They didn't count, them being the hired help. What was he to do? As he continued to look around, he sees a a modest sized shed off in the distance towards his left. With no one near by, he casually walks towards it, wondering what was inside.

as he approached the shed, he notices that the door was not fully shut, barely touching the frame, unlocked. "Ooooowo, I'm bout to jugg...", the said with a smile. Opening the door, it reveals..., a fancy weight lifting room with all the equipment one could ask for. His eyes widen upon this rather convenient finding. Nevertheless, he enters the gym and decides that this is how he will begin todays training. He takes off his jacket and tosses it off to the side like a gym rag while eyeing the most common working equipment in the room. The chest bench. As he gets the bench , he sits down on top of the bench rather quickly. The last person who used the this piece of equipment left the weights on. It was too much for him to handle, but it wasn't light. His head now under the silver metal bar, he places both hands on the bar with a mighty grip. His forearm muscles begin to show due to how much force was behind his grip. Once he began, his elbows were no longer bend but lightly straighten, he successfully lifts the bar. he does this repeatedly, roughly 12 times before setting the bar back on the rack. He breaths heavily, but smiles at the fact that he could at least bench this much weight, but he needed to go for more if he wanted to reach the speed and strength of the top fighters of this village.

as he continued to work out, pumping iron, he suddenly began to think about the rest of the top shinobi here. Even though there was a possibility that Raleth could be the best fighter in the village, Katsuragi had his doubts. Normally Kage are escorted everywhere they go, yet Raleth was alone that day. Who else could be considered his equal? Or, more importantly, who else was considered his superior? As these questions flooded his mind, sweat and determination flooded his face. He stops at the 10th rep. The bar bending slightly due to all the much added weight unlike before. Katsuragi's body was riddled with pain, but displayed a nice set of vein stretching all over his arms. He found rather appealing, his hard working becoming visible. But now wasn't the time to slow down, he need to continue in order to get better. Thus, he worked his way all along the room trying each and very piece of workout equipment he could find. He even found himself jump roping to gain much need stamina. Later on, he finally wraps up his work out session with a few push ups and sit ups. His clothes were soaked with sweat. working out in jeans wasn't really the ideal thing to do. Nevertheless, he manage to accomplish what he set out to do today. Gathering his barring and personal items, and makes his away towards to door. He didn't feel much stronger than before, but it was all in due time. Next time, Katsuragi decided to get into more of the sparring of such. he needed to work more on developing his techniques. The fundamentals were solid already. Moments later, katsuragi was seen walking along the sidewalk, making his way back to his small living quarters for a much need rest. Tomorrow he felt, tomorrow would be place him one step closer to reaching the heavy weight spot he so desired.

Next day...

Yesterday's training proved quite useful, the young hustler thought. No matter how convenient it was for him to stumble upon the gym, everything played out quite well. Early this morning, Katsuragi was seen jogging around the village. he displayed the same type of drive any young person would possess at this hour of the day. Bright and early with most still in their beds, sleeping content. It was as they said, if you really want something, you can attain it if you work hard towards it. Not that it was something that always came to fruition, but it as a nice thought to have in the back of one's mind. A sense of assurance was something everyone could use. However, too much of it could prove false which could in fact lead to a more detrimental path in the future. But, katsuragi's path was clear to him. He needed to get his weight up in order to hang with the big boys he so casually stated in his head. The fight was still fresh in his mind. Each step he took brought him closer and closer to the day. He quickens his pace, cutting the corners had full speed, his frame adjusting with the sharp changes of direction. It was as if he was not running towards his goal any more, but running away from something else.

Moments later, Katsuragi arrived at the trainings grounds. It was just as bare as it was the last time he was here. Only this time, he didn't see the grounds keeper around. Perhaps it was too early in the morning for them. No matter, Katsuragi proceeded onwards pass the gates. He looks up to see that the cool climate was still in effect. I must be rather nice for the villagers. To be housed in a dome that controlled the weather. Katsuragi didn't like it. It reminded him too much of prison. That fact of knowing of such constructs resided over him brought unease. The same unease he felt the moment the gate closed behind him when he entered the village. Getting over the chills that surged throughout his body, he found a rather large tree ahead. he made his way towards it, ready to go to work. To day he deiced to work on his jabs and hooks, instead of adding on muscle mass. He really need to work on his forms, or much lest come up with a new one if he was going to rise to the top. He smirks a bit while closing in on the tree, waiting to begin his much needed training.

Katsuragi's attire consisted of a thin black jacket, which underneath he wore a solid white shirt. His pants were a pair of black jeans. His boots also being solid black with an emblem labeled "EU", it's made of metal stitched to the tongue of the boots. His hair, still vivid, was a solid dark purple. His tools and such were all assorted evenly along his attire, given no hint to their whereabouts. as he finally reached the tree, he takes off his wet jacket. The reason why he was running with such heavy clothes was due to the fact that this was all he had. The living quarters he was given could only accommodate for so much. He even had to share the bathroom down the hall with all the tenants on his floor. Tossing the jacket aside, he gets into a stance similar to what he used in his fight with Raleth. Both his arms were raised to the point where his elbows stood above his chest, but tuck in as well. His fist clenched tight as they were above his head. Suddenly, he launched a series of jabs and hooks, one after the other, in rapid succession. He did this for quite some time, shadow boxing was actually a very affect method of training. But the real stuff laid with actual fights. After this, he catches his breath, hunched over with both hands on his thighs, breathing heavily. To his surprise, that little exercise took quite a bit out of him. He finally fixes his posture while searching for other stuff to do with his eyes Seeing nothing of note due to the fact that it was still early in the morning with nobody here to spar with, he continues with the shadow boxing. he gets into his stance once again and jabs away, this time he decided to get a bit more closer towards the tree.

"Alright, here we go...", he pauses. He stretches out his arm at full length. His fist not touching the the, but for some strange reason, he imagines it to be none other than the gentle giant himself. His problem with their fight was that raleth was too fast for him. The amount of ground he covered paled to what raleth could cover per second. But What, if there was a way, for him to reach Raleth with out having to move so much? A way for him to add reach. Shorter people usually don't have that much of an arm reach compared to taller people. If Katsuragi had more reach, he could eliminate the speed factor by simply keeping folks at a distance, but not so much where it could put himself at a disadvantage. Every taijutsu user had a kill range, a range where close quarters combat would be idea. get too far, and the opponent could switch to using long range projectiles. No matter, the thought still lingered within his mind. This was how fighters developed into fine instruments. All it took was a bit of inspiration, and determination. With that, after finishing up his training, Katsuragi was seen leaving the scene with all his items. He accomplished what he wanted to do here today. Within his mind, a new style for him to create. All he need, was to find a means to make it a reality. Boy, I can't mothing fuckin wait for this shit to pop off."

Later on, Katsuragi made it back to his place. It wasn't his officially, just a room and board for those visiting. He remembered the offer that still stood for him, to be allowed to stay with an older family in a teashop. he figured the worst thing that could happen was that he would have to do a little work around the shop to help out the older folks. Katsuragi knew for a fact that he definitely wouldn't be doing any sort of that. be he didn't mind the next space. It wasn't lik4e he would be hanging around there all day, so he there were ways to avoid those sort of annoying inconveniences. He enters the studio and looks around to see if he left and thing. Katsuragi never was one to travel so heavy, so many things to way you down. If he couldn't pack all his things up in his back in more than 15 secs, he was traveling too heavy. With his line of work, traveling light was the more sensible option. After thing was account for, what little he had, he flicks the light off only to shut the door with a moderate slam. He really couldn't wait to leave that place. So small and cramped, it reminded him of a prison cell if he was being honest with himself. Later one, he was seen leaving the scene, with a small bag in hand, hanging by a string that held by hand. The bag swaying over his right shoulder with each step he took. It was a bit late, but he couldn't finally see a slight outlining  of how things were going to turn out in the future.

Soon, katsuragi arrived at the shop. It was late, the sun already set with the moon just barely visible. He wondered if it was smart to arrive this late at a tea shop. With one quick scan of the area, he saw no one in the shop. 'This place makes money?', he thought. He took the time, and chalked it up to just being closed. He causally continues further towards the shop, wondering where the owners were. Raleth described them as an older couple. Finally, he hears footsteps coming from the stairs leading up to the second floor of the building. The staircase was inside the shop, with the first floor being the restaurant serving tea. He locks eyes with the older male, the two staring each at each other in silence. It was like a lion setting his gaze upon his prey, both were frozen as if time stopped. The older male breaks the ice, explaining to him that he received word of a young man would be stopping by seeking shelter. Katsuragi was that young man. The young hustler, tired and sweating did his usual thing, he says a thing here and there. His slang and city like attitude getting the best of him. A product of the hard knock life indeed, but the older gentlemen was young once too. He knew how hard it could be out there in the streets. He also knew about returning favors, with this being a hard one to reciprocate.

Finally, Katsuragi is seen laying in a warm bed. It had been quite awhile since he nestled into one of these. The old man's footsteps could be heard from the hall way, each step grew slower and softer till finally lights out, the lights in the hallway vanished. Was it wrong that he still pictured bars against the windows and doors. Was it wrong that he felt at any given moment, the door would swing open only to reveal an armed guard with a night stick at the ready? Perhaps in the future, he might be able to get over it, maybe he might be able to sleep with both eyes closed. But for now he sleeps with one open, ever so watchful of the past that haunts him still.

((TWC:2672))
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Exit, +26 Stats. 2500 towards Mind Body Transmission V7, the rest towards Leaf Whirl wind from this topic to complete it. Link. With these new stat points I'll be able to use the A rank jutsu.

Approved