It burns. My limbs are all on fire. What did I do to deserve this. Why. I know I said I would endure any kind of training in order to get to the top, but this sucks!
"Come on, kid, just one more!"
That singular word gave me the anger and strength I needed to finish my last push-up, and I fell flat onto the ground, panting and gasping for air: 62 push-ups, 46 sit-ups, and 74 squats. God knows how much this menace made me run. I was so out of breath while running, and my legs? Ohohohoho, you do not know how much I wanted to die in that moment. I didn't even bother counting the laps because I just ran and ran, only focusing on that.
"Remember to keep your breath stable. How are you holding up?" he said, amused at my state. I was just taking in the grassy smell from the ground as I struggled to speak.
"D-Dead... Can't go on... anymore..."
He chuckled at my misery. Asshole!
"Hahaha, let's take a break for now. Water?" He handed me a water bottle with a grin on his face, and I looked up, my face covered in sweat.
"Please... Thank you." I gladly took it from his hands and sat down on the ground, although struggling a little. The bottle was big, and it felt like I was holding a vase, but I still took big gulps like a thirsty man who had gone through the Sahara Desert, finally finding water for the first time in days. Somehow, I managed to drink half of the bottle by myself.
Stay hydrated, kids!
"That was really refreshing," I said as I got up and handed it back to my father, feeling like I had regained some of my stamina from the water.
"Whoa, you were thirsty, alright. We'll be on break for about 20 more minutes, okay?"
"Mm," I nodded before sitting back down. Man, I'm a mess. Could I ever reach the strength of people like Rock Lee? I'm not the main character, but I'm sure I can pull it off if I put in enough effort. Probably. Imagine having to walk on your hands all around the village, though—that'd be embarrassing, pfft!
...
Waiting is boring. I enjoyed the warm sun on my skin, though. Time passed...
"Time's up; we'll do something else now."
"What are we going to do?"
"You have an affinity for Wind and Water, right? So I'll have you practice something related to those two elements. Try grinding your chakra against itself, like you're trying to sharpen something, and expel whatever is generated toward this leaf." He handed me a leaf. He must be talking about the wind exercise, the Leaf Cutting Technique.
I closed my eyes and focused on my interior, doing exactly what he told me to do. I took hold of the leaf and pushed the chakra toward it through my tenketsu. It wouldn't budge. What the hell?!
I kept trying and trying, the minutes passing by, but this damn leaf wouldn't even budge! I thought leaves were supposed to be soft! There's not a single scratch on the damn thing.
And then I remembered that even Naruto struggled at first, even with all the clones he had. It must be a hard exercise.
"Hey, don't worry. This exercise usually takes months to learn and more to master. We'll keep at it every day until you manage to cut at least one," he said with a thumbs-up. He reminds me of someone... Can't quite put my finger on it, though.
"Yeah, figures," I said amidst my concentration, and I kept trying to cut the leaf with my chakra. An hour passed, and he lay there, bored and almost asleep, until... Yes, a teensy tiny cut! But a cut nonetheless—fuck yeah!
"Look, Dad, look! I managed to cause a cut on the leaf!" I shouted as I ran to him, who was snoring on the ground.
"Whuh?" He jolted awake and saw it. "Great job, Amai! Keep it up! For now, let's just go home. I'm sure you're tired from all this, right?"
"Mm, I'm exhausted."
We headed back to the apartment, where we were greeted by my mother. He bid us goodbye, leaving for ninja work. I should "invent" ice cream as soon as possible, but first... a bath. I stink.
I talked a little with my mother, telling her about what I had learned (and what I "learned," ha) and done with my father at the training grounds. Then she allowed me to get to the bathroom, which already had a spare set of clothes for me.
I got into the shower and began singing like before, using my shampoo bottle as my mic, to the "crowd" of bottles. This voice is so nice.
After a few minutes of thoroughly washing myself, I turned the shower off and got out, drying every single part of my body with some towels. I got dressed and walked out to the main room. My body still aches... Ugh.
A warm meal was waiting for me, and my mother was still in the kitchen, preparing some tea. It smells so good!
"Thank you, Mom," I said gratefully, and she turned to me with a sweet smile on her face.
"Anything for you, dear."
I began scarfing down the food and thought back to my idea: ice cream. Yes, that should be possible!
It didn't take me long to finish, filling my empty stomach.
"So tasty... Hey, Ma, can I ask you something?"
"What is it, dear?"
"Do you know what 'ice cream' is?"
"What is 'ice cream'?"
Perfect. Now's my chance to ask her. Rich life, here I come!