Saru Saya - Konoha Genin. Complete

Saru Saya was born into a clan of warriors, and that simple fact set her life down a predestined path. There's only one life known by those in her clan, and that life is war. She was set on a shrine to battle at birth, and war has shaped her life since. Her early years were somewhat typical of most children. She learned her numbes and letters, played with her friends, and watched her older family members practice the art of battle. She always admired the way their armor looked, and the graceful perfection her family used when fighting. When she was finally allowed the oppertunity to fight the other children of her family, she was over joyed. She was not alone, though. Most of the other five year olds had been looking forward to that day for months.

Saya was a gifted fighter, and won the first tournement she was in. The children were all untrained, experienced only in what they had already seen. They were each given staves that were three feet long, and padded on their ends. The children paired off one at a time, the loser of each fight being pulled aside and removed from the fighting. Saya showed great skill with the staff, and won her first tournament. Victory ensures only one thing in the eyes of her family, and loss is no disgrace. To participate at all is a great honor, but to win marks the first qualification of being sent to a shinobi nation. Saya was overjoyed with her first victory, and her spirits havn't dropped since. She grew quickly in the ranks of he family's ordered system and shone as a brilliant warrior. She was a leader amongst those in her grade, and excelled in her physical training.

Early in the morning, every morning, she would wake. The sun would still be sleeping when she got up from the crate she slept on, a full quarter of her class sharing the same dormitory as her. Memories of her parents were something of her past. Though she saw her birth parents daily, she only loved them as she loved her other family members. The brothers and sisters and cousins around here were all tightly knit, as such is the way amongst her clan. Four women and two men tended to the needs of all of the clan's children, and they instilled in her the same lessons all Ashigaru children were taught. By living along side her family she learned well how to depend on others around you, and how to be dependable for them. Suffering the same trials together, each generation is sure to cling to each other to push through the challanges their life presents.

At age five the students are allowed to fight the first time, but it's a full year before they battle again. The first year of Ashigaru school is filled with discipline, and marching. Saya fell into step the first day, arriving at school with great excitment. She took a seat in the front and guarded it as her's her entire way through school. She hung on her teachers every word, and was something of a teacher's pet. With packs weighing in at 25 pounds the children began their daily marches. Little mercy is shown for the children, and the first four mile walk is always remembered as hell. The next day it is repeated, and no Ashigaru is permitted to linger behind. The drive to win, and need to remain with their classmates ensure the children maintain the slow pace set out by the older instructers. This dreary walking did little to damper the spirits of the children. To many Ashigaru take to this naturaly, not just Saya. Saya is not even an exception amongst her family, though her notable drive is admired everywhere else.

When children began to dispair at the growing length of the walk, the students with the edge supported their classmates. There were no rules involved, and shouldering another students pack is not forbidden. Offering water, encouragment, even carrying other students is common, because this task simply must be done. Most find that nothing drives this family apart, and that was the case in Saya's class. For an entire year the children were force marched around the vast territory surrounding their clan's stronghold. Over the course of the first year the weight they carried was steadily increased. By the end of the first month, Saya was walking with 35 pounds on her back. Each increase forced more and more out of the more talented students. By the end of the third month they carried 40, and near the end of the tenth month the weight was increased to 60 pounds. Their four mile walks never seemed to end. The distance they traveled only changed once. Six months into the first year the distance was decreased to 3, however the students were not informed. The students never broke under the treatment, and the team work that was needed always found a way to manage. There is not a single student amongst Saya's class, not even herself, who can claim to have never had to give her pack to someone else. Some days even the strongest children were forced to drop their pack and drag it behind them. Some dragged two, while others rested. Saya sugested the shift system, offering to carry for a distance while someone else rested. The renewed student could take her pack, and drag it for a while there after.

By the age of six, Saya had already been crafted into a powerful human. She could lift more than some adults, outside of her family, but was still limited by her size. The year of marching helped fortify her body, and she grew up well from there. Age seven marks most Ashigaru as a soldier. It may seem young to most outsiders, and most outsiders wouldn't expect children to be trained with weapons, however at six years of age their training begins. Weight is removed from the students, which is always seen as a great relief. Their marches are simple affairs from then on, a five mile jog through the woods. Afterwards they train in the use of a certain weapon. Each week the older instructors of the family rotate to a new weapon and practice it's uses. The Ashigaru train first and foremost in the spear, it being the first and the last weapon they practice, and Saya aboslutly lived for those moments. She picked up on the spear quickly, then the sword. Her use of throwing weapons soon followed, and as was expected she took naturaly to each one. She was a pride to the Saru name in her early years, and at age seven she was allowed to fight again.

Her second tournament went perfectly, and once again she reached the top of the list. She won, but not by the same margin as before. Her first round she was pitted against the next most skilled student. Their first fight was like the final match of her previous tournement and her cousin's skill took her completely by suprise. She had begun with a rather arrogant offence, and a seven year old boy quickly corrected her. He almost broke her nose with the first shot, and sent her reeling and seeing stars. She had barely managed to fend off his second swing, and quickly backed away. She fought on with a bloodied nose, and barely managed to secure a win herself. The rest of the tournement was miserable, her nose bringing constant and aching pain. She was amazed at her own classmates abilities, as the compition brought out the soldier in each of them. While some were easy, her second tournement earned her a hard won, and much loved gold ribbon for victory. It also ensured that she would be sold to which ever nation needed her.

The next two years of growth saw her win and lose many, many, many fights. With each loss, or each victory, Saya loved more and more her warrior trade. Of course, she never really got to put it to any use. It's not as though people just charge up to her city's gates anymore, and start hurling big rocks at them. No, tragicaly Saya was born into the acursed 'civilized' times. Being sold wasn't something she sees as bad, or disgraceful. No, she was simply commisioned, and reassigned. The wise officials in Kirigakure heard of her talents, and for a conciderable sum purchased Saya. Her contract enlists her as a loyal soldier to the cause of Kiri, and she'll die before letting that down.

She was nine when she was released from her home's stronghold and sent off to Konoha. The world was new, but it did not get her spirits down. She was given an apartment to live in while she attended the academy, which was graciusly paid for by the state. She was shocked when she first settled in, the small studio apartment far to big for her liking. The previous nine years of her life, she'd almost never been out of arms reach of one of her comrads. In the empty apartment she felt homesick, so she spent little time in her home. Instead she wandered town. Untill the academy began, she just explored her surroundings. She made no friends, though also no enemies. She just got to know her new home. When her classes began at the academy again, she found herself in a great change. At the academy, she went from the top of her class, to languishing at the bottom. She was simply abysmal, and did her best to seek out help from her classmates. She watched those who were much better at the jutsu training, but still could never pick it up. By the end of her first year at the academy Saya had learned only one jutsu, and she hadn't even mastered it. She was not a laughing stock, but only because she knew how to fight. A few times other students had snickered at her lack of ninjutsu ability, however she promptly kbeat their asses with a stick. That shut em up real well!

Durring time between semesters, she continued to practice, focusing on the Chakra thing untill she could better feel it. The first jutsu she mastered was the Nawanuke no Jutsu. It is concidered a minor jutsu, and perhaps the easiest jutsu to learn. With her hands tied she practiced forcing her chakra to repel the ropes binding her, untill she created enough slack to wiggle her hands out. Over and over she tried and tried, and almost always failed. Of course, few could mock her lack of ninjutsu, when they finally got to see her fight. Her second year through the academy she graduted, and did so with gusto! She finally got to fight! Those two long years had been nothing but jutsu and lecture. She longed for physical exertion and wanted to march fourty miles. She wanted to feel her spear in her hand, and armor covering her skin. When she finaly got to fight, she shocked her classmates and teachers alike.

Permitted weapons, Saya fought with her sharp training yari. It was slightler taller than she was, and she used it with expert effect. The first three rounds of their fighting went by, and Saya didn't get a touched. The other students had picked up their techniques well, and gave her a run for her money, but the few jutsu they knew had still not made them all ninjas. She was faster and stronger than anyone else in attendance, but she still lost. Unsuprisingly she didn't win, as she was horrible with Jutsu. She had barely learned to use even one, let alone defend against them. In her fourth match, the semi finals, a gifted ninja stood before her for only a moment. After meeting his gaze she was going to charge, but found she could not. Genjutsu held her in place, and the round was called on account of paralysis. He could have killed her, had he chosen. After rendering her helpless, Saya met a rather anti-climactic ending to her winning streak.

The loss didn't get her spirits down, and after showing mastery of just the one Jutsu, she was graduated and recieved her headband. She was assinged to squad 8 when she was ten years old, and began to work. As any young ninja would, she complained tirelessly to her intructor of the ease of her missions. As a fresh genin she was given typical unimportant missions. Her great fortitude made her an excellent messenger, and more than once she was dispatched with packages or messages. Her team was dispatched on search and recover missions to find herbs, animals, or whichever else odd noun those paying her bills cared to send them on. She longed for more. She longed to be a part of this ninja war she had heard about, and wanted to fight enemies. She got her first chance suprisingly, while on a delivery mission.

It was her 11th mission as a Konoha genin, and she was on a normal delivery mission. For the first time her mission hinted of danger and among her team she was not the only one eager for the action. Her team had an experienced chuunin leading it, and thank goodness for that. The team was sent to protect a small shrine from attack, though what arrived to greet them was far from what was expected. A pair of missing ninja had said to have been looming in the area, searching for something. While the shire was not their main goal, it's saftey was still jepordized so her team was sent to keep it safe. The marshlands around it became her enemies, as the pair of missing ninja that had invaded managed to wrangle control of the beasts themselves. All manner of snake and aligator crept from the water. The animals hungered for blood, and for an entire bloody knight the four ninja fended off the animals. The teams medical ninja was the first to fall, bitten by a snake and poisoned. She tended to her wounds while Saya and two others fought.

Their chuunin leader worked great jutsu of earth and water, and managed to protect them for some time. Walls and floods and waves and earthquakes shook the area they battled in, but it took the two missing ninja themselves attacking to really put things on edge. When they first appeared, Saya was thrust into battle. Spear in hand she defended herself, while her two able allies assaulted the remaining one. While Saya did not deliver the first death blow herself, the twin swords of her opponent barely managed to scratch her. Behind her armor, and quick defenses, Saya was able to keep the killer at bey, and delivered the second death blow herself. With no hesitation she drove her spear through a chink in the ninja's defenses. She speared him well from behind when he grew distracted by that talented Chuunin.

After her first kill, Saya was blissfully over joyed. She wasn't a murderer, she was a warrior! Her first kill saw great need for celebration, and a small change in her life style. It's something of a tradition for her family, and one permitted by her contract. After the mission was over, and she was debreifed by her leaders, she was sent to her villages home land. The voyage took her about six months in total, and while she was gone, she was reassigned. She was released from her unit so she could recieve all the typical coming of age benefits of her family. Amidst fainfair and celebration, those of the year who had seen their first battle were celebrated as adults and true soldiers.

Once she returned home she was given her rightful heirlooms. Ancestral weaponry hand crafted by long dead Ashigaru filled the armory, and she was assigned her equipment. The training Yari she'd been given was taken back, as well as her short sword, and training robes. She was gifted with the armor, spear, and weaponry befitting her clan. The spear she was given became her life and her most cherrished possession. It's shaft was black bamboo, the wood left exposed and without grip. The grain was dark, stained and well laquored, while the blade at it's end was impressive. The blade of the Ashigaru yari is crafted with the time and care that goes into the blade of any samuri. The same techniques are used, the metal endlessly folded and hammered, untill a perfect blade is rendered. The blade at the end of Saya's yari was two feet of double edged steel. The blade was a brilliant polished silver color, and the razor edge of it sent chills down her spine. The first moment she picked it up, she knew she'd found her calling.

She remained with her previous family for 6 months, though it seemed like an amazingly short time. She was daily fitted and measured as her armor was assmbled for her. When she finally left she was a soldier through and through, and would only return to her Ashigaru keep again to reequip. Her new family was Konoha, and she had no regrets to that fact. She has just now arrived back at her new home, the Leaf Village, and still waits to be assigned to a new team. She's got several successful missions under her belt, and even a kill. Saya clings to her new possessions with raputred joy at the thought of using them in combat once more, and is very eager to get back to her ninja trade..

Saya sits quietly, concentrating in her seat. Her feet press against the ridged metal slab of the leg press machine, ready to resist her legs next work out. Her hands rest white knuckled around the grips near her seat, squeezing tightly as she begins to push. The muscles in her thighs and calves contract hard, squeezing as she pushes her legs higher. Each inch is slow as the wheels on the platform crawl upwards, dragging with it a thick metal wire. Four hundred pounds lift with each inch she pushes the metal slide, each pound of it pulling back down against her. Her legs shake visibly as the her legs finally straighten. "Fifty." She says with a gasp, breathlessly holding the weight in place for just a moment. Lowering the weight was no easy chore, her muscles easing the slide back down into place carefuly. When it finally comes to rest the steel plates make little sound, and she's done.

She pants for air softly as she forces herself up onto wobbly legs, steadying herself by holding onto the machine she'd just been using. She grins with amusment as even supporting her 125 lbs becomes something of a challange. She'd pushed her legs fifty times, and that was the third time today. She was done with lower body now, for sure. She siezes the towel she had brought with her, and quickly wipes the sweat off of her face, while finally starting away from the machine. She staggers just slightly as she paces her way towards the showers, needing next to get clean. Her legs were hurt, her back was sore, and she was starving, so it was by her count a very successful work out. The burn in her legs meant she was only getting stronger, and with each passing day it would only add up. This is what always drove her back here.

Back at home she never had such equipment. She'd carried great weights for long distances to train and strengthen the muscles in her legs, but this technique was so much easier. Had she a machine like this, she could never leave her home. The day long marches in the woods would not be needed. The constant climbing of steep hills, mountains, and ledges could be passed on, and comfortable seat could be taken. She could just push the weight up, over and over, and recieve the same benefits of her endless marches! How this technology had ever been lost to her family was unknown, but as Saya stepped under the hot water of her shower, she made up a new mission. She'd bring this technology to her people, and be forever honored for it!