[I was given permission to start this with the 393 words I acquired during training in Yokuchi due to being kidnapped. The thread with those 393 words can be found here. Thank-you!]

Kaia-Mai stared out at the village from her position on the outskirts. She had found a nice, large, cleared space that would work perfectly for the Taijutsu training she had started back in Yokuchi but which she had never actually got around to finishing before being whisked away to Makkuragakure. She no longer considered herself kidnapped, though she was sure some would question her exact reasons behind staying: most of them had nothing to do with herself and all to do with the welfare of her parents and the fact that all signs pointed to them being far better off here in this village than they had been in the desert especially with the amount of medics she had heard were floating around in the village. Her father would be able to receive treatments and medical attention that he hadn't been able to get back in Yokuchi, and her mother could relax and stop worrying so much about him. They had a lovely home now, and would never have to spend a day worrying about anything ever again.

Which meant that Kaia-Mai could stop thinking and worrying about them and actually focus on the training she had ahead of her for the day. Kaia-Mai thought that strength training would likely be the best way to start off all of the Taijutsu training officially. Just because you could do the moves didn't meant that you had the power to make them worth anything, and so her first steps were going to be to become stronger. It was part of why she had picked such a location: there were many loose boulders and other objects of varying weight that would be perfect for her to pick up and carry around for a while, or throw as would come later on.

So, figuring that that was where she was going to start she moved over to one of the smaller boulders and knelt down. She remembered how her father had always told her while he was busy running the store he used to own that she should always lift with her knees as to not harm her back. So, following her father's advice that's exactly what she did. She lifted the boulder slowly, a grunt escaping her at how heavy the thing was. She figured it would be lighter than the rest; but if this was light then she had a lot more training ahead of her then originally planned. Still, she wasn't going to give up, and so she pressed on. She walked slowly around the perimeter of the large clearing, all while being careful not to drop this boulder on her foot or anything else for that matter.

Wordcount (Taijutsu C-B): 447 + 393 = 840 / 1,000

Three times Kaia-Mai walked around the large clearing while carrying the smallest of the boulders and objects. At first her foot steps were heavy, unsure, and tiring. However, as she got more and more used to the weight that she was carrying things became easier. She was able to step more normally, and the boulder no longer felt like it was ripping her arms out of their sockets. She pushed onward, continuing with the exercise. By the fifth time around she was more than comfortable with carrying the smallest boulder and so she figured it was time to step up her game and move up to the next size.

She put the smallest boulder off to the side and went over to the next size up. Like before she bent her knees and used her knees while lifting so that she didn't harm her back in some fashion. With this newest boulder in her arms she began the same routine as she had done previously. Step by step she made her way around the clearing. First once, then twice, then a third time she passed by the same marker. Each time she walked around she found that just like before it was becoming easier to carrying the boulder and easy to move with that particular amount of weight in her arms. Her legs were moving with much more ease and as before she didn't feel like her arms were going to fall off. Eventually, by the time she made it around the sixth time, her arms were beginning to feel as if they were empty. Taking this as the sign to move on to the next one she placed this boulder off to the side with the smallest one and moved to the next step up.

This one looked almost too large to carry and so as she bent down it took her several tries to find the proper grip needed to carry such a large mass. She felt the boulder rub and scrape against the bare flesh of her arms but paid it little to no mind. Pain was all part of training after all, and she was sure she could run over to the hospital to get herself fixed up later if any of them ended up looking too bad. So, with this newest weight in her arms she began to do the same process as before and walk again around the clearing over and over again.

Wordcount (Taijutsu C-B) 409 + 840 = 1,249 / 1,000
Wordcount (Taijutsu B-A) 249 / 1,500

Around and around Kaia-Mai went around the perimeter of the clearing. Each time around caused the boulder to get a little more lighter just as it had the past two times. Steps that were hard and heavy to take became lighter and lighter with each passing circle. Eventually, by the tenth time around, she felt that she was ready to move on with the next phase of training. Her strength had grown exceptionally, and she felt as if she had grown a longer stronger with such simple exercises. So, she placed the third and final boulder down next to the other two she had used and took a step back.

Her arms were hurt, scraped and likely bruising from carrying such rough and large objects, but it was nothing major. Nothing that she needed to put her training on pause for. She would go to the hospital later on and get herself patched up but for now it was time to get into the balance aspect of her training. It too was key in being able to fight properly. If she lacked proper balance then her moves could be turned against her, or she would end up using her own moves against herself and fall or stumble in the middle of a fight.

And so she moved over to one of several poles that were in the ground. They were each spaced roughly a foot apart and big enough for one foot to be comfortably on them. The poles created a large circle and were all different heights: resembling steps that went up and down as you went around the circle. She took a deep focusing breath and exhaled slowly as she prepared herself mentally for the next bit of training. She had to be in her proper happy place in her head or else she would likely fall right from the start.

Wordcount (Taijutsu B-A) 313 + 249 = 562 / 1,500

Once she was in her happy place and prepared for the likely challenges that were ahead she started her exercise. She lifted her foot and placed it on the smallest of the poles; this pole only stuck out of the ground about a foot or so making it a good place to start in case she happened to fall or topple over. She hoisted herself up, her body swaying from side to side as she attempted to right her inner balance and keep herself on. For several seconds she was unsteady and the threat of falling was great, but soon enough she righted herself and found her proper balance. She stayed like this for several minutes, counting slowly in her head to sixty over and over again for a total of five times. Now came the hard part; switching to the other foot. Very carefully, with her tongue sticking out between her lips as if that would help any in the process she jumped into the air, bringing up the left foot she had been standing on and replacing it with the right.

Like before she swayed from side to side as her body attempted to right itself and find its proper balance. Again like before it took several seconds before it happened and she was able to steady herself enough on the pole not to fall. Figuring that switching feet like this was going to take some practice before she actually tried moving from pole to pole, she began to make a game out of it.

She would spend thirty seconds on her right foot before jumping into the air and switching to her left. From there she would wait twenty nine seconds. Then twenty eight seconds. And so on and so forth. By the time she got down to one second she just started hoping back and forth from foot to foot as if balance was no longer an issue; and that was exactly what it felt like. Switching feet was no longer an issue, and she no longer swayed and wobbled uncontrollably and risked falling on her face. She now, as she came to a stop on her left leg again, felt it was time to move on to the next part of this balance exercise.

Wordcount (Taijutsu B-A) 379 + 562 = 941 / 1,500

With shifting her balance on a moments notice out of the way it was time to start the moving aspect of the challenge. Her goal was to be able to go repeatedly around the circle of poles without falling to the ground or having to use her hands. She would keep herself up and on the poles with nothing more than her feet and a great deal of balance. Like before she took a deep calming and relaxing breath, putting herself into her happy place. Once there she began her exercise.

She moved slowly at first, going from pole to pole, having to adjust for the different heights of the poles. She started on her left foot and used her right on the second pole. The third pole she was back to her left foot, and the fourth the right. On and on this went, each pole being hit by a different foot. Like the beginning of the last few exercises the beginning was slow going and trying. It too much longer for her to accomplish her task than she wished it did. However, like before as well, the more she practiced the easier everything became. Eventually, by the third time around the stair like poles she was moving far faster, almost to normal speeds. By the sixth time around she was practically running. By the tenth time around she was moving at full speed. The changing of footing and the height of the poles no longer bothered her or mattered to her any. She went around several more times, a total of twenty in all, just to make sure she really got the exercise down.

As she finally jumped off of the shortest pole as she reached it, and her feet hit the solid earth once more, she felt she had truly grasped a good hold on her balance. She would no longer have to worry about being swept off of her feet, or losing her balance and a move or attack failing her because of shotty balancing issues.

Wordcount (Taijutsu B-A) 340 + 941 = 1,281 / 1,500

With balance and strength no longer issues she had to worry about she moved on to the final aspect of her training: practical use. She could have built herself a dummy or likely asked someone to train with her, but she felt a little one on one time with a clone would do just as well. So, after a quick flash of some hang signs, she created a Shadow Clone which was a perfect replica of herself and which held enough chakra not to disperse right away.

Her and her clone stood face to face and both took identical fighting stances. Legs were apart with the right leg shifted further back than the left, and fists were up near their chest. They moved in slowly, leg over leg, like a slow sort of dance. When they got close enough both clone and the real Kaia-Mai began to trade blows and blocks. Punches were ducked, kicks were blocked, and in a circle the pair moved. The two continued this sort of macabre dance of throwing punches and kicks, leg sweeps, and attempting to pin each other. Eventually both clone and original stopped attempting to dodge the blows and ended up in a full blown wrestling match while rolling around on the ground.

Finally, the real Kaia-Mai pinned her clone to the ground in an unbreakable hold. The clone just stuck its tongue out at her and dispersed. Laughing Kaia-Mai slowly got to her feet. She was a mess, covered in bruises and scraps, with dirt all of her clothing, but she couldn't be happier. She had made a great deal of progress over the past many hours and was more than happy with the work she had achieved. "I'd day that was a good job well done...", she said softly to no one in particular as she stretched skyward and debated on if she wanted to head to the hospital to get these injuries taken care of or just allow them to heal on her own; she didn't want to be a bother after all.

Wordcount (Taijutsu B-A) 344 + 1,281 = 1,625 / 1,500

My Jutsu and Chakra: