With the forest as his temporary home, each day was like a whet stone for Kuroichi, making him stronger slowly but surely, his movements gradually became sharper and his instincts keener. The forest had pretty much become his domain and his body had started adapting to the rhythm of the wilderness.
Hunger had been one of his greatest teachers up until now, and forced to adapt, through trial and error, he created a different hunting method. One that turned the trees into his greatest weapon. He had learned from the failures he made in the past, running blindly through the trees and missing his throws was not something he was still doing. Now, with this new method, he thought he had the advantage.
Perched high in a tree among it's branches, he remained motionless, his eyes locked onto the prey below. A lone deer, unaware he was lurking above in the tree, cautiously stepped through the undergrowth. While deers were usually alert, they reacted most strongly to movement, sound and smells. As Kuroichi was still, slowed his breathing and didn't move, he was practically invisible for the deer below.
The tree-walking exercise had been difficult at first. Slipping, falling and bruising himself with almost every failure. But through persistence, he had gained enough control to stick to the tree, walk it up a good way, and most importantly, he learned to drop down effortlessly and without pain when he needed to.
The deer took another step forward, so it was right beneath him. This was it. He tightened his grip on the sharp knife, feeling the cool metal against his palm and with a sharp exhale he let go, allowing gravity to take hold.
His knife angled for the kill, as he felt the wind rushing past his ears. The deer barely had time to react, before the knife found its mark, piercing through the deers neck. It's cry was brief, it twitched a bit before the light left it's eyes and the body stilled.
Kuroichi watched impassively, taking lives, even if they were animals, had not been something he was used to in his previous life. Without the added memories of Kuroichi's childhood, he would have probably needed some time to get used to it.
His breathing was steady as he withdrew the knife, wiping the blade against his sleeve. There was no trembling in his fingers, no hesitation in his movements. He had definitely improved. He let the deer bleed and started to cut it open to remove it's organs. After he was done with that, he hefted the body onto his shoulders and began the journey back to the shelter. The weight was quite heavy, but many things that seemed impossible before now seemed much more doable.
He prepared the meat the way he learned from observing how his father did it before. He hung it up, using self-made rope, made from stringy bark, then skinned it, leaving the hide for a later time. Removing membranes with his knife, cutting and quartering the meat, washing it to get rid of any blood residue, trimming away the ribs, flanks, brisket etc. pieces of meat was a piece of cake. The hardest part was hanging the deer in the first place.
Now he'd just have to either dry, cook, grill or smoke the meat in the right proportions so that he would not waste anything he'd normally eat.
However survival wasn't just about food. He needed to be stronger. With one more training session to go for the day, Kuroichi took a little bit of a break before he got back to work.
Standing before a sturdy tree, he pressed a hand against the bark and took a deep breath. Chakra flowed to his feet, and he stepped onto the trunk.
He had gotten used to the sensation of flowing chakra by now, but the pull of gravity still present was a hurdle that wasn't fixed so easily. His feet clung to the wood as he took a step, then another and another.
The higher he climbed, the greater the strain on his legs and core. Every muscle in his body burned as he fought to stay upright, but he pushed through it.
Halfway up, his control wavered. A little misstep sent him sliding down, his body twisting instinctively as he landed in a crouch. His breathing was rapid and frustration was starting to creep in, but he refused to stop.
Again. This time, he reached a bit higher before slipping, his endurance and strength were improving.
As he was focusing on controlling himself walking all the way up the tree, he didn't use much momentum, or any for that matter, on the previous exercise. Before he finished this exercise for the day, however, he went a little further back and took enough space to take a run up, giving himself enough momentum to reach the top of the tree.
Kuroichi took a deep breath as his gaze was fixed on the tree before him. Instead of walking up the tree in a controlled, almost cautious manner, this time, he sprinted forward. Chakra surged through his feet as he hit the base of the tree.
The force of his momentum carried him upward, his body almost gliding along the trunk with each step. As he climbed higher and higher, the bark almost became a blur passing by.
Just as his legs began to tremble, he spotted a thick branch near the top. With a quick jump he kicked off, twisting in the air before landing securely on the branch. With his chest heaving, he wiped the sweat from his brow and allowed himself a small smirk. He did it!
The sun dipped lower in the sky, painting the treetops in gold and crimson. Sweat dripped down his brow, his limbs screamed for a good night's rest, and exhaustion threatened to take him into unconsciousness if he kept it up.
As Kuroichi got back to his shelter, he wolfed down a large piece of meat and fell asleep almost the instant he was done.
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