Breaking a Sweat– D Rank:

It was early in the morning, and Rin had neglected to check the actual time before he left. Maybe he was late, maybe he was a few hours early, but who knew. Rin certainly didn't. All he knew was that he was tasked for a fitness review as part of his rank probation. Why was he even trying so hard to earn back his promotion? ...Well, that wasn't exactly true. He wasn't trying hard, he was only doing what they had told him to do. He didn't even seem to bother question them or their methods, he just went with it.

But today, his “physical assessment” was in order. He was to go to some kind of trainer and endure his “extreme training” regime to not only assess his abilities, but to help the trainer as well. After all, it would be great for publicity if a genin could withstand his extreme training regime that others have failed. Some kid besting the general populace? That would cause an uproar.

Rin arrived at the location he had been instructed to be at some time he had long since forgotten. It was a wooden building that looked like it had suffered from the effects of rot and water damage. He struggled to slide the door open, as it seemed like it was off it's tracks, and stepped inside. Was it empty? It looked empty. In fact, all he could hear was the sound of faint footsteps... Which were growing louder, and more frequent. Was somebody running? Rin turned his head to the left and his vision, and soon his face, was met with the bottom of a foot.

“HUAAHH!” was all he heard aside from the sound of his body hitting the wooden floor.

“V..vwhat da fock if wrong wiffou?!” Rin yelled as he struggled to climb to his feet while wiping away the blood that came from his nose. “Ah, my apologies! You must be Rin-san, my pupil for the day!” the shorter male dressed in a white gi and black sash said. Rin was hardly listening and instead muttering slurred obscenities while cleaning his face of blood.

“Right, right... Let us begin then!”

“All you have to do is relax...” said the shorter male clad in a white gi as he inhaled and exhaled slowly. He was preforming a perfect split, his form completely uncompromised by the uncomfortable looking position. “...and breathe. Just relax and breathe...” He opened his right eye and glanced over at Rin, then exhaled. “You're not relaxing and breathing.” he said.

“We're doing the same thing!” Rin yelled. He was barely even halfway down in the position of a split, yet still convinced that he was doing it correctly. In response, he was only given a palm to the face.

“F..forty eight... Forty n..nine... f...fif...fifty!” Rin said as he pulled his body above the metal bar that sat in the door that overlooked the water. He dropped from the bar with a thud and barely managed to sit upright while heavily panting. “Just... one more set...” he managed to breathe out. The trainer was simply looking on in silence and nodding his head along. Rin didn't rest for very long before he wobbled back to his feet and grasped the bar tightly with both hands. He shaky breath was forced out and he began to pull his body upward until his chin cleared the metal pole. He counted each successful attempt out loud, and continued on at a slow yet steady pace.

“F..forty n..nine... one more..!” Rin grunted out as he tried to push his body upward. A pool of his sweat had begun to form beneath him, the fatigue and wear on his body from his earlier exercises clearly displayed by said pool. “That's your last set, Rin-san. Hurry and finish so that we may continue.” the instructor said. “F... f...” Rin tried to force out as he raised his body into the upright position, having successfully preformed the pushup. “F..fuck you..!”

The sound of Rin's bare feet hitting the wooden floor over and over echoed throughout the rundown dojo. The rope in his hands spun around him in a circle rapidly, nearly invisible if it wasn't for the white blur. Rin wasn't counting this time, and he could only barely hear the faint clicking of the Instructor's stopwatch. “Ten seconds remain!” yelled the instructor who crossed his arms and awaited the final seconds of Rin's trial.
This was the final exercise that the “instructor” had tasked Rin with. Two to four thousand punches against the sandbag he had hung from the dojo's rafters. What kind of task was that? Two to four thousand? That was a very large range that he wouldn't need to reach in order to complete the assessment and retrieve his reward. He could stop at two thousand exactly if he was interested in counting. Truth be told, Rin wasn't interested in counting, and he doubted the instructor would be able to keep up. But even so, Rin was wailing on the sandbag like he had some kind of personal agenda against it.

Each hit connected with a solid thud. His right fist rocketed forward in a blur, and it was followed by his left. His strikes were firmly rooted, using his right leg as leverage to throw all of his body weight behind each punch. He had been going steadily for almost twenty minutes, not tiring himself out but still going at a pace that would have him out of the dojo before supper came around. Rin had estimated the number of punches he had completed to be around a thousand already. He completed one combo of five strikes in succession and pivoted on his left leg while whipping his right around. The back of his heel slammed into the sandbag and sent it sliding along the track. He took the following seconds to catch his breath.

“Excellent form and balance, and your stance is rooted magnificently, but you waste too much motion!” said the instructor who wasted no time in criticizing his striking. “Your strike pattern is also very predictable and you leave yourself unguarded. When you strike, prepare yourself to evade or block an incoming strike, and don't repeat the same pattern! Strike quickly and precisely, there is no need to wind up your strikes like a brute!” he said. Rin exhaled and raised his fists back up. The athletic wrappings he had been supplied with to protect and support his hands and wrists were excellent, and they worked well. He went back to striking at the sandbag and took the Instructor's advice into consideration. He kept his strikes precise, kept his guard up even while striking, and deviated from his normal pattern.

“D..done!” Rin said as he slammed his right hand into the sandbag. “You did well today, Rin-san. Perhaps the first pupil I've had to withstand this regime! Remember the advice I've given you and it will help you in the future. I hope to see you again sometime!” he said as he turned his back to Rin and began to walk further into the dojo. “I'll be back tomorrow, and I'll do it all again in half the time!” Rin said before he gathered his things and rushed out the door. The Instructor's expression was one of pure confusion. Was he seriously going to return for more?