OOC: Requesting Kido mostly but if I could get some speed and fighting from this as well, that'd be most appreciated...

Kurama had spent the previous day setting up targeting dummies in the forest clearing. Once he saw the destructive powers of both the Byakurai and Black Thunder kidos, he knew he had to learn more. There were now thirty dummies all scattered about the clearing, both on the ground and within the trees. Kurama pulled an hour glass that he'd brought with him this afternoon, it contained enough sand to last him for just three minutes.

This day's training would not only test his abilities in kido, but the speed at which he moved and activated them. He positioned himself in the center of the clearing and held the hour glass a few inches off the ground, with the turn of his wrist he spun it upside down and let it drop to the ground. Before it even landed on the soft grass, Kurama had leaped towards the first target.

He came down on the dummy with his zanpakuto, breaking the wooden base that held it up. He spun around and fired a kido towards his second target. "Hado #4! Byakurai!" A bolt of pale blue lightning burst from his index finger and incinerated the dummy. He then moved towards the third, it had been placed on a high branch of a tree and glared down at him with a painted-on hollow mask. "Bakudo #4! Hainawa!"

A rope comprised of sheer spiritual energy burst from Kurama's hand and entangled the dummy's arms. He tugged on the rope and pulled the dummy-hallow towards the ground, hoisting Kurama in the air in the same action. He spun a few times in the air and came straight down on his next target, severing its head. He stole a quick glance towards the hour glass to see only thirty seconds had passed.

He dashed towards target number five without even a second to catch his breath. He fired off another low-level kido at this target, hoping he could take it down by placing the attack in the right area. "Hado #3! Crimson Strike!" A simple beam of energy fired towards the target, hitting it wear the cords held it to the wooden beam. The cords snapped and the dummy fell to the ground, leaving the beam without any signs of damage.

The next four targets were all taken down by his zanpakuto, which took a bit longer to cut down than if he'd used a kido. Sweat was now pouring from his face and the fact that another thirty seconds had passed didn't ease his mind any. He dashed towards the next grouping, they stood in a circle around him. He cut down two of them and turned to the two flanking him, "Hado #1! Shō! Bakudo #1! Sai!" One of the targets was thrust into a nearby tree, shattering the beam into a pile of wood and straw. The other was forced to bind its arms behind it's back, snapping the beam that held them in two.

Kurama began breathing heavily, he'd taken down thirteen targets in a minute in a half. Half of his time was up and there were still another seventeen targets to go. He dashed towards the largest grouping of dummies, all wearing black robes and hollow masks, in the hands of each of them was a pair of practice swords. Kurama positioned himself in front of the twelve targets and began to chant as fast as he could. "May the black sounds of those that have felt death emit and destroy. Hado #7, Black Thunder!" A burst of black reiatsu flew across the clearing, destroying all twelve of the targets in front of him. A loud thunderous roaring echoed throughout the forest as he turned to find the last five targets. Only one minute remained...

He saw the targets sitting at the edge of the clearing, it'd take pretty much the whole minute just reaching them. He tried to force his legs to go faster, begging them to move as he'd done a few days prior. Finally when he thought it was all for loss, he flash stepped forward and was only feet away from the next four targets. He disposed of them with his zanpakuto and began looking for the final target. Only twenty seconds remained. He ran around searching... Ten seconds passed, it was now looking grim. He had less than ten seconds now to not only find the last target but to destroy it before the last grains of sand fell.

'There it is! Oh no! It's too far, how am I going to hit it?!' he thought as he forced his exhausted legs to move forward. Then it hit him, he made a fist with his right hand and began calling out an incantation. "Burn of the blades that have been lost. Hado #8 Blade of Flames! A sword-shaped item of fire appeared before him, there were now just three yards between him and the target. He sent the fiery object towards the last target as the last seconds ticked down...three...two...one... The blade met it's target directly in the heart. The dummy began to char around the area of his most vital organ. The last grain of sand fell as Kurama collapsed on the ground, gasping for air... He'd done it...

Word Count: 871

very nice, very nice. lessee, i feel generous, and this is a good training post, so i award you with, wait for it, wait for it...you ready?

+2 Kido Mastery
+1 Speed

SHAKA-LAKAH BOOM!