The new day dawned brightly as Kuro's new found training camp woke up and began to prepare for his day. His training had suddenly become not so privet anymore, and a whole lot harsher. He felt a little bad that all these people were doing so much for him, but they all seemed happy to help him and it also seemed to help them associate happily with each other. In a way, it also seemed like many of them were also gaining strength from these sessions. Sort of like a miniature army training camp. Kuro chuckled at that thought and made his way over to the elder who was the leader of the village people.

"So what kind of training am I to put up with today coach?" He asked with a carefree air that didn't betray the nervousness he felt inside. This old man seemed to be able to come up with exercises that pushed Kuro to his limits and forced him to stretch them even further.

"Today we will be working on your speed. I've asked Shirou here..." he gestured at a slim looking young man standing beside him, "...to assist in this exercise. He is the fastest sword swinger in the village."

Kuro was confused by the introduction. "I thought you said we were going to concentrate on speed first today."

The elder smiled and ignored Kuro's interruption, continuing with his explanation. "You can use your sword in this exercise, but only as a defensive tool. We will be building up your foot work, as well as augmenting your reflexes and your hand-eye coordination. Shirou will be constantly attacking you with his sword and you are only to keep dodging and blocking his strikes. If you have no questions, begin when ready."

Kuro understood the exercise now. He bowed to Shirou and drew his zanpakuto from his robes. Shirou bowed back and immediately charged forward swinging his sword in a violent flurry of attacks. Kuro had little time to prepare and was instantly shifting side to side in a strained effort to avoid Shirou's strikes. His already excellent eyesight made following the blade's path easy, but there were many near misses as Shirou read Kuro's moves and adjusted his swings accordingly.

"You're pretty good at this." Kuro remarked as he stopped moving and brought his short blade up to clash with Shirou's. He sucked in a few large gulps of air and pushed back Shirou's sword, sending him skidding back a few feet. Shirou grinned without saying a word, choosing instead to let his weapon speak for him. They were only training, but the rush of the clash was real and inspiring. He rushed Kuro again and started another assault. Kuro could see all the attacks and kept one step ahead of most of them, leaving Shirou nothing to cut but air. He learned to glance past the blade as well and read Shirou's gaze. This let him prepare for when Shirou changed his attack and block the adjustments with his zanpakuto. The exercise stretched on until both of them were low on breath and stamina. Kuro's sight was beginning to be affected as he grew more and more tired. He was cut in about half a dozen places on his arms and legs. Shirou, also tired, swung one last strike in a horizontal loop aimed low at Kuro's knees. Kuro reacted instantly with a final boost of energy, leaping over the swing. Shirou's face broke into a grin again as he let his sword's momentum carry his body in a 360 degree spin and struck with the sword again. Kuro was exhausted and had landed on his knees from his jump, but still saw the attack comming. He raised his blade and used both hands to bring Shirou's sword to a halt. They both smiled at each other and flopped onto their backs in the grass. The elder was smiling, but spoke in a mockingly bossy voice.

"You can have a short break, but don't think that the day is over for you Kuro-kun. There's still other areas to improve in."

(ooc: speed attempts on this thread)

+ 1.5 Speed

(ooc: going for more speed)

Kuro was just finishing up his stretches as he prepared to go for a quick run through the woods. He bent down and removed his ankle weights which he had been wearing since the day he came to the Rukongai. Smiling to himself, he silently thanked his good fortune for letting him meet his new friends here. But at the same time, he wondered what was going on back in the Seireitei at the moment. He had free time for the moment while the noble family his squad followed implemented their plans, but he felt that he would be summoned back to his duties soon. His serious thoughts were inturrupted by a sudden voice calling out to him.

"Kuro-sama! What are you up to this morning?"

Kuro grinned as he watched Shin running over to him. The boy didn't stay far away from him lately. Kuro enjoyed his enthusiasm, but he felt that Shin saw more in him than what was actually there. Placing the self-bullying thoughts aside, Kuro crouched down to meet Shin with a high five and a quick grin.

"I was just going out for a run. I've got to keep training so that I can get stronger like you and everyone else expects me to."

Shin looked disappointed for a moment, but quickly began to jump up and down begging for a favor. "Can I come with you? Please?"

Kuro had expected this request. He was glad he had already taken off his ankle weights. Without a word, he spun around and jerked his head, motioning for Shin to climb on his back. Shin looked like a kid on his birthday as he jumped onto Kuro's back laughing with excitment. Kuro stood up, checking to make sure that the boy wouldn't fall off. He walked to the edge of the camp and gave Shin fair warning.

"Hold on tight, and don't talk to me too much. We're going to be going very fast and I need to concentrate."

Shin gave a quick nod and a grunt of understanding. Kuro closed his eyes for a moment and concentrated his spirit energy. When he felt that he was ready, his eyes flew open and he shot off into the foilage. The trees looked like a blur as he ran through the forest. He hadn't mastered shunpo yet, but he felt that he wasn't far from being able to perform it. Speed had always been his favorite part of a fight. As he jutted left and right through the leaves of the hanging branches, he was vaugely aware of Shin on his back laughing non-stop. It seemed that he saw this as no more than a piggyback ride. Kuro smirked as he pushed his legs to run faster. He gained enough speed and leapt up into the higher branches. Now he was jumping from branch to branch at an incredible pace. He continued this for a few minutes, but soon got bored with just that.

"Hang on tighter!" Kuro shouted back to Shin, immediately feeling the boy's arms cling tighter to his shoulders in response. With a whoop of excitement, Kuro leapt straight at the next thinner branch he saw, not intending to land on it. He let his body fall beneath the branch's level and grabbed it with both of his hands. His momentum caused him and Shin to flip around the branch a few times like acrobats on a trapeze before flying off and aim for a thin tree close by. Kuro slammed feet first into the thin tree, which bent far in the direction he had been heading until it snapped back like a spring sending Kuro and Shin flying back the way they had came from. Kuro finished the run by jumping from tree trunk to tree trunk to slowly lower his altitude until he was just regularly sprinting through the forest again. He burst back into the training camp, causing a few of the villagers there to flinch at his unexpected arrival. He fell down onto his knees slightly panting as Shin slid off his back. A quick grin passed between them both and they both burst out laughing loud enough for the whole camp to hear. Their joy was interrupted as the elder approached.

"Now that you've completed your personal warm-up, it's time for your real training session in speed. Come this way Kuro-san."

Kuro watched as the elder turned his back and led the way to his training spot. Shin tagged along, still giggling about the forest run. They reached an open spot just outside the camp on the edge of the clearing. A nice breeze had picked up and was blowing in swirling gusts all around the area. Taking another look at the training area, Kuro noticed a bunch of villagers holding baskets.

The elder gave a brief explanation as always. "This exercise will train your overall speed. Not just your feet, but your sword speed as well. The villagers' baskets are full of leaves collected from the trees. You will stand in the middle and slice up as many of the leaves they toss at you as you can."

Kuro didn't wait to hear if there was any more. He strode out to his spot and drew his zanpakuto. At the elder's signal, the villagers started tossing handfuls of leaves into the wind. Kuro's sharp eyes saw them, but there were too many to even think about cutting them all. He instead turned it into an accuracy exercise as well as speed. He locked his eyes on a certain leaf and sliced through the air at it, cutting it neatly in half. Without a second passing, he selected another leaf and sideways slashed it into two. The leaves kept comming no matter how many he cut. The villagers made sure to give him plenty of targets. One, two, three! His slashes started to gain pace as he attempted to cut more of the leaves. He was vaguely aware that he had been running the entire time as well. He stayed within the ring of helpers, but was constantly sprinting through the leaf blizzard to cut more of the greenery. He cut and cut until his arms were shaking with fatigue. He stopped running and flopped down on the ground. Shin cheered and applauded loudly, but all Kuro could do in return was a quick peace sign. He turned his gaze to the elder and wondered how long he would let Kuro rest before dragging him to his next session.

+2 speed