Preparations Are A Thing. [Training. Artemis or Invite]

Note:

Today was going to be fun. Dad was off being a Jounin and doing administrative work, which was a pain in the tail, and he was extremely glad that he didn't have to do much of it. Oh, he was perfectly literate, function and otherwise, he had pretty good handwriting for not being human, and he enjoyed reading at times. It made mission logs and such far easier, he could fill them out just as well as Karukaya could, and it saved time when they were chaining mission back to back. It also made taking care of the paperwork for Sister so much easier; he was considered a legal guardian for her so he was able to deal with paperwork and take her to doctor appointments and such when everyone else was busy. It was a wonderful thing to be part ninja 'roo, he'd proven multiple times that he was more intelligent and far more capable than many of his colleagues, and after a few years Temaki had just gone ahead and made it legal for him to be treated as another human ninja; kangaroo or otherwise. He hadn't even thought about asking for that, she just came home one day and handed him a copy of the paperwork and said "I got tired of idiots whining. Enjoy." Needless to say, he had been overjoyed when he realized what she'd done; he'd never had issues with being treated differently, for the most part he wasn't, but it was definitely helpful to be able to legally do all those things that he wasn't able to before.

With all the paperwork done and settled, it meant he was able to 'contribute' properly to the family; since now it meant he got paid for his missions as well as the rest did. Oh, that had been a thing for a while, but it was nice to see it on paper (and to watch the confusion of Genin when he picked up new missions or ran the desk; as he did sometimes). It also meant that he was free to do things that before would require that Karukaya was with him. Things like using the special training grounds, being in the ANBU quarters (he was ranked and classified as ANBU now too, after all), etc. It was because of this, and because he he was him and would do anything for his family, that he was out in the Jounin-locked training fields. He considered Artemis family, had since the day she'd moved into their home, and she'd been looking for a training partner. Given they shared some abilities, he made for a perfect fit for her to train with, and he was happy to do it. Roku was home with Tsume and Kagayaki, and Jayr was on her way with lunch for them all; so he was free to take the time he needed for this.

As it was, he was waiting patiently in the shade of a tree that was growing right at the edge of the training area, he'd come with nothing more than his usual training bag and his gloves; he didn't need anything else really. His bag had water and a medic kit that Karukaya had taught him how to use, it was a simple first aid kit modified to fit the needs of his family, with vet supplies added for all the pets/siblings. Beyond that, he'd packed a small case of snacks and such for them to enjoy during breaks, as he at least enjoyed having a quick granola bar or handful of dried fruit after a long session of training. Given everything they had on the itinerary, it was going to be a doozy of a training, so they'd need something to keep their energy up.

WC: 643

Artemis felt like she had been slacking recently: oh, no one had actually told her that or anything - in fact most of the time she was told that she was being too hard on herself - but she knew what she was capable of at that moment in time and thought she knew what she should be capable of if she pushed herself and trained. At the moment she felt like she wasn't at her full potential. When she was a Genin she had busted all kinds of ass, and had made it a habit of doing missions back to back just to get out of the house and stay out of the house. After Karu Sensei had taken her in she had slowed down a bit mainly because she hadn't had a problem being around the house; in fact, she had been quite glad to come home after a day of training or a particularly hard mission and just lay around and relax.

Of course, she had by no means slacked off during the past few years she had been living with Karu and the rest of his family. She had gone from a Genin to a full blown Jounin in a relatively short period of time. Fa Mulan had likewise flourished, becoming incredibly strong in her own right as well as becoming far more intelligent. Still, Artemis didn't feel like she was quite where she should be, and she especially wasn't where she wanted to be. So, she had asked around for a training partner and Coen had been more than willing to offer his services. Given that the shared some of the same abilities, and he could use fire in ways most people could only dream of, it meant that he was also perfect for this particular bit of training she wanted to complete. Fa Mulan was likewise coming with; she too wanted to hone her ninjutsu and katon skills, and perhaps give a few jutsu scrolls they had purchased the other day while in the market a try. Several of the scrolls called for perfect control of katon, and neither Artemis nor Fa Mulan felt that they were on par with the requirements yet.

So, the two made quick work on getting over to the Jounin training fields: they were a god send really compared to having to use the regular training fields and having to worry about the wrong person showing up at the wrong time and getting in the way of something nasty. It made sense, given some of the abilities that could and would be tried, for those of Jounin rank to be given fields specifically for them and them alone. Artemis hadn't brought much with her save for her usual shoulder bag filled with its usual supplies of water, a few light snacks, basic weapons, a book or two, and various small odds and ends including a light blanket. Carrying around a bag filled with the bare essentials had become normal for her since the day she had met Fa Mulan; even if the monkey was more than capable of taking care of herself Artemis still took the extra step to ensure she would be kept comfortable and happy - it was sort of a mom thing or so Temaki had once called it, and in all honesty Fa Mulan was kind of like her kid. She protected her like one, that was for sure.

Upon reaching the training ground Fa Mulan jumped down from her back where she had been perched and ran over to Coen; she jumped up and down in front of him in her usual happy method, making a variety of monkey-like sounds in greeting despite being capable of speaking a variety of languages at that point, including several human ones. Artemis simply chuckled as she walked over at a slightly slower pace than Fa. "Hey, Coen."

Word Count: 647

To anyone not familiar with them, it would seem extremely odd for a random kangaroo to be standing in the middle of a restricted area; not so much the village in general, wildlife wandered the streets peacefully enough most of the year, and there where a few herds of 'roos that would come into town during the monsoon season to avoid the flooding on the plains. However, it was a nasty journey to get to these fields without proper clearance, so it was rare to find anything larger than a bird that didn't belong here. His headband was worn more often as a belt, or around his neck, so it wasn't always obvious that he was a ninja of the village; which could be fun. The few greenhorn special jounin training nearby had stopped to watch him, curious and confused a bit, and likely about to come over if not for the approach of Artemis and Fa Mulan. She was well known, as she was Karu's student and a ranking Jounin for many years; so it was likely that they figured that he was with her, or something; not realizing it was the other way around.

Coen merely offered them both a smile when they approached, he returned the monkey noises with what where obvious kangaroo sounds; odd grunts and strange growling noises that made up his native language. Well, if anything, the local human dialect was his 'native' tongue, he'd learned to speak that before he'd ever learned to speak animal languages fluently; but it worked. Animals innately understood each other, even when speaking differing languages; and what they where doing was offering each other a greeting as such, before moving back to speaking in ways that Artemis would know. She would be fluent in most of the languages they all spoke; but it was difficult for human to hear most of the tones and such that kangaroo used, so he stuck to human tongues most of the time. It was just easier too; believe it or not; being half ninja 'roo meant his biology was different than a normal 'roo to an extent, and his throat was better suited to speaking human tongues than not.

"Hello, Artemis. Shall we begin?" He wasn't rushing, he just understood her well enough to know that spending an extended amount of time bullshitting and wasting time wasn't what she'd want. They where both the type to enjoy the act of training, and could be social and such while getting work done. "What did you want to work on, exactly?" He had an idea, they'd talked a bit about working on this before, but specifics hadn't been worked out, and while they had many similar skillsets, he was a purely physical beast, focusing entirely on close quarter enhanced by his natural fire affinity. She was more of a Raiton beast; even when using taijutsu Raiton tended to be more mid-long range combat; but given his father was a Raiton user as well, he was pretty well versed in the area, even if he couldn't use it himself.

WC: 526

526 + 643 = 1169