Up and At'em [Solo]

It was that time once again. The day he passively dreaded yet at the same time looked forward to. It was an odd feeling. Even more unusual was that his typical foul mood was non-existent despite being up and active, before the sun had even risen. For Durzo such a thing could truly be a once in a blue moon event, however less rare of an occurrence it may be. Maybe it was due to already having planned today's activities and mentally preparing himself. Though, the symphony that reverberated throughout his apartment could be the cause.

The sweet, subtle melody filled the room leaving each note a few seconds to have its moment, before softly ending and giving way for the next. The tune was a favorite of Durzo’s. Like most of the music he listened to it held no lyrics, only the harmony of the instruments being present and all in all could be summed up as light and elegant. As his ears hung on each note and reveled in their cohesion, the saiyan slipped on each piece of his training garb.

A black tank top dropped onto his form followed by pulling up a pair of grey sweatpants. Next, he slid on each of his wristbands, which normally he wouldn’t wear at all but they were included along with his recently purchased weighted clothing. Durzo had taken notice that such training had become a staple among many martial artists. Besides being new to the concept he opted for medium level weights instead of a beginner’s level. Even as he lifted the clothing for wear he could instantly tell the weight they carried. Ending his change of attire with his usual training shoes, Durzo was almost ready.

Standing fully dressed, the young man had a more than slightly uncomfortable look on his face. Which was understandable; it was heavy, it was kind of bulky, it was pretty heavy. It would take time to really adjust to the feeling of being weighed down but he’d persevere, no matter how much he didn’t want to. He had to if he wanted to become better.

A simple snap of his fingers caused a small speaker like device on his nightstand to beep. As soon as it did the room quieted down to its normal silence. Strolling over in to the kitchen area he’d open his fridge and grab hold of two cold water bottles. He planned to train for majority of the day and wanted to make sure that he didn’t have to worry about becoming dehydrated. It was already becoming evident for the saiyan that he would have to exude more effort in even small movements. Placing the two bottles in a small bag, he griped the strings bringing it to a close before slinging it over his shoulder.

The saiyan made sure not to forget to lock up as he left his apartment. As he looked up at the morning sky yet still dark from the night, he could see a tiny bit of the sun’s light reaching for the rest of its domain. For all he hated waking up early for, and he increasingly did, even waking up in general was beginning to be a pain. Despite it all he loved those few moments where the darkness of night and the light of day intermingled. Only during such occasions would he catch sight of it in the morning but he’d always put time away for him to enjoy the sunsets. Durzo’s grip on the strings of his bag tightened as he was quickly consumed in a violet aura.

With a push, he launched himself in the air and within moments became a purple streak in the dark sky. Again the presence of his weighted clothing made itself well known, the pull of lag working even more than usual. Hopefully the payoff for them would be worth it. He couldn’t see himself wearing them continuously throughout his everyday life. Perhaps I could just wear them after school or work… Durzo paused for a moment as that thought sunk in along with all that would normally go on in a day. That meant after dealing with school he’d have to wear this bulky heavy getup until bed? Nope. The decision was quick and effortless. Plus, he was planning on getting a part time job soon, and there was no way he was going to deal with it after an already tiring day. Perhaps while he slept? …Perhaps. It was decided.

The lazy saiyan had been flying for a short while now but his destination was already coming into view. A large flatland that stretched for miles with a couple of flat top mountains littering the expanse every now and again. It was on one of these few mountains that he came to land upon. Durzo would set his bag down next to a rock whilst keeping his aura flaring about him. In all honesty, he disliked how uncontrollable his aura seemed. It felt like his ki was just being shot out in aimless bursts to achieve whatever feat he needed it for. To deal with it he had begun, some months ago, his own training to master his ki completely.

Distancing himself from the bag with a couple feet, Durzo slowly rose a short distance from the earth. He would bring his fists to meet before his abdomen and raise his legs into a crossed sitting position, a typical meditative stance. The reason he chose to do this while levitating was to bring into play the weights. “Now lets get started,” he'd say in a whisper before his eyes closed and his mind began to focus. Clearing his mind was no easy feat for Durzo. The sweet temptation to nod off into a soft slumber at times was often too great to resist, though now he was more than capable of dealing with it. That was a lie. It was really difficult. 

Within seconds his facial features became relaxed, ki unstable as his aura began to waver. Slow shallow breaths were taken and released. The area was silent. Suddenly his body as a whole tensed and his aura lashed out from him before it seemingly vanished. Those slow breaths would soon become hesitant and slightly forced to keep his pace as he tried to enact complete control. Then his aura flowed from him once more yet clung closer to his form in more of an outline than bursting forth in a flame like fashion. Slowly his feet would move to touch land as he brought his body to stand, his breathing still irregular. “Okay, now I just have to hold onto it.” This was going to be a true test of his focus.

Raising his hand before him a tiny purple flick would appear before growing into a sphere the size of a basketball. Next up was his speed training, and with the addition of these weights he was dreading the toll it would take. A heavy sigh would escape his mouth before his arm reeled back then snapped forward sending the ki ball hurtling through the air. The rules for this training exercise were simple, keep the ball up. The point was to repeatedly hit and give chase to the light sphere until you were exhausted without exploding the ball. Which led to the other aspect of this game, power management, at every strike to launch the ki blast again you’d need to use enough to deflect it away. Any more than that would cause it to rupture and deal some minor damage. Keeping his ki tame, he rocketed off after the ball.

It took longer than what he would have liked to catch up to it, but he did and with a mental shout kicked the orb skyward. One! Not wasting his momentum, he charged after the ball of ki. Durzo wasn’t entirely sure about how his body felt at the moment. Either he was really out of shape and needed to actually train on a regular basis. Kami let it not be so. Or the weights were a greater strain than he expected. Bound for his target he pushed his body further to speed up despite the extra weight. In a short time he caught and passed the sphere to lay in wait, readying himself. Two! The ball quickly approached him and with a swift knife hand he chopped the sphere forcing it downward. A couple beads of sweat were becoming apparent on his face, while his pace of breath was slowly giving way.

‘Ah!’ He was giving himself time to rest which was a no no. Gritting his teeth, Durzo flashed after his target once again yet with more vigor to make up for lost time. This would continue for twenty more counts before the saiyan was lagging behind horribly. After every strike he would take a moment to catch his breath which now was quick, inconsistent pants. A sweat drenched face with tired brown eyes only watched as the orb of ki flew into the side of a mountain and erupted into a small explosion. “Haa… yeah… i’m done…” The state of his ki was in the norm of a purple blaze around his person, he’d long lost the focus to keep it held down. Soon it would leave him all together as he steadily drifted to the ground below.

Touching down Durzo just let go of his body allowing the saiyan to fall to his rump with a thump. There he would rest for a short while before continuing to what he had planned next. The ground was hard and with his bulked clothes he was uncomfortable, but in his current state he could care less. A small breeze passed over the area sweeping a sweet coolness over his body. Opening his eyes, a deep blue firmament filled his view as thoughts began to wander his mind. Was he okay with his life in its current state? What lay in wait for him in his future? Would he find satisfaction in what sought? What exactly was he seeking, for that matter. In such times of idleness, he couldn’t help but question all that had and yet had not transpired in his young life.

All these questions would hopefully be answered in due time. He mused, simply pondering them would only in the least give him a tad bit of insight, and that in a way could just be labeled as guessing. Lips let loose a brief sigh whilst he urged his body to stand. Break time was over. His muscles were starting to feel the aches of being strained after a long interlude of inactivity. To keep it from inhibiting him, and it most surely would, he had to drown it out by continuing. Odd? Yes, but that’s the hu- saiyan body for you. Well at least his body had cooled down a bit and he wasn’t as drenched in sweat now. Reddish-brown eyes would be cast to his hands, both at his sides, opening and closing as if testing their grip. Opting to keep them closed in the end; dust would soon become unsettled and driven away in clouds from his presence. In brief moments, his violet hued aura had snaked its way across his form and enveloped him. “Round two.”

This mode of training was more typical than the last as he would basically be shadowboxing. Durzo had no unique stance that he was partial to, which was weird being one who enjoyed the study of martial arts. Only standing with both fists balled up before him, he’d launch himself into a flurry of punches. Each arm alternating with the other after several punches had been thrown. A couple kicks entering the fray rarely between each alternation and when it seemed to flow correctly with his strikes. A swift exhale fluently matched each blow followed by an inhale as the limb was brought back in, getting a pace setup. Durzo knew he was moving at much less what he knew he was capable of. Even at the beginning of this session he was much faster. Though it was expected, the weights were fulfilling their purpose. They brought a new factor into his workout, which would only compound further on the fatigue and bodily stress built up from training.

Durzo would push his body through this for the next couple of hours till his body and mind just said no. Soon his eyes would close in exhaustion and a limpness fell over him, and upon reopening only earth lay before them. Only his hands kept him from a face full of dirt. Slow, steady drips of sweat wet the dirt beneath him darkening the dry land in small splotches. Harsh, ragged breaths forced their way from his lungs, hasty to expel the carbon dioxide and give his body the oxygen it clearly needed. Hurt was everywhere, yet he could also say he was numb. Though for certain he knew he was spent for the day. Which brought something to his attention. Where had he put the bag that held his water bottles? Well, yes, he knew that they were on one of the mountain tops in the area but which one. The saiyan had wandered off quite a way from where he first touched down. As soon as it had arisen the subject would be discarded. As he was now it didn’t matter anymore and he obviously did not feel up to searching for it now. Instead he’d welcome the earth below him and let himself drift off. It was clearly safe out here in the middle of nowhere, right. No one would mess with a sleeping saiyan, or at least that’s what he was betting on. Dozing off, face planted in the ground. Not too bad a way to end his first training session with weights.