Golden Leaf-Edge [Shaoling, Yuujin]

"Does it now?"

There was a certain degree of menace in Shaoling's voice as she posed that question to Yuujin, though her expression didn't change in any particular way, and her gaze toward him seemed the same as it had been. That was precisely what she'd expected out of him, that willingness to simply say what was on his mind, do whatever came to him. If he had better instincts, that would be a tremendous boon to him, so she wouldn't be so foolish as to cut it down.

"I used to be confident I'd never take on a student. My days are filled with deliveries and training. As long as I have something to do, and something I can take pride in, what else would I ask for?"

Of course, she didn't specify what it was that she took any pride in, but it certainly wasn't the deliveries. She stretched once more, and then lowered herself to the ground. She was ready to take a step, but her gaze turned to Yuujin.

"I'll give you a minute head start. Two laps around the city."

“I’d be proud of being the fastest delivery gal,” Yuujin stated, nodding his head as if ignorant to any other implication Shaoling meant. He’s not daft, not at all, but he’s come to understand a thing or two about the people around him. His teacher is definitely the type to either wear her thoughts on her shoulders or bury them where no one’s able to find them. It’s all about finding the X. X marks the spot after all, and Yuujin is rather proud of himself for getting something out of the woman. He’s also lucky he didn’t get kicked either. Though, he probably shouldn’t count himself fortunate just yet. The fun has yet to start.

“Maybe I’ll beat your high score,” He found himself mumbling as he turned away and started to jog. It’d be no good to simply race off into the distance. She’s too fast. His stamina isn’t good enough for it. If anything, he should save anything rash for later when he’ll need to make decisions on the spot. Yeah. He knows a bit about his teacher, and that simply means he knows how badly she’s about to leave him bruised. However, he couldn’t help but smile and feel a bit giddy with her fading into the distance. She said she’s proud of him.

“Heh, she’s such a sucker.”

Shaoling watched Yuujin run off, and though she could have made any number of responses before he did so, interrupted him with any sort of punitive measure, she simply let him run off with that little bit of contentment on his face. If he had some pride in his step, maybe he'd make good time today. Despite her natural inclinations, she wasn't going to crush him underfoot for no reason.

She'd only do that when she needed to test how resilient he was, and she simply waited for the minute head start to end before she took a single step forward, already catching up to him with that. After all, her shunpo was nothing short of exceptional, and it didn't take much to catch up to someone like him.

"Pick up the pace."

And then she was off, another step forward as she darted past him without even trying. They had a standard route for this little training routine, and she knew exactly which way he would go. In the meantime, a few pushups atop one of the buildings that lined these streets would be fine. She felt her balance had gotten a bit subpar, anyway.

Uh huh... And, with one minute up, he had expected for her to suddenly appear before him. It is par the course at this point. He's nowhere near her speed, and he doesn't pretend to be anything close to her. He knows his place despite his snide nature. All he can do is pick up his own pace a bit because keeping her waiting for long is just going to make all this suck for him later. No one wants that. Well, maybe his teacher wants that, but he doesn't. Despite her practical nature, she has a knack for letting her judgmental personality get the better of her at times, and he knows he pushes that side of her a lot.

Eventually, he reaches her though. They run the same route every time they do this, so he knows the way like the back of his hand. It's unsurprising to find her training though. Look at her, doing pushups. He knows she knows he's here, but he simply watched her at first, staring a bit because he could. Of course, he's trying her by doing so, but it's her fault for showing off her muscles. Will he get that toned someday? He can only imagine the moment where he surpasses her. Hehe. Then he'll be able to make the rules, and he already knows what his first order will be.

Yuujin showed up precisely when Shaoling had expected of him, which was, in itself, a fairly remarkable accomplishment. She was rather used to others failing to meet her standards, and it wasn't as if he always accomplished everything she'd have liked to see from him. But, now and again, she was impressed by his efforts, and so despite knowing that he was simply watching, she committed to finishing the set that she'd begun.

It was only 15 more, followed by 10 done at a handstand, but that still gave Yuujin the briefest bit of time to get ahead yet again. Of course, it might also have given him a little bit of time to simply stop. It seemed he'd taken something of a half measure, but that was his prerogative.

That didn't mean it was the right decision, of course.

"Slowing down already?"

With one flash step, she was at ground level again, next to Yuujin and placing a hand square in the center of his back. She could have given him a sharp push, but given that might have simply killed him, Shaoling instead chose to just give him a relatively gentle shove. He'd have to pick up his own pace to avoid falling over, but she was fairly certain he was capable of that.

If he could explain himself, he would have just come up with some sorry excuse about marveling her and imagining being something like her, but he knows that would have just ended with her going on about him taking his training seriously. He is, alright? It's just easy to get distracted by the view at times. One can't be a fanatic every now and then? Surely, Shaoling has had her bout with dreams and such. Though, Yuujin knows better to push that subject, and he knows better than to do anything but run after she pushed him. Adding the fact that she actually spooked him a bit, he just committing himself to ignoring what just happened. What better way to answer a question about slacking then to stop slacking?

Besides, falling would have just been embarrassing. It may be training, but you don't ever want to just look like an idiot. His father told him best: even if you can't do something at your best, do it so that no one knows it's not your best.

Very good. She'd have been disappointed with Yuujin if he'd fallen over just from that little push, after all. It would have made all their training up to this point feel rather pointless, all things considered, and the last thing Shaoling wanted this to be was wasted effort. Both on her part, and his, frankly. One more step and she'd already caught up to him, though this time, she kept pace. It was quite easy for her, after all.

"Pick up the pace. You'll be able to break your previous best if you keep this up."

She'd made a habit of keeping up with the progress of her best subordinates, and in this particular case, Yuujin was the only person she particularly cared to follow. No others would have earned her interest at this point in her life, after all.

"I wonder about that."

He scoffed, air filtering out of his mouth in unadulterated breaths. This is exactly what he needs; praise from her. Well, that thought came to him sarcastically, but it's hard to be chipper when your legs feel like falling off. Of course, that's a bit dramatic considering he's been doing this for a while now. If anything, his legs are completely fine. His mind is just annoyed by the fact that this is what it takes to reach new heights, constant boring exercises. His teacher dancing around him like she's on a stroll doesn't help him feel anything but vindictive. He's going to dance around her like a bastard one day and put her in her place, but, honestly, that's something Shaoling would come to congratulate him on. He doesn't know why she's becoming so verbally supportive all of a sudden. Yuujin remembers having to try his best just to understand if she was happy or not. Guess he's worked her out enough that she's become a bit of a softy. How sweet.

Ugh. He hates that he actually did pick up the pace though. Guess he doesn't want to disappoint her just as much as she wants to see him succeed.

Ah, there it was. He'd still sped up, which was exactly what she'd been looking for. Shaoling had a hunch that he wouldn't have done so without a bit of positive reinforcement, and while she wasn't typically the sort that gave that, she liked to see results. If that was what it took, oh well.

"I'll meet you back at the shop. Don't take any shortcuts, I'll know."

And then she was off, her speed making it seem as if she'd barely even been there in the first place. Of course, she could run this little circuit of theirs in barely any time at all, and she'd much rather spend the time simply watching his progress from the rooftops. Did she trust him not to slack off?

Well, mostly. It didn't hurt to keep an eye out anyway.

No shortcuts? Fine. Guess he'll do it right this time. However, that means it took him a while before he made it back to the shop. However, he did go faster than before, only by a few seconds though. However, that is better than nothing at all, so he's alright with that. He wonders what Shaoling would say about it. He knows she kept track of him during the whole trip. Well, she'll appear eventually, so he went and snuck a book from one of Urahara's shelves. He won't mind. Besides, it's something boring about a bunch of kids hunting after some gems for a belt: Deltora Quest. A nice spot at a table, and he's into this new fantasy land.