All of the ninja - Nya, Wu, and Lloyd included - woke far later than they were used too, with most of them lounging about in bed. Wu had even brought down the leftover onigiri and fried kibbeh, so everyone had had breakfast in bed. Even [M/n] had chosen to stay in bed, Lloyd sprawled out on top of him.
Eventually Lloyd poked him in the side, "Hmmmm?"
"Will you teach me some cool ninja tricks?"
[M/n] hummed, opening an eye to peer down at Lloyd. "How about I teach you to throw a proper punch and kick before I teach you any 'cool ninja tricks'."
Lloyd flushed a little. "You'll really teach me to punch?"
"I will. If something happens and I'm not there to protect you, I'd rather you be able to defend yourself."
Jay grumbled, rolling over to bury his face under his pillow. Sighing, [M/n] silently ushered Lloyd off the bed before sliding off to silently land on the ground.
"Go down to the second training room, I'll find you some clothes to wear for your first lesson," [M/n] murmured, grabbing his own clothes rather than his GI. Lloyd nodded, hurrying away.
[M/n] popped open the chest at the bottom of Jay's bed, pulling out a pair of shorts with drawstrings for Lloyd to use, then grabbed one of Nya's shirts from his own chest that she had given up for Lloyd to use. Heading out the door, he made his way down to the second training room, pushing open the door to find Lloyd trying to hit the punching bag. Raising a brow, he was forced to stifle a laugh when the punching bag swung back and knocked Lloyd over.
It took a moment for [M/n] to regain his composure as Lloyd began yelling at the punching bag, "-I see you lost the fight."
Lloyd cut himself off with a yelp, "You saw that?!"
"I did." [M/n] held out the clothes. "Change into these, it will make it easier for you to practice."
Lloyd grinned, snatching the clothes. [M/n] turned back around to let the boy change real quick without leaving the room. With surprising speed, Lloyd was quickly tugging at the bottom of his shirt. "Done! Let's go! Show me how to kick butt!"
"We'll start with stretches, then punches, then kicks."
"Stretches? Can't we start with the punches?" Lloyd whined, pouting.
[M/n] raised an eyebrow, "Stretches are important. It is injury prevention, helps with flexibility and blood flow, improves your performance, and can decrease pain when you are trying new skills. If you choose not to stretch I simply won't teach you." Lloyd's eyes went wide.
"I'll stretch! I'll stretch!"
"Good. We'll start easy. If you need help, ask. Don't keep doing it if you think you're doing, understand?"
"Understood."
"Runner's Stretch is first." [M/n] slowly got into position, allowing Lloyd to see how he was moving before gesturing for him to copy him. Through five separate stretches [M/n] led Lloyd, making sure he was doing them correctly without overextending.
When they finished, Lloyd flopped over and laid on the ground for a moment as [M/n] chuckled, standing up to fetch two bottles of water from the mini-fridge they kept in the training rooms.
"I still don't get why stretches are important."
"Whenever you're practicing, if you have not properly stretched, you can tear your muscles. I am not sure of the actual science behind it, but I do know that it works." [M/n] crouched in front of Lloyd, waiting patiently for him to finish drinking. "Are you ready?"
YOU ARE READING
Querencia
Fanfiction(n.) A place where one feels safe, a place from which one's strength of character is drawn. [M/n] Caelestis has no memory of who he is, relying entirely upon Sensei Wu to fill in the gaps. With knowledge, a history, skills, and a willingness to kill...
