To Train The Body Is To Train the Mind[Ten]

NOTE: This thread is set before the current mission plot.


Ren yawned; it was too early to actually be doing something. Yet he pushed himself just like he did at home and up in the North. To train the mind you must train the body, that is what he learnt up in the North and now he was putting it into action. Every day was a test and Ren wanted to pass. Pushing his body to the limit at any given moment, this is what Ren needed to do in order to become strong. Becoming strong had always been a dream of his, to become strong meant that he was powerful. To be powerful mean that he was respected as the latter respected power. He wanted to become a State Alchemist ever since he was a young boy, his whole life had been dedicated to training and learning everything he needed to know to become a high ranking alchemist.

Thinking about his parents for a brief second, Ren thought about how they would be doing. Four years were a long time he thought, however Ren snapped out of his thinking and continued waking up. Rolling to his side he looked at a clock. The time was only four in the morning. Rolling his eyes, he jumped out of his bed while running his hand through his brown hair. Making his way to his wardrobe he saw a plain white t-shirt and some black trouser pants. “These will do, it’s only a morning run.”

Taking his sleep wear off, Ren looked in the mirror. His tattoo of a transmutation circle just stared back at him. He smirked a tad. The reason why he lived, the reason why he was so powerful at his age was because of this tattoo. Sliding his clothing on Ren smiled and walked over the door, twisting the steel knob he opened it and felt the cold morning air tickle his face. “Just like Briggs.” He chuckled a tad and set afoot outside, closing the door behind him and making sure it was locked. He started walking down the street, gradually building speed step by step Ren started to be jogging at a light pace. His morning training had begun. As he speed down the street (by now he was sprinting) Ren could notice the sun was starting to rise slowly as it started to make its first peek and say hello to the world.

“I will become strong. I will become strong. I will become strong.” While running he just repeated that phrase over and over again. He was dedicated possibly even obsessed with his training and dream. After a good hard run that took around thirty minutes or so Ren had made it took a vacant block of land. The grass looked like it was dying slowly however this did not stop Ren from dropping down onto it, as he started to do push ups. “One hundred push ups, one hundred sit ups and finally the sprint back home. I CAN DO THIS!” Roaring like a lion as he said those words, it was like as if he was given a power up as Ren started to power away as he did push up after push up. He was like a machine and no-one could stop him.

Sweat began to build up on his forehead as the tear shaped drops slid across his face. His breathing got heavier as he reached his last set of ten push ups. Doing them with with ease his body was conditioned rather well for a nineteen year old. Whipping the sweat of his face Ren got down and started his sit ups. He remembered back in the Briggs Mountains when he would do this every morning. His trainer would be screaming at him to do it faster. Well now he could picture his trainer right next to him. You could say he was his guardian angel yet Bryson could be no such thing. The old man was a devil at heart. However Ren was thankful that such a man took him in. The weak little boy he was had grown to be a strong man.

Grunting in pain, his checked flustered and turned a bright red (just like a tomato). He had only a few to go, sweat building up and his eyes watering made it look like he was about to give up. However with a burst of energy and a loud grunt he had completed the set. Laying down on his back he looked up at the orange sky. It must nearly have been time for people to wake up as the birds had already. “Maybe just a few minutes of rest will be okay…” Closing his eyes Ren pictured what it would have been like to have been a State Alchemist already and it was just what he had expected.

Why he was in Central, he didn't know. It was sort of the in between state--the middle ground between South City and West City that was a resting ground--a place where... he tended to go wild. So many beasts roamed this world. It was a shame that he normally had to seek out Amestrians rather than those of other nationalities. Damn borders, the lot of them--weird obscure lines that never showed themselves in real life! No, of course not. It had to be complicated like some strange calculus problem and be called some complex word having to do with earth and the study of it: Geography. He was frustrated beyond measure when it came to maps and all their obscure names and squiggly lines. So...imperfect. Ugh! He let out a frustrated sigh and kicked a piece of rubble at a trashcan. It made a loud, obnoxious tinging noise that resounded through the silence of the mostly abandoned city. Right, who would want to stick around here--this war-ravaged wreck of a once great capital... And Jesus Christ that guy Aurelius was insane. He just couldn't understand why the guy would have to go and ruin the beautiful and relatively dated architecture of Central. He should have just poisoned everyone with a gas or something... But he guessed that RIOTE planned to ruin their lives, ruin their pride, and leave survivors to pick up the mess. Something like that.

He crumbled the map in his hands, glaring off at nothing but cloudy orange sky. It was going to be a hot day... He shot the ball of paper at the trashcan and raised a fist in SCORE when he got it in. Hah, beat that NBA. Suck on it! Yeah...he was bored because, well, office work was one thing... killing people was another. He was ruthless, but he liked to believe that unlike some people (coughAureliuscough), he still had shreds of humanity left. And he also had no real aim. Kill the bad guys...kill the good guys--there really was no distinction. However, all the people he killed had something in common. There was a reason...just not an ultimate goal. Goals and dreams were overrated. Be born, live well, and die. Die by someone/something or die by life. As was the flow of the world. Shit happened and...he was so damn lost right now. Central was a big place as compared to South and all its...giant craterness. At least it had a purpose now...and would soon be a resort... Note: leave South City HQ when it starts opening strip clubs. Please no. He slammed a palm into his head, feeling the slight perspiration there and wiping it briskly away. See, it was already hot.

Longish strands of blond hair fell into his face, nearly glowing gold in the after light of the sunrise. He was feeling bright today. He opened his red eyes and focused for half a second and they shifted to a pale blue haze like the color of the sky. He matched... Takumi liked matching the weather sometimes...it just felt natural. Especially since he couldn't remember exactly what his original pigments were... It was depressing really. He frowned and ruffled the wavy pieces of hair, sighing. Something about today was off... He was thinking about death too much--about how if he hadn't killed himself in the past...he wouldn't be here now stuck in a mortal body. Was...his soul immortal still? He was created directly from Father... Ex Sloth. It was funny... Maybe one day he'd run into the real Sloth. Yeah that conversation would turn out well. 'Hey yeah I was you in the past, but I killed myself. Then I was bound with a blood seal to this human form so yeah I'm immortal but not, no one really knows.' Great way to meet someone. He rubbed the back of his neck subconsciously, feeling if the seal was still there...just checking.

Lime green chucks touched down on grass that entered his path, and he looked up from the ground he had been staring intently at for a while as he walked aimlessly around for no apart reason (aside from skipping out on work and being the lazy sonuvabitch he secretly was when he wasn't sitting in front of his compu--) Person. Ah, a fellow human. He smiled and jogged over, waving a hand. "Hey! Could you help me out a sec?"

How long had it been since he closed his eyes? Rubbing his hand over his face he sighed, he most likely had been there longer than he expected and with no way to tell the time Ren was disappointed with himself that he had let time slip he grunted softly. Getting up and dusting himself off Ren was about to leave however he heard someone. Was that person calling it for him?

"Hey! Could you help me out a sec?" Ren turned around to see a boy, maybe just taller than him. He had a really nice hair colour not that Ren was gay or anything he just thought his hair colour was nice. Offering a warm smile Ren spoke, “What do you need sir?”

Something about this man was different, he radiated a energy he had no felt before. It was odd to say the least. Defiantly different but really strange and odd. He examined the male as he took a few deep breaths for air, even though his heart beat had slowed down he still was tired from all the exercise he did. They both looked the same age so maybe this was a chance to meet some new friends. It was hard to meet people after the attack on Central. Some people just became anti-social however it was understandable. After all they(the attackers) did cause mayhem and destruction. Many innocent lifes had died and it was rather irritating not being able to nothing. His face suddenly changed, a more serious look came about as if he was at hard thought and he was…

This is why he wanted to join the military and sue his alchemy for good. Sure he could make a cheap buck by using his alchemy yet the satisfaction of saving people’s life’s was clearly something that just had a better moral standing with him. His passion was like fuel to his soul (the fire) and the more the world descended into chaos the more he would freeze the flames of destruction and alas destroy those who had committed crimes of hate and rage. Snapping out of his train of thought he offered another generous smile and took a few steps closer trying not to break the boundary of personal space.

“So what is it that you need friend?” He spoke with a happiness in his voice as if he was happy he would be helping someone out. Truth was, Ren was extremely happy. He may not be a State Alchemist now however he would do his best to help those that needed his help. Even if it was over the smallest thing, this could turn into something big! This could be his chance to start making a name for himself here in Central and when he goes back to Briggs as a State Alchemist then he would be legendary among the troo- that was a joke. He was thinking too far ahead already yet did it really hurt for Ren to dream? A dream that he would never give up on!

The change in the boy's facial expression came off as rather intriguing to Ten who normally didn't tend to show very many emotions during a first encounter. He was both taken aback and kindly accepting of such an outward show of kindness. But the problem Ten was having was deducting whether or not he was being too serious or if he was possibly being tricked... He checked his pockets just in case, finding that he did in fact have all of his--his... Hole. In. Pocket. Ohshitohshitohshit. He thought he felt lighter as he strolled over the various caved in walls and broken glass. Buying these pants from a thrift store had been a bad idea. He regretted it now. Oh, he regretted it with every fiber of his being because now, now he had to rely on this kid who looked to be at least a year younger than him. Reliance was dangerous and something that Ten did not ever choose to partake in by choice. Except now...he sort of did have a choice: walk away and be screwed or ask for further assistance. Hm...the choices. He tapped his chin in thought and removed his other hand from the hole it stuck out of.

Frowning, he turned pale blue eyes to the boy and tucked a straggler of blond hair behind his ear. "My name is Ten and I not only got myself lost, but I also managed to lose an entire pocketful of my life." He sighed and scratched the back of his head, meeting the brighter blue eyes head on. "I don't have any money to give you, but could you possibly take me to the nearest train station? Or at least point me in the direction. It would help greatly." And keep me from wandering around aimlessly for another four hours... Could today get any worse? Well, he had had worse days. Like the time when a victim had the audacity to run from him and actually nearly escape though a fire escape no less. Takumi hated stairs... so he had jumped and twisted his ankle on the damn cobble stone left over from a hundred years ago. Well, it was all covered over now...with rubble, but... Then it was highly inconvenient. Needless to say he did in fact get the guy, however, was forced himself to hobble home and dread getting pulled over for question by the cops scurrying all about after heard the sound of the gunshot. That was before Takumi began relying on alchemy... And now it was so much easier... And yet so much more boring. The chase was where it was at. And nowadays no computer systems put up much of a challenge, so hacking was getting lame too. Maybe that was why he found himself here in this position, asking a fellow Amestrian for help in his own damn capital city. Funny, certainly, but also mildly entertaining. What would he do? Would this boy reject him or kindly show him the way? What would happen next, he wondered.

At the end of the day, would Ten have to kill him? His half-smile vanished off his face from whilst it came and he stared deep into the refuse of the boy's mind, almost as if trying to read his mind and all the emotions between--like the emotions he wasn't showing. But for once, Takumi found nothing: not the greed resident in most people, not the hungry look of one thirsting for attention, nor the constant pang of a shortage of time. Takumi rubbed at his ear. People were all different. It was a strange, strange world.

"My name is Ten and I not only got myself lost, but I also managed to lose an entire pocketful of my life." Ten, it had to be a codename or was it? Ren had meet people with strange names in his past but never has Ren meet someone named after the number ten. However Ren was not someone to appear judgmental and kept his clouded thoughts to himself and just nodded warmly. It was sad to see that the boy had no where to go and had no money because he lost it. It reminded a bit of himself when he set off from home, all alone with no one to support Ren besides himself so for some reason he felt a little sorry for him.

"I don't have any money to give you, but could you possibly take me to the nearest train station? Or at least point me in the direction. It would help greatly." He wanted to find the train station, although this would mean interrupting his training schedule Ren knew that it was hard to find some decent help around town now since of what RIOTE has caused. People were on edge and really it was hard to find a good decent pair of hands. But how far were they from the station, Ren hadn't been here long and only really knew little of the area however Ren could remember vaguely where to go.

“I can help Ten however I myself are quite new to the area so I wont know straight away however I know we need to head around the town square which is North of here. I'm positive on it.” Looking at him Ren started to head off in the direction. It was up to Ten to make sure he followed as Ren was not walking, instead he was jogging. Even though there had been disruption within his training schedule he did not care as it was a longer jog to the train station.

Noticing that Ten was falling behind Ren stopped and took a breath as he looked back and shouted out, “Come on, time is not cheap!!!”

(Sorry about the post and wait DX)

WIP <3