Secret Training: Kuroi and Asuka [R, NDE]

[Zou ۞]

Naturally, Kuroi has decided that it's time Asuka got stronger. She's part of his Fraccion due to potential, but she's the weakest. She's too weak. Chisoku was able to take out two Espada, and Nijuu and Kouen are both even stronger than that. Asuka is the only weak link, who can't even match up with a Privaron Espada. It's time for her to grow. Kuroi is here to spar with her, make her stronger through training, and helpful pointers even. They'll be going for CTP and SP (For Asuka.) They are to meet at this time in the Menos Forest, also known as Gillian Forest, where they will train. Most of it will be Kuroi against Asuka, though occasionally some other Hollows may appear. Kuroi may go for some TTP. This is only the FIRST PART of the training. Later parts will be displayed. There will be time skips, so to speak.

[Deleted]

Okay, okay....she WAS the weakest! At least she wasn't a hopeless case, right? If she wanted to become an Espada anytime soon or be of some help to the rest of the fraccion, she needed to get stronger. Sure, she's come a long way via her adventures but, it wasn't enough. Kuroi was...cruel, but who the hell cares about that when you're training?! At least he was nice enough to spar with her...?

The teal haired arrancar girl was already waiting for the Segunda in the Menos Forest. She made a point to be early cause, she didn't wanna piss him off! Asuka wasn't scared. She just didn't want to end up with a bigger hollow hole like last time! She knew he'd be pissed at her if she kept him waiting and he was cruel. Pissing off the cruel Espada was a bad, bad idea. She was perched atop of a boulder in a small clearing with zanpakuto in each hand.

[Zou ۞]

Kuroi despised every little inch of Asuka's weakness. Time and time again she disappointed him by barely managing to scrape against low level scum, the weakest of the enemies. She was a part of his Fraccion. He'd thought that she'd naturally grow if he just left her alone in his Fraccion, bringing her on the hard missions. As it turned out, such was untrue. Asuka hadn't grown very much. Her growth was slow, whereas he'd expected it to be fast. It was too slow for Kuroi's liking. She'd probably die before getting to where he wanted her. This meant that Kuroi wasn't even going to bother allowing Asuka to do as she pleased all alone, anymore. He was just going to go ahead and force her to get stronger.

While in his room in Las Noches, he was simply interrogating someone for Kouhai. Kouhai had been sending Kuroi out a lot more lightly, probably out of the same fear of him that he'd had for a while. Kuroi knew that Kouhai was afraid. He was losing his grip on Kuroi, because Kuroi just kept getting stronger. Already, he probably didn't even realize the full margin of Kuroi's growth. Those C-weapons really did help out. However, the new weapons that Kuroi had seen hints of during his travels looked even more promising, though he doubted that he'd see them for well over another century at the very least. That was just the way that things went.

While in his room, Kuroi finished interrogating. This man had yielded no answers, and had assumed that Kuroi needed him alive. "There are others that will speak." Kuroi said. He turned a knob on the table that he had the man propped up on. Instantly, flames rose up, taking him out. The man died screaming as flames killed him, the agony seeping to his very core. With that, Kuroi was done with his interrogations. He figured that now it was time to go and see Asuka, who had probably arrived early so as not to anger Kuroi. She was right to have been punctual, Kuroi would have killed her if she was late. He flicked his hand, and a Garganta tore open. He stepped into it, and it closed behind him. He waited for a few moments, since to him it worked sort of like an elevator.

After a few minutes, the Garganta opened, and Kuroi stepped into into Menos Forest, at that place around the rocks, the general meeting place that he'd assigned to his training spar with Asuka. He looked at her as he got there, his hands in his pockets. Kuroi didn't even bother saying anything to her, no words of wisdom just yet. Then, he finally spoke. "Attack me." Kuroi said. "Thepurpose of this training is to make you stronger. If you fall behind, or if you cannot keep up with my training to begin with, I will kill you."

SPOILER: Click to show

Strength - [200{1/2}(100)] Points

Speed - [400] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [300] Points

Reiatsu Strength - [250{x2}(500)] Points

Light Aura - [0] Points

Dark Aura - [100] Points

Instinct - [100] Points

Senses [100] Points

Energy sensory - [50] Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points


Total SP: 1400 Points

[Deleted]

"Well, Las Noches....it was nice knowing you."

Kill. That was such a nice word for what he was ACTUALLY going to do to her. He was going to slaughter her like some animal! The purpose of this training is to make you stronger. If you fall behind, or if you cannot keep up with my training to begin with, I will kill you." Daunting? Oh yes. But..

..Challenge accepted! Her mission as to keep up! Asuka unsheathed the hilt of her zanpakuto and revealed the kodachi blades. There was one in each hand. She launched herself from the boulder at Kuroi. She'd slash at his chest with both blades. She knew he'd either block or dodge this. If he blocked, she'd kick his chest as a means to give herself a little distance for another attack. If he dodge, she'd lasso one of her whips around a branch of a nearby tree while lashing at him with the other whip.

SPOILER: Click to show

Strength - [100] Points

Speed - [100] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [70] Points

Reiatsu Strength - [70] Points

Light Aura - [50] Points

Dark Aura - [50] Points

Instinct - [70] Points

Senses [60] Points

Energy sensory - [60] Points

Healing Expertise - [50] Points

[Zou ۞]

Not bad. She had strategies well planned. But, it wasn't good enough. Kuroi slammed his fist into Asuka's blade, drawing the left fist out of his pocket to do so. His fist clashed with her blade, which raked across it to generate sparks. Unfortunately, Asuka's blade did no damage. The marginal difference in their reiatsu strength meant that Asuka couldn't damage Kuroi at all. Asuka couldn't even touch Kuroi. That made it perfect for this training. As for the other blade, he drew out his other fist, slamming that into it. Kuroi actually didn't need to defend, but he didn't want Asuka to damage his suit. It would really be a pain in the ass if his fine clothes were damaged, and so Kuroi wasn't going to allow anything of the sort.

Asuka would probably notice what was present on the back of Kuroi's hand, his number. "2" was visible right there. At least he was honest about his rank, even if he wasn't honest about how strong he was. Kuroi hid the majority of his strength, anyone in his Fraccion knew that. No one had seen anything resembling half of Kuroi's full power, short of Adalo De-Mona, though no one knew about Kuroi's numerous fights with the Quinta Espada. As Asuka kicked out towards him, Kuroi allowed her to land the kick, since it did just about no damage to him. His steel type hierro skin was so strong that it even stopped most physical attacks from hurting him if the reiatsu strength of an enemy was too weak.

Kuroi then proceeded to charge forwards with his full speed, which was far superior to Asuka's full speed. He slammed his hand into her chest, sending ripples across her breasts to unbalance her, and allowing him to drop into a round house kick to the side of her head, slamming her into a tree nearby. Kuroi then got back into a casual position with his hands in his pockets, regarding Asuka with a look of calm superiority. He was strong, that much was clear. But, he was going easy on Asuka for the purpose of this training.

"Your attacks don't have enough aggression." Kuroi said. "Noris your strategy smart enough. You put both of your blades into an attack despite my superiority in strength. You should have slashed with one blade and stabbed with the other, or simply held one in reserve so that you could use it to defend against a retaliation. Most enemies will retaliate against you if you attack them at close range, meaning that if you use both weapons, you may become open to something painful and strong."

[Deleted]

So he blocked! She was right! Once she landed, she about to attack. But, then he'd rush at her. He was incredibly fast. Then again, the difference between their speed and strength was pretty vast. He'd slam his hand into her chest and kick the side of her head. The next thing she knew, she slammed into a tree. "Your attacks don't have enough aggression." Asuka braced herself against the tree as she stood up and listened to his advice. She nodded at this. Ok so..maybe she should try it!

She was determined to land at least one hit on him. A hit that would draw blood (despite the fact that it was unlikely). Asuka hoped that sometime in the near future that she'd get taller. Kuroi was tall and she wouldn't be able to land any good hits (meaning his face) if she just ran up to him and started attacking at the level she was at now. She needed some height. So, she'd run to a small boulder that was close to him and, with one foot, jump and bounce off the boulder and slash at his neck with the blade in her right hand...

Or at least, she'd try to make it seem that way. With a simple flick of her wrists, she could easily control the whips movement. As she slashed, she'd flick her wrist so that the chord was circling around Kuroi's neck while her the blade in her left hand was ready to stab his chest. She'd quickly catch the tip of the chord with her right hand and yank back, pulling him towards her as the blade in her left hand stabbed his chest.

Once again, she was counting on him dodging or blocking...or even attacking! She was actually counting on him attacking. So once he was close enough for her to stab him with the blade in her left hand, she'd release the metal chord around his neck and hold the blade in reverse so she could defend herself. If he was going to dodge, he'd have to duck and if he did, her blade would probably meet his head.

[Zou ۞]

Good. She was putting more aggression into it. And she had a simplistic to execute, but complicated to defend against attack already. Kuroi however, was so marginally superior that her attacks couldn't actually hurt him. He wouldn't let her know that even if she were to fire a Bala into his face, he wouldn't receive any damage, but he would let her realize the difference in their battle abilities. Kuroi slammed his palm forwards, grabbing the incoming whip, which was what he noticed first. Whips were more dangerous than blades because of how exotic they were. Kuroi didn't know all of the possibilities for whips. That was why he'd grabbed that. As the blades came forwards, Kuroi moved his free arm in a quick flurry, blocking Asuka's hits with it. His hierro was strong enough that even his suit resisted the blades.

Her blades couldn't hurt his skin because of his hierro, and her low level reiatsu strength. Kuroi then proceeded to yank on the whip, letting go after yanking. This would cause Asuka to come flying towards where he was. Except, he wasn't going to be there anymore when Asuka got there. With his quick movement speed, which was nothing but a blur to Asuka, one that she would miss if she blinked, Kuroi got to her diagonal left, behind Asuka, kicking forwards into her back as she flew forwards. This would send her flying away, especially considering that even at quarter speed, Kuroi could outmaneuver Asuka, which meant that full speed didn't leave a chance.

Asuka flew past a rock, a sharp one, which would cause a scrape against her arm to draw blood, while also causing a small, barely noticeably rip in the left side hip area of her shirt. Kuroi moved forwards, kicking her in the stomach as he got there, to send her flying into another tree. He then backed off, flipping away from Asuka. Kuroi was strong, that was pretty obvious. And, Asuka wasn't exactly tough. She wasn't at nearly the same level as Kuroi, or anyone else in the Fraccion. Well, that was why he'd called her down here in the first place. To put her on the same level as everyone else.

"Your attacks are good, but you don't have the ability to get past my hand to hand usage, it seems. You must put more skill and effort into this. Your goal is to force me to use my wakizashi. Perhaps one day we can force you to learn how to fight against my zanpakuto in its sealed state. For now, you must force out my wakizashi without releasing. Your opponent should be the one that needs to release first. You should be able to kill them in sealed state if they refuse to release out of some misguided arrogance."

[Deleted]

Why oh why did she get her hopes up for that last attack? She was painfully aware of his strength...and the fact that he was using about 20% of it. Not even! Maybe 10%. He was THAT strong. No doubt about it. But a girl can try, right? She purposely aimed for kill spots because she knew she wouldn't get anywhere without at least trying and Asuka wanted to get somewhere

She noticed that Kuroi grabbed the metallic chord instead of just flicking it away. Did this mean something? Asuka would make a careful note about it. She watched him carefully. He was fast and indeed, it was nothing but a blur to her. He'd kick her back and flew forwards past a sharp rock and when had finally landed, he send her flying again! Asuka would hiss in pain, mostly from the bruise she received from that rock. It was bloody alright..but nothing she can't handle.

"Your attacks are good, but you don't have the ability to get past my hand to hand usage, it seems. You must put more skill and effort into this. Your goal is to force me to use my wakizashi." Well, at least she was doing something right. That was good to hear. She stood up and leaned against the tree and listened to the rest of his advice. She looked at the whips in her hand as she walked over to Kuroi. She was giving her attacks much more thought and that bruise? Yeah, she definitely didn't want to end up with that one again and the thought of being slammed into not one but TWO trees definitely riled her up a bit. She wouldn't attack the Espada recklessly, but she'd put forward much more energy and effort into her next attack.

She wanted him to grab to chords of her whips like last time. What if he flicked it again? Well, it was a bit of a gamble, but she'd go for it. If he had his hands full, he had to draw his wakizashi in order to defend himself! Once she thought she was close enough for her attack, she'd begin. Asuka would lash her whip at a skinny behind Kuroi and flick her wrists so that the tip would circle around the tree. She'd maneuver it in a way that a portion of the whip's long chord would wrap around one of Kuroi's wrist and immediately after, she'd do the same with her other whip and and yank back so that he was forced back to the trunk of the skinny tree. She'd gather the hilts of her whip in one hand while yanking back and fire off a bala.

She honestly didn't think that the chords would wrap around his wrists. She just wanted him to grab it while she shot out her bala. He'd use his wakizashi to block it. Well...that's what she counted on.

[Zou ۞]

Kuroi saw Asuka try to wrap him again. Odd. Why would she try the same thing twice if it hadn't worked the first time? Unless, there was an ulterior motive which only made it appear the same, and there was an extra trick to it. Or worse yet, she wanted him to do the same thing he'd done last time, because she had a counter for that now. Rather than doing that, Kuroi leaped out of the way, soaring past the whips, which wrapped around the tree as he landed on his feet, moving towards Asuka. Once again, his speed was far superior to hers. Kuroi of course had never been totally annihilated in combat by any individual, save for Shiroi Dei, who had successfully crushed him.

The 5/5 Policy had caused this. Kuroi had of course sworn that he would kill Shiroi at a later date and time, which he would indeed do. For now, however, he had to train Asuka. He hadn't told her, but he'd actually had The Baker install some sort of device for this training, which would expand both the flow of time and the gathering of experience. So, technically, if they spent several hours or days doing this training, it could equivalent to several weeks or months of training. Essentially, it would gather experience and power much faster, which meant that if Kuroi trained with Asuka long enough, he could get her to become as strong as a weaker Espada, or as strong as a weaker Captain.

This of course was Kuroi's goal. While running towards Asuka, he slammed his fist into her stomach. Once again, the difference in their speed was startling. Of course, the earlier Bala had impacted the tree rather than Kuroi, since Kuroi had been out of the way. He'd zig zagged while running towards her, to evade the Bala. As a result, his fist was able to meet with Asuka's stomach because of the speed advantage, which would toss her, rolling across the ground, and slamming against sharp rocks, one of which would probably cut across her shoulder, and another of which would hurt her butt. Her hipline tore a fraction more, but not enough to be noticed.

"If you were trying to force me to catch your whips again, or something similar, you were mistaken. Experienced opponents do not use the same attack twice, unless it is guaranteed or near guaranteed a success. You should not use the same attack twice, either, or you will be killed by experienced foes." He was training her in much the same way as he'd trained a certain human, though the difference was that it was within a smaller time frame, since Kuroi had actually given a good part of a couple of years to that human.

[Deleted]

So much much for that plan. She was tossed into lots of nice, sharp, pointy rocks. Note to self: Using the same move twice? Horrible idea.

Cuts, scratches, tears eh..It wasn't terrible. The punches were but it wasn't anything she couldn't recover from. She'd take a moment to stand up. Don't use the same move twice. Got it. Definitely. Really...that punch hurt! Whatever. Time to move on! She tightened the grip on her on hilts of whips and rushed at Kuroi. She swung both whips over her head and brought it down in a horizontal slash, cracking it. One thing about her weapon, she had a lot of flexibility with it. She could control it to move in any direction she wanted to effortlessly. Once she brought it down, she'd bring it back up in the same direction. She'd then hold the grips in reverse and flick both of her wrists so that the chords moved behind her back. She'd then use the blades on her hilts to rapidly stab Kuroi multiple times. Somewhere in between her stabs, she'd flick her wrist so that one of the whips that moved behind her back, the one on the left, would hit Kuroi's face. If he blocked or grabbed it, she'd prepare to slash him with the blade in her right hand.

[Zou ۞]

Kuroi was sorely disappointed in one thing about Asuka. Lack of instinct. She was getting back up and attacking mechanically, for the purpose of getting stronger. But, he couldn't feel any of what Hollows particularly emphasized. Kuroi, who had once fought another Espada in the early days to gain his spot, had been told one thing in particular by that Espada, who of course had been a role model of his at the same time as being a rival. Kuroi had killed him, yes, but he'd still been very strong back when Kuroi had originally taken the spot, and Kouhai had been pleased to see Kuroi's power, to see just how strong the up and coming Segunda Espada was.

Kuroi held his blade, and he exhaled, panting slightly. Blood covered him. He looked at his adversary, Segunda Espada, Shuuran Kon. Kuroi had killed the Primera only hours previously, for Kouhai had been testing his power. Kuroi, having done this, had refused the spot of Primera, and requested Segunda, which was already filled. As a result, he had to kill Shuuran as well. Shuuran was staring at Kuroi. "Do you know what separates the losers from the winners? The Kings from the Horses? The Gods from the Mortals?" he asked. Kuroi did not respond. "I once met a man who had been told this by his Inner Hollow, a Vizard. When two beings have the exact same power, ability, and capability, what is it that brings one to the top, and sends the other to the bottom? INSTINCT! THE BATTLE INSTINCT THAT ALLOWS YOU TO KILL, TO SEEK OUT BATTLE!"

Kuroi didn't really sense that from Asuka. He didn't sense that she was a seeker of battle, as was required. He'd show her, then. Kuroi moved forwards at a blinking speed, twirling in a zig zag past the blade slashes and whip slaps, slamming a palm into Asuka's chest again. Once again, her breasts rippled to offbalance her, before the full force of the hit kicked in, sending her skidding across the ground, the hipline tearing slightly again, but still not too noticeably. Kuroi took a few steps forwards, and then came to a complete stop. He looked at Asuka, his hands in his pockets. What was going to happen? Was he going to kill her? Was she unable to keep up?

He spoke, showing no intention of killing. "What is your goal, Asuka?" Kuroi asked. "Why do you seek power? Why do you want to get stronger, and what is your intention as an Arrancar?" She should be dead honest, since of course Kuroi was giving her his time, training very efficiently with her in order to make her stronger. Of course, it was only natural that Kuroi would ask this of her, to find out just what she was doing, and why she'd agreed to this training.

[Deleted]

Foiled again. Fuck. Her cuts and bruises were still stinging and being thrown across the ground didn't make things better either. This always seemed to happen. She hated that it always happened. Hated. She had always found herself complaining and being easily annoyed every time she had gone out on a mission with the team. Why? Because she knew something bad would happen. Why? Because she knew she wasn't strong enough to deal with it. Why?

Because she was weak.

She had ignored that thought for a long, long time. She just focused on trying to get stronger. Not once had she focused on the negative aspects of herself, which was something she needed to do. Weak. She was weak, weak, weak, WEAK. She hated that. She hated the feeling of it. She hated the word. She hated almost every aspect of it! "What is your goal, Asuka?" Asuka looked at him. "Why do you seek power? Why do you want to get stronger, and what is your intention as an Arrancar?"

Asuka sat up and looked at Kuroi. "You know, we all go on a lot of missions. I find myself dreading it because I know that I can barely handle it. Everyone comes out perfectly fine except me. Why? Cause I'm not strong enough and you know what? I fuckin' hate it. I always come back barely alive or...missing clothes and if I was stronger, I could come back in one piece without complaints. I'd actually be satisfied because I know that handled that mission well. I hate that enemies always think that they can take advantage of me just because I'm a weak arrancar girl. I hate that I'm the weakest link...Hell, I hate a lot of things! But why rant about that when I can do something about it? Why rant and do nothing while I can train and get stronger?" she said as she slowly picked herself off the ground. "Someday, I want to become an Espada. Not a shitty low tiered Espada. A higher tiered one...so others won't hold me in contempt. I don't even want to them to entertain that thought! And once I'm there I have someone to kill. And once he's dead, well...Let's just say I have a nice long list of people I'd like to kill.. Those are my intentions, my goals, my reasons..

She literally spilled her goals. She honestly did want to become stronger. This was no joke to her.

[Zou ۞]

Kuroi's eyes gazed over Asuka, who was far weaker than he was. His hands remained pocketed as she explained her goals to him. Sure, of course Kuroi understood that loathing. The urge to become stronger. The need to cause devastation. He had once felt the same thing. As a Human, as a Hollow. As a Gillian, an Adjuchas. He'd always wanted to grow stronger than those looking down on him. He'd killed anyone that dared to underestimate him, even. As a Hollow he took bites of Gillian. As a Gillian he took bites of Adjuchas. As an Adjuchas he killed Vasto Lorde. As a Vasto Lorde, Kuroi had been invincible. And now, as an Arrancar, his power had risen so dramatically as time went on that he could compete with enemies far beyond the normal scope.

Captains were never a match for him, and none of the Espada were even close to being his equal, not even half of his strength could be matched by any of them. Kuroi even made Kouhai tremble in fear of him sometimes, though Kouhai would never admit it. Kuroi could easily detect it. The people that he'd fought against, the people that he'd beaten. He'd tasted their hopelessness, their bittersweet blood, their tears of agony. He'd witnessed them in their most pitiful moments, or their proudest defeats. Captain after Captain had lost to Kuroi, some being unable to even force him to draw his blade. Numerous Espada had lost to Kuroi as well. He'd even beaten Zouma Santeku. Not even the former Captain Commander, Old Lightning, could defeat Kuroi.

Sure, he'd beaten up Kuroi, but Kuroi had inflicted quite a bit of damage, and inevitably escaped. Kuroi suddenly took a staring look at Asuka, his eyes unblinking as he stared over her. This might creep her out, even terrify her. That way he gazed at her was daunting. He was the strongest Espada. He didn't ask who she wanted to kill, or why. He simply wanted her to do something, and soon enough Kuroi would explain it to Asuka in terms which would hit her like a bludgeoned weapon, rather than a subtle knife. Kuroi's speaking was not something that Asuka would enjoy.

"To gain power, you must learn Despair. To learn Despair, you must face hopelessness. So I invite you now, attack me. Without releasing, hit me with the most powerful ability that you can come up with. I will show you what it is to learn Despair. You tasted some of it when you were attacked by Asa Escudo. But now, you will taste a Despair much worse than anything you've ever experienced. Not even Sonken Kouhai can teach you this. Not even the Shinigami Captain Commander will make you feel this fear...and this pain."

[Deleted]

Asuka would notice Kuroi was staring at her. She had never really been scared of him but now, she was. Without a doubt she was feeling the same fear as she felt when she was in the same room as Sonken Kouhai. Fingers were trembling and in an attempt to pull herself together, she'd tighten the grip around the hilts of both her zanpakuto.

"To gain power, you must learn Despair. To learn Despair, you must face hopelessness. So I invite you now, attack me. Without releasing, hit me with the most powerful ability that you can come up with. I will show you what it is to learn Despair. You tasted some of it when you were attacked by Asa Escudo. But now, you will taste a Despair much worse than anything you've ever experienced. Not even Sonken Kouhai can teach you this. Not even the Shinigami Captain Commander will make you feel this fear...and this pain." Despair, eh? Let's see what despair can teach her. Yeah, this was going to be a f*cking BLAST alright...Literally. She really wasn't looking forward to this. Not one bit! But if she wanted to get anywhere, she'd have to do this.

Hey, as long as she wasn't getting raped, she could deal.

Asuka nodded. Her most powerful ability? Well..let's see what she could scrape up! Asuka wanted her whip to gain more speed before she'd begin. She'd rapidly start wrapping and unwrapping the chords of the whip around her arms and shoulders. There were lots of twisting and flicking motions. At the speed her whips her moving at, any normal person wouldn't be able to touch her because the chords would hurt them. She knew it wouldn't hurt Kuroi, but she'd give it a try anyway. This would cause the her whip to gain speed as it unwrapped and as she did so, she'd rush at Kuroi. She'd unleash a barrage of slashes and accompany them with multiple stabs. Asuka wouldn't keep this up for long. She'd swerve around him and run up a tree and jump off. She was going to try to impale him from above.

[Zou ۞]

Kuroi didn't even move. Asuka's whips bounced off, having no effect. His hierro was so strong that not even his clothes were affected. Asuka's blades couldn't even scathe him. Not a single scratch appeared. Instead, her weapons shattered completely, literally turning to dust against Kuroi's skin. Nothing she could do could hurt him. As Asuka's weapon turned to dust, Kuroi slammed his palm into her face, rushing across the area with her. He dragged Asuka's body across the ground, covering in scabs, scrapes, bruises, and bloody injuries. At last, he let her go as he continued to move past her. Asuka's body was left rolling in the dirt and along the ground. Her shirt had noticeably torn, now, revealing her bare hip, though that was all.

Rips were here and there in her shirt, revealing bloody, or black and blue injuries. Kuroi stood there, towering over Asuka. He continued taking steps back towards her, each step bringing him closer and closer to Asuka. Kuroi slammed his foot down on Asuka's stomach hard enough to draw out a small puke of blood from her mouth. He kicked her aside, straight into a tree. Before Asuka could fall back down, Kuroi rushed over, grabbing her by the throat to catch her. He began to squeeze. Kuroi's vice grip was too strong for Asuka to handle. The difference between male and female physical strength made it this way, even if general strength was equal. Kuroi held her there, his cold eyes regarding her.

"Not even your boyfriend, that loathsome Shinigami, can defeat me." Kuroi said. "If I were ever to fight him, he would die. There is no power that can put his on par with mine." Kuroi dropped Asuka, letting her hit the ground in agony, dirt coming up a bit to cover her face and shirt. Kuroi turned away from her, looking upwards. "You are weak. You don't have any instinct, and you aren't even capable of using Cero. This is pitiful, utterly pathetic..." His words had to have struck home. While it was untrue that Kuroi could defeat Shinsei, who was one of the strongest in the Zero Division, there was no reason for Asuka to doubt Kuroi's ability to do so. For all she knew, he probably could win.

"Clean yourself up." Kuroi said. "Time is accelerated in here. We will be here for a month without leaving, and so no one will disturb our training. You have eight hours to rest and recover before we begin again. After that, we will resume. Your blades will require that time to fix themselves, which is another property of the field surrounding our training area." Kuroi walked away from Asuka, leaving her there. Wherever he went, she didn't know. When she looked around, Asuka couldn't find Kuroi. Presumably, he had a secret hiding spot that she didn't know about.