To master oneself [Solo Training]

[Kaen Youji]

It was raining pretty heavily, but that wasn't a deterrent to Kaen Youji. The squad 7 Vice Captain had made a journey out into the wilderness in order to train. It was said that the great martial arts masters often did such things. Kaen had set up a small tarp canopy above his head, to keep off the rain, and had prepared a small fire. Not that he had any unique survival skills, but it didn't take a genius to tie a tarp between four trees, and light a fire. Especially when you could literally shoot fireballs.

Several training posts had been thrust into the ground, although, of the seven posts, three were currently broken. Well. Two were broken. One of them was shoddily put back together. Kaen had no real intention of using it, as even a light blow would destroy it again. He was currently sitting cross legged by the fire, regarding the sword in front of him. This wasn't the first time he'd been here. This area was small, but it was good for training. He thought of the last time he had been here.

Hachiryuu felt heavy in his hand. That was wrong. A Zanpakuto-- had to be an extention of the wielder. It WAS an extention of the wielder. He had to harken back to his days at the Academy. Retrain himself. Kaen had neglected his swordsmanship for so long. He loved the purity of unarmed combat, and the thrill and excitement. But he'd become complacent. Powerful adversaries were on the horizen, and he needed to grow strong to fight them. And to fight a swordsman, it was best to know how they fought. He needed a weapon to fight a swordsman. No. Not merely a weapon.

A technique....

Kaen poured himself some tea from the pot above the fire he'd lit. He had spent two weeks out here, honing his swordsmanship. Practicing the art of drawing, and the basic sword techniques. Finally, after two weeks of practice he'd come up with the concept. It had come to him, watching a hawk chase a swallow. The hawk was fast, but the swallow was agile, darting around and evading it. Thus Kaen had come up with it. The Darting Swallow Cut.

But he had returned again. He sat cross-legged on the ground and sipped his tea quietly. He had come to improve himself once again. It was good that he had discovered the Darting Swallow Cut. But, there was one last thing he had to do. Could he apply his knowledge of that technique to his martial arts?

Kaen finished his cup of tea, and put it down, before approaching a training post. He would have to find out, he supposed.... and the only way to do so, would be by training!

[Kaen Youji]

Warming up was an essential part of training. Kaen always started out slow for training, and worked his way up. He was using the broken post as a measurement. When it rebroke, he knew he would be fully warmed up. He assumed Karate's horse stance. Impractical for actual combat in most situations, but engaged the muscles. Kaen took a deep breath-- held it, and then released, sinking down into Shiko-Dachi, a low horse stance, with the feet spaced more widely apart. Kaen pondered a moment, looking at the training post. Slowly and evenly, he chambered both fists at his hip and extended one to just lightly tap the post. A very slow, measured gyaku zuki. Then, as if with a pulley motion, he brought that fist back, bringing the other one forwards, slightly faster, slightly stronger, and did the same thing. His eyes were sharp, and he felt every motion of the punch, checking for any imperfection in his technique. No matter how skilled one became, they could always become stronger. Kaen was still quite young, by shinigami standards, not even two hundred years old. He knew that, if he lived long enough, he would grow much stronger than he was now.

Now.... breathe.[/color] Kaen struck. This was not slow, but not fast either. Not strong, but not weak. It was a definitive punch, rather than just slowly moving in the motion of a punch. He struck the post, and it shuddered, but did not break. Again.[/color] Kaen's fist struck forward again, impacting the post and it shuddered once more. Again![/color] Another blow that shuddered the post. Kaen threw another punch, striking the post with a loud kiai as he struck.

Crack

Kaen looked at the post. It had leaned back from his blow. He'd gone too hard too fast. Kaen sighed and left it like that, slowly shifting back to his proper horse stance, and then into a casual one. No, that training post was useless for his purposes. Kaen turned away from it. "Some kata, then." He voiced his intention aloud, and shifted into musubi dachi, a formal stance, with the heels together and toes pointed away at an angle. He bowed to his imagined opponent and declared the name of his kata. Start with the basics. The basics were often the hardest to perfect, but also the most crucial. "Heian Nidan!" Kaen declared, shifting to Heikou Dachi.

First is....[/color] Kaen shifted one leg sideways, into kokutsu dachi, and performed an outside chest block, bringing his opposite arm up, near his head. He then delivered two swift blows to his imaginary foe-- a gyaku zuki with his raised arm, and then a tetsui. He paused half a moment, then turned to repeat this process on the opposite side, as though fending off a second attacker. Kaen immediately shortened his stance, bringing his feet together, and brought his extended arm into his chest. He delivered a swift side kick, and then turned ninety degrees, extending his stance into kokutsu dachi again, and shifting his hands into the form for a shuto strike, one hand in front of him for defence, the other chambered at his side.

Stepping forwards off his back leg, Kaen brought his chambered hand up across his body and forwards, deflecting his adversary's attack and striking them with a single motion. His opposite hand flew back to chamber at his belly. He paused half an instant, before performing the sequence, but then immediately flowed into a nukite strike to his target's solarplexis. Pausing only half a moment, Kaen then spun two hundred and seventy degrees, delivering another shuto strike. Stepping off at a thirty degree angle, Kaen repeated the technique again. Breathe. Breathing is of utmost importance.[/color] He reminded himself.

He then repeated the process, spinning two seventy degrees and striking twice with Shuto again, stepping off thirty five degrees for the second strike, as though his opponent had dodged his first Shuto by sidestepping. Pause. Kaen initiated a fluorishing motion, turning back towards the direction his attacks had carried him, with another outside chest block. Mae Geri! The thought mirrored his action, as Kaen allowed his kick to explode forwards. Had he been fighting a real opponent, and not the imaginary adversary, created for the purposes of the kata, they would likely have a foot-shaped hole in their abdomen from the kick. Despite this, he followed it with a powerful reverse punch, unleashing a kiai at the conclusion of the blow.

In an instant, Kaen's punch bent, and shifted into another block. Again...[/color] Kaen repeated the process. A kick, and then a punch. Then Kaen stepped forwards, planting his fist into his own elbow and performing an augmented chest block. Pause. Kaen then spun and delivered gedan bari-- a low blow. Then he stepped off and performed jodan age uke-- the rising block. Spin 180 degrees, and repeat! Pause. Kaen breathed deeply through his nose, as he took one step back, bringing his hands down to his side, in Heiko dachi again. He waited for one moment further, before bringing his feet together and bowing again.

Good. But not nearly good enough. Kaen's eyes gazed into the falling rain, but he was not looking at it. More like he was looking through it. Beyond it. "Let's do that again." He decided. Kata were an integral part of Karate. It was training that one could do when they were alone, perfecting technique and strengthening their bodies. Some accused kata of being ineffective for training, but they were rigorous, and not a single imperfection in a kata could be allowed. They helped the user focus. Or at least they did for Kaen. He was able to feel the flow of his energy. Every twitch of his muscle fell into his control. Kaen smiled a little. It was that feeling that had originally been the core of his barrier stance technique.

"Yes. Again." He decided aloud.

[Kaen Youji]

Kaen practiced his kata for two hours. Two grueling hours, of constantly checking his form. Every technique, every step, every stance, was graded with the eye, and senses of a Karate master. Speed was not a necessity for kata. Perfection of form was. Pacing was. Breathing was. Every movement had to be meticulously perfect. Timing was key. Of course, at Kaen's level of mastery, he could still perform the kata quite quickly, and to even a highly skilled Karateka he would seem to have no imperfections in his form. But to Kaen's eyes, even at his level, there were countless, imperfections that would seem insignificant to those fighters, and sought to correct them as they appeared.

Still, even he had to rest sometime. The rain was beginning to clear up. That meant, he could continue on to his next set of training! Kaen took a break from the Kata and moved towards his pack. He opened it and extracted a long, length of rope from the pack, before moving towards a medium sized tree. He looped the rope around the tree once and then knotted it tightly, tugging on it once or twice to check it was secured. Finding it was, Kaen gave a satisfied nod and windmilled his arms for a few moments, and stretched his legs out. "Yosh! Let's go! Seionage drills!" He said grabbing the length of rope and facing the tree, gripping the rope not unlike he'd grip his uke's sleeve and gi for training. Then he casually spun into the tree and flexed forwards, slowly and gently. He repeated this three or four times, checking his technique.

Then Kaen spun into the tree again. Slowly, like before. But there was a greater purpose in his movement. Pressing his hips against the tree, Kaen pushed back at the hips, while pulling with his arms. Slowly. Slowly. Slowly. Not rushing into this, to avoid injury. Kaen exhaled slowly as he did this. There was a ripping and tearing sound, as the tree began to become uprooted from the throw. And then, it tore free, being tossed over Kaen's shoulder, and smashing down on the ground.

Kaen frowned and inspected the tree. Good! It was a strong tree. Although some branches had snapped, it had survived the throw. Kaen quickly lifted the tree, pushing it back up again, before spinning back into it. Faster this time. The tree struck the ground again. And again. Over and over, Kaen practiced his seionage throw. This, he did for half an hour, before shifting gears. But he retained his technique. Using the rope, Kaen was able to practice multiple throws, including O Goshi, and Harai Goshi against his wooden, and very heavy uke. Even Kaen's formidable strength alone would not have been able to throw the tree with the lack of effort he was demonstrating. Jiujitsu was a game of leverage. That was what Kaen was applying to the tree. His strength allowed him to move it, but his Jiujitsu made the movements easy, efficient and nearly without effort.

[Iro Kuchiki]

Just let someone know when you're ready for TP grading

[Kaen Youji]

(ooc: Aye sir, I shall. Aiming for 50 paras, but not planning on stopping until I have at least 20)

Once again, Kaen trained for a long time. By the time he completed this, the sun was beginning to set. Ceasing his training for a moment, he returned to his fire. "Oof." He exclaimed as he sat down, stretching his arms. "What was that? 4? 5 hours of training? I'll have to do another session before I sleep." Besides, taking a break was good. It'd let Kaen think, and plan out some more. He checked the training posts again. He had come here to find an epiphany. Devise a new technique for the purpose of combatting the stronger foes he might encounter. Darting Swallow Cut had been a step in the right direction. But a blade wasn't his style. Kaen still preferred hand to hand combat.

He needed an unarmed technique for the purpose. A technique that could be used as a last resort finisher. A technique that could finish an opponent in one blow. Oh, sure. He had techniques that could finish an opponent. Gokuinken. Sakuretsu Ken. Gokken. But, with the exception of Gokuinken, it just wasn't right. Didn't feel in the spirit of martial arts. An attack that would finish an opponent under his own power. Kaen thought on that idea. He began to prepare a meal for himself, while he thought.

What techniques do I know? What can I work with?[/color] He wondered, searching his mind for inspiration. He thought through his techniques. Reverse punch? Mae Geri? O-Goshi? Seioinage? Shuto.... Hmm.... Shuto maybe. Save that one. Nukite... that one has promise too."[/i] By the time his meal was prepared, Kaen had mentally decided to work on perfecting his Nukite technique. The spear hand strike.

Nukite was a niche technique in Karate, because of both the difficulty in landing it, as well as the risk of injury to the user. Striking an improper target with nukite could cause damage to the user's fingers, with minimal injury to an opponent. For normal people. Kaen acknowledged that he had surpassed the limits of a normal person long ago. His body was superhuman. He was twelve times stronger than a normal man, and fifteen times faster. He was certain he could use it.

Kaen approached a training post. They were, of course, no comparison to a real target, but Kaen was not a samurai, and could hardly bring himself to drag someone from the Rukongai to practice on. "SHI!" Kaen released his Kiai, as he struck the dummy with Nukite, using all his strength and speed, concentrating his force on the tip of his fingers, hand as rigid as a strip of iron. Though padded, the wooden training post could not withstand Kaen's attack, and was completely split in two, by the Nukite strike. The two pieces of the wooden post clattered to either side, split cleanly along the grain.

Kaen frowned. "No." That was nothing more than sheer destruction. It was not the desired result, though a normal human would have been astounded at the power of his thrust. Kaen however, knew it was no different than a normal nukite strike. "It's not enough. Not yet." He stated, approaching another training post. "TSYAA!" This time his Nukite thrust was horizontal. Though it did not split the post like before, Kaen embedded his hand deeply into the post. He pondered.

It was the right idea. But wrong concept. Again, this was a normal Nukite thrust. He had to make it better. Improve the technique. An image of Karate's reverse punch shifted through his mind. "Maybe...." Kaen aimed for a different point on the same post. "ORAAAH!" He performed a vertical thrust again, but this time, turned his hand at the point of impact. The result was a twisted wreck of a hole in the wood, but it did not split. Kaen had concentrated his force onto a single point with his rotation, altering it, and preventing collateral damage. He grinned. One step closer.

[Kaen Youji]

Hours passed as Kaen worked on perfecting his technique. Already he had made significant progress. In several of the training dummies there were relatively clean holes struck through them, as if, perhaps, a cannonball had blown through them, without causing collateral damage. Wasn't enough. Not yet. But Kaen knew that even the greatest fighters needed to rest sometimes. He popped his neck from side to side and strteched as he walked away from his last practice target. Also... he was out of targets to use.

Kaen returned to his Kata for the time being, and as he fell into the familiar forms of the Heian kata, his mind drifted easily, as he contemplated his own style. Formidable enemies were on the rise, and he needed to be able to address them. He needed to become stronger, each and every day. Not for Enma. Not for Squad 7. Not even for Soul Society, but for himself. That was his purpose. To see the absolute limits of his ability. What was his potential? Was it enough that he could one day stand among Soul Society's greats?

Or was this it? Was the position of Vice Captain as far as he could tread? There was no shame in admitting your limits, Kaen acknowledged. If this was as far as his power could reach that was fine. Kaen, in truth, did not truly want to achieve the rank of Captain. That would be too much work. Kaen enjoyed the privileges and benefits being a Vice Captain allowed him, but in the back of his mind, he could picture the paperwork on his desk building up even in the few short days he had taken for this training excursion. And no doubt it was even moreso for the captain-- though Enma never got out.

As he thought, Kaen already found himself at the completion of the kata, and took a seat to eat. Only now did he notice blood seeping out from under his fingernails and the torn skin on his knuckles. He'd been training hard indeed. He'd have to address that before eating. He had no real first aid knowledge, but he did manage to clean off the blood, and essentially waiting for the nails to blood again, before cleaning that as well. Twisting and turning. Increase penetration without widening the surface area. A precise tool, like a knife. I want a knife not a cleaver. A screwdriver, not a hammer..... hmm. That's not a bad analogy. A screwdriver...[/color] Kaen thought on his new technique as he ate.

Ah. But then there were the more advanced thrusting techniques, that used individual fingers, rather than the entire hand. Perhaps one of those could serve his purposes just as well as the entire hand. Of course, the key would be to extend from a single finger, perhaps, to multiple fingers. This would allow Kaen a form of control in the damage he inflicted, from precision strikes to avoid killing, or create the exact would he wanted, to a lethal blow that could incapacitate an enemy instantly. It could be a wonderfully versatile technique if he could use it correctly.

But he had to learn it first.

After eating and checking his minor injuries, Kaen got back up. Hmm. He'd also need more targets for this to work. He rose up and began to head into the trees to scavenge for materials. A full training dummy wasn't necessary. Some flat pieces of wood would work just fine if he could find them. Kaen couldn't help but grin in spite of himself. He enjoyed training. He just did. The pursuit of strength was in itself a goal. Sometimes the means to an end, could become an end in itself.

[Kaen Youji]

It had been a long time since Kaen had been here. A lot had changed. Ultimately the training, although good for his technique and body, had been fruitless-- though the practice he had done here had been invaluable in developing the Shattering Palm technique which Kaen now counted upon to combat foes much stronger than himself. He was a changed person since he'd last come here, and much had happened. Still.... Still. Kaen pondered as he looked at the clearing. These long solo training sessions were good for introspection. You never learned quite like you did when you were questioning yourself. Questioning everything. When last he had stood in this clearing, Kaen had been wondering how far he could go. Now he had other concerns. Concerns that extended beyond selfish personal ambitions.

Could Kaen yet stand among the greats of Soul Society? Maybe. Perhaps there was potential for that. But such a goal would never measure up to his personal ambitions. There were yet two he wished to surpass, and he felt as if he never would. The Empress, the lieutenant of Squad 7, Rin Minamimoto had defeated him so many times... His best friend, but had always managed to make Kaen feel his abilities were not worthy of the mantle he currently held. Had made him decide his skills were not good enough. How could he be Vice Captain of the 7th when he had failed to ever truly even challenge the previous Lieutenant of the 7th. She who-- if her story to him served, had fought no less than seven foes of Kaen's caliber at once and defeated all of them without so much as releasing her Zanpakuto? And Enma-- whom character aside, had surpassed her in strength still?

How could Kaen possibly claim to ask the mantle of Squad 7, when he was as yet less than 1/7th as powerful as someone who themselves could not best its former Captain. No... less than that. He could make that claim, had Rin actually used her full strength to win that battle, but she had done so barehanded. Kaen didn't merely not amount to less than 1/7th of Rin's full strength, but less than 1/7th of her ability without even using her Zanpakuto. How pitiful the division would be if such a feeble Shinigami were to step up and claim the position of Captain. Kaen's own pride got in the way, despite what the Fourth Division Shinigami Fuuko had been telling him. At the end of the day... Maybe it was just Kaen being self-conscious. Unwilling to put his neck out, when he didn't think he was up to the task. And besides... others didn't believe in him either. Shizuyoko being the most vocal of them, but Kimiko Shihoin as well, who seemed to have made a stellar turnaround and become an entirely respectable Captain.

Without really thinking about it, Kaen's fist crashed into one of the training dummies, shaking it violently. His body moved almost without thought, transitioning between various forms and techniques, at one moment practicing Karate's direct, powerful and aggressive motions, then seamlessly changing to Jiujitsu's fluid, evasive and circular footwork, and then again into the high-intensity and unorthodox Hakuda kicks and spins. Even as his body robotically moved through various sequences, his mind was not there.

Where did that strength come from. He knew Rin worked hard for her strength, it was one of the things he admired about her. How she worked furiously to make sure that she was strong enough to back up her elitist talk. But he did too. Kaen trained just as furiously, just as tirelessly in the pursuit of catching up to the Empress and surpassing her. So why hadn't he? She was a tiny bit older than him, but that couldn't be it either, Kaen saw many new Shinigami catching up to him with tremendous speed-- Celes being one of them. Celes was so much younger than Kaen, and yet she'd proved every inch a terrifying threat to him in his own field of combat.

Was it genetics? ...Maybe. But if the Noble bloodlines of Soul Society were to be believed, then Kaen shouldn't have any problems with that either. Instruction? No, Kaen had been trained by some of the best instructors in a generation. What was it? What was the difference. Why was it, no matter how hard he worked, what avenues he tried, what ideas he came up with, the strength Kaen desired constantly eluded him!?

A kick cleaved a rock in two like a blade, and a spearhand pierced through another like the tip of a pickaxe. What was he lacking!? "HAH!" Kaen slammed a foot into the dirt, and a small tremor emitted around his training zone. The Shinigami tried to breathe evenly, but it was coming in short, and angry bursts. You're weak The voice in the part of his soul he didn't like to listen to said. Your mind is weak. Your resolve is weak. Your spirit is weak. So how did he strengthen these things then? Was this what it was to be stronger? How did he do that?

Kaen grit his teeth in frustration when he suddenly heard a sound, and looked towards it. A pair of leering eyes pierced out from the gloom. Of course. This far out into the wilderness, it was small surprise that he'd encounter a Hollow. It was a sizeable one too, bipedal with a pair of four scythelike arms, and a forward curving horn like a sword blade emerging from the top of its head. The creature stood perhaps twelve feet tall, slightly over twice Kaen's height, and was built powerfully-- corded, whiplike muscles displayed. The creature was probably fast. Probably strong.

But was it as fast and strong as Kaen? Kaen sighed at the creature. "Go away. Only warning." He grunted at it. The Hollow's eyes fixed on Kaen, and its eyes gleamed with malicious delight. "Why would I do that Shinigami? You are tired from your training routine, and you are strong. You are ideal prey for me to evolve. After I devour you I will be a step closer to Vasto Lorde." Kaen looked at the creature, his frustration preventing him from even being able to banter-- though he could have thought up a few witty one liners if he hadn't been.

"Fine. Let's get this over with. I could use a punching bag anyways." The Hollow lunged, and Kaen had to concede its speed. Its first talon sliced through the air, nearly as fast as Kaen himself-- a speed of 600, but he ducked beneath it. A second talon cut diagonally, and Kaen stepped away from that one too, aiming to close the distance with the beast and kill it quickly. But the Hollow was more agile than Kaen gave it credit for, and it too a half-step back, slashing at him from two angles with its remaining limbs, and Kaen was forced to dart away, out of reach.

To the Shinigami's surprise though that alone was not enough, as a pair of sickle-like blades of wind lashed from the Hollow's talons at him, and Kaen sprang airborne, to avoid them both, twisting between them like some strange dance move. Scarce had his feet touched ground when the Hollow was upon him again, scything at him relentlessly, wind blades flying, now the beast never striking with less than two talons at a time. Kaen's hand moved half-way to his Zanpakuto, but he stopped. No. He wanted to beat this thing to death with his bare hands.

The talons were sharp, Kaen couldn't catch them bare handed, but he could try to deflect them, and so he did, ducking under one and slamming it into the path of another. He felt surprising resistance (600 strength), comparable, but not greater than his own, but his maneuver did force the Hollow's blade aside and cause its limbs to crash together. For an instant the beast faltered as it sought to disentangle its arms and Kaen struck, slamming his fist into the creature's side with such force that it rent out a chunk of the Hollow's flesh. The Hollow roared in fury, lashing at Kaen with a barbed tail, but Kaen somersaulted away. The beast attempted to pursue, but Kaen was adapting to its patterns now. Never staying on-line with its strikes, never staying in one place, constantly using the acrobatics and footwork of Hakuda to stay just off-center, forcing the creature to adapt, forcing its limbs to get in its own way. And then...

Crunch

Kaen struck with a yamazuki that shattered the Hollow's elbow joint, one of its limbs slumping aside. Three limbs remaining, Kaen began to push in again. The Hollow tried to use its tail to regain its advantage but the appendage was forced to move in much more predictable and telegraphed directions compared to its primary limbs that Kaen avoided it with ease. It swept in low, while two talons carved in from above. Kaen leaped off the ground, springing forwards. His fist crashed into the Hollow's sternum, hurling the beast away. As it flew back, it shot a Cero at Kaen, but its dominant physical might had come at the cost of weaker spiritual strength.

Kaen hammered the Cero away with his bare hand, only enduring burns on his forearm. A pair of wind blades sliced at him, but he twisted above them, then kicked off a tree to evade a third, relentlessly chasing down the Hollow. CRACK He caught another of its limbs, bracing it with one hand, and slamming his knee into the beast's elbow joint, to break another limb. Now armed with only two remaining limbs, the battle became increasingly one-sided.

The lieutenant of Squad 7 was merciless but not cruel. The creature, although fast, was not as fast as Kaen, its additional limbs proving the only thing that had kept Kaen at bay. With only two limbs now, the Shinigami could easily avoid its strikes and get close. He feinted with a punch at the creature's chest, and when it shifted to defend itself, he vanished. Shunpo. The Hollow had little time to register where Kaen was, before the Shinigami appeared directly behind it, seizing its head in his hands. "I warned you." He stated, coldly.

SNAP

The Hollow's head was wrenched and its neck shattered. Hachiryuu left its sheath only and solely for the purposes of Konso on the poor creature, dissembling its soul and allowing it to return to the Soul Cycle. While it had provided Kaen with good practice, he was feeling no better afterwards. Something like this didn't prove his strength, but who could he ask that did. He wasn't sure Celes or Kimiko would understand, and even if they did, they didn't possess the power he sought. Kuroi Naito had not been seen in some time, and even if he hadn't, it wasn't like Kaen could just stroll into Las Noches for a chat (and even if he could, Kuroi wouldn't have exactly been willing to answer). Shizuka maybe? But the woman herself hadn't seemed to possess the answers he sought. Enma was gone as well, and while there was always reaching out for the Empress, Kaen knew she had other things she had to deal with, and he was not about to burden her with his problems too.

Ah, but there was one. One person, one singular individual that perhaps Kaen could indeed go to now. One person that nobody in Soul Society could deny the power of. Maybe. Just maybe.... there was one person against whom Kaen could gain the measure of his power. One person whom Kaen could use as a benchmark of how far he had come. Kaen looked around the training site. He hadn't been here long. No more than twenty minutes, but he felt it had already served its purpose. He had come up with no new ingenious techniques, and frankly, twenty minutes was embarrassingly short for training, but no. No Kaen felt he knew what he had to do now. He didn't need this place right now.

What Kaen needed was a fight, and not just any fight, but one with the only individual he could fight right now that none in Soul Society could deny the strength of. Kaen had to seek him out, and challenge him. Maybe then he could settle his raging mind. Maybe then he could do what needed to be done. Maybe then Fuuko would stop yelling at him to get his shit together. Maybe. A lot of maybe's. But there was really only one way for Kaen to figure it out. So. Onwards.

[Camila Adaronde]

Counted 40 paragraphs, so that’ll be 200 TP!