Pressure Control - Part 2

Two years ago — before Timothy's and his companions' journey resumed; Craftsman Island.

Bruno shielded both of Kira's attacks as she walked and punched forward twice. She altered her motion by crouching and kicking obliquely toward the ground. Bruno leaped over and took a step back as Kira quickly maneuvered into another strike in front of her. Bruno was able to protect it with his forearm.

Bruno's hands were wealing from the hits, and their attacks had pressure behind them. She swerved and evaded Bruno as he squirmed at her face with his fist. She writhed, trying to ram her instep into Bruno's face with her flailing leg. While Kira attempted to crush his head with her knuckles, he squatted.

They exchanged fist-to-fist strikes and riled up the wind. It bumbled through the room, blowing the soft furniture and items. The door opened, and Kou, accompanied by Luca, entered.

"You two don't know when to stop..." claimed Luca. It passed a week since Kou returned to Craftsman Island, and his rest finally closed.

Bruno and Kira fixed their sleeves, Bruno putting on his gloves, "It's a daily training session. Ever since the trouble at the Forbidden Chain, we decided to make this sort of a tradition. You should train too, Luca. Don't be lazy." Bruno walked toward the table and grabbed a glass of water, leaning against the wall and drinking it. "Bruno's right! I sure got myself nearly killed!" Kira giggled, surprised at Kira's reaction, "You're excited about getting your butt kicked?" Kou inquired, rubbing his cheek.

"Surely!" she responded as Bruno followed, unimpressed, "She got her ass kicked by your captain. It's gotten her jealous." Kira growled, freaking out in disappointment, "I got my ass whooped because of Niklas and his hopeless shadow powers. Don't blame me for losing." Bruno tilted his head aside, "If I recall, you fought the ice girl with those powers. You became an actual ragdoll without them. We could've played volleyball with you."

Kira became distracted and dumbfounded. She scratched her forehead, dizzy, "Oh, yeah... I did get my ass kicked. But, hey!" she pounded her palm, "At least I got fun out of it! Next time, I'm kicking *his* ass!" Bruno looked through the window, taking a sip of water and finishing his sentence, "I doubt it..."

Kira angrily goggled into Bruno's eyes, "What do you mean 'doubt it?' I know I can!" Bruno tried to drink water normally, but he couldn't contain some of his peals of laughter. "I don't want to be delirious, but he's planning to train for two years. He'll grow stronger." Kou responded, hoping Kira wouldn't get upset at him. And luckily, she took it lightly, "Then I'll just train twice as hard." She reasoned, crossing her arms on her chest.

Bruno glimpsed at Kou calmly, thoughts of curiosity running through his mind, "I wonder... I've never seen Tim properly with my own eyes. But if he managed to face the foremost agent's leader equally... he must be tougher than we imagine." He changed the subject and confronted Kou, "So, you want to train with us, kiddo?" Kou nodded, sharing his grave eyes with Bruno, "Then we'll have to work on your body durability first. Your puny arms and legs can't withstand more intense pressure." Bruno explained, putting the glass of water on the countertop.

"We'll work on your pressure regulation once your body has become more durable. Naturally, you won't be able to exert all of the pressure right first, and after two years, you might not even be able to. But if you continue your daily practice, I'm confident you'll be able to master it. We'll make a list of the activities and exercises you should prioritize when you get back on the sea."

"I'll do whatever you ask of me," Kou stated, expressing his determination to the others, and for a few seconds, they exchanged eyes, "I promise."

Bruno shrugged his shoulders, grinning slightly, and straightened his stance. He pointed outside the window and shut his eyes, "Then start with 100 pushups." Kou's mind exploded, "Ehh?!" getting caught off guard and surprised. "100?! I can barely do 30!" However, Bruno showed no interest, "Overwork yourself. You might be a kid, but don't think I'll go easy on you." Kou became stressed and frustrated, "I'm not a kid!"

Bruno snapped with his fingers, "You're not a man until you do 100 pushups without breaking a sweat! If you're so keen on wanting to be a "man," hurry up and get to working." Kou's ears and nose released steam as he complained, "Fine! I'll do it!"

-

Kou began performing pushups on the hard floor while Bruno watched.

The first 30 pushups came easily for him, but as the number increased, his body started to ache. At 50 pushups, he slowed down and noticed that his arms were a weak, squishy mess. Bruno, knowing it was difficult for Kou, nevertheless pushed him to make any kind of physical improvement. However, Bruno did his best to maintain his composure and only raised his voice when necessary despite his commitment to sweetening Kou's body.

"Speed it up, kid! You'll never progress in time with the pace you're going!" Bruno exclaimed, irritating Kou, who looked at him upset, covered in sweat. "I'm trying! You're making it sound easy just cause you've done it before!" Bruno placed his foot on Kou's back and pressed him against the floor, "W-What the hell?!"

"Every time you slow down even for a little. You'll lose one meal a day." Kou observed Bruno's terrifying eyes, "What? How am I supposed to have the energy to do it if I can't eat?" Bruno continued pressing Kou on the floor, "That's your job to figure out. Now, hurry up and do another 50 pushups! You have 10 minutes. If you don't make it in time, you'll have to do another 100."

Kou's eyes shook as sweat dripped down his face and splashed on the floor, "Okay! Okay! I'm going! Just get your foot off me!" Bruno removed his foot as Kou began doing pushups, struggling more than expected. He managed to do a few pushups every minute, and he couldn't even feel his own arms. "You've done 67! Keep going! You have 2 minutes left!" Kou groaned in pain, muttering in his head. "T-This is unfair!"

On the first day, Kou barely managed to do 100 pushups in time. However, he still needed to do another 50 situps and a 5-kilometer run, which for him felt impossible.

But through time, Kou started to adapt and successfully started to progress. While Bruno concentrated on improving Kou's body, Kira taught him more about combat. Luca, on the other hand, helped him learn everything about migration.

Kou's studies were written into a notebook, and each day he could only rest for 2 hours. If he failed any of the exercises, he wouldn't be able to eat, and in the beginning, he had to do more and more training sessions as a punishment. But Bruno ensured to keep Kou well rested and prevented him from getting exhausted to death.

Despite being a kid and understanding he had penalties, Kou did as told and didn't seem to loathe anyone. He wanted to improve as much as possible. And when the pressure control arrived as a new training session, Kou started to learn how to balance his power more efficiently without overcharging it or harming his body parts. However, even though his physical exercises became a piece of cake, he still could not exert too much force and secured himself to avoid damaging himself.

As the first year passed, Kou grew some muscle and even started running in the morning for 10 kilometers daily. Bruno, Kira, and Luca observed him and started becoming proud.

And when it came to combat training, the most unexpected thing happened.

Kira strode forward, punching in Kou's direction, while he ducked underneath and guarded her fist by knocking it away with his forearm. Kira rapidly delivered several assaults, but unlike before, Kou managed to avoid each one. He started improving more at movement and protecting, unlike the year before it. However, he still had struggles that he needed to fix before the next year.

"Kou!" Bruno's shout interrupted their training and stopped them from continuing, "I want you to control your pressure and deliver a heavy attack without contacting Kira's torso." Kou's eyes shook and so did Kira's, "You can't be serious, Bruno! He's going to break his arm if he does that." She tried to reason with him, but Bruno had no intentions of changing his mind, "Well, if he does, then I guess he's not ready." Kou listened, comprehending he had to learn how to control his powers, "It's alright, Kira. I'll just have to prove him differently."

Kira traded eyes with Kou, breathing in and out, "You're a stubborn kid." She prepared herself and observed Kou's motion. "If I can't avoid breaking my bones, then I have no right to be a part of Tim's crew."

He pulled back his arm, turned his torso slightly to the side, and elevated his fist near his chest for the knuckles to come in the cross of Kira's chest. "Do not create a whirlwind, but a blast of wind resembling a bullet. You shouldn't spread the energy around like wildfire. Aim for Kira's cleavage, and don't miss. It's to help your accuracy." Kou looked at Bruno, confused, "But I don't want to hurt her."

Bruno folded his arms, locking his eyes onto Kou's stressed expression, "Don't mess up, and you won't." Kira knew she was bound to be hit no matter what, but her memories worried her, remembering that Kou destructively caused an entire wreckage upon defeating Niklas.

She couldn't hide the sweat trickling down her cheeks, but she seemed fine, "Kou. I'm sure you can do it. I trust you." As Kou earned her trust, Kou concentrated and nodded, "There's no way I can hurt her... I'm sure Bruno will interrupt if things go wild. But I sure the hell won't screw it up! There's no way I can mess it up after an entire year of training."

Kou's energy flickered in a flash, and the mint energy enveloped his arm. "If he spreads his entire energy through his whole arm, he won't unleash an accurate attack. Instead, he'll create a reckless attack. He needs to put the pressure only into his hand." Bruno thought in his head, "It's how his power works. He has the power to shape any long-ranged attacks, but their size relies on which body part he uses."

But Bruno became astonished and speechless. He spotted Kou aiming his right arm forward, holding the bottom of his wrist with his left hand and pulling back his index finger.

The mint green energy surrounding his arm disappeared and only enveloped the finger. Kou's eyes started sparking, and the mint energy transformed into the blue. His finger veins, hidden underneath the skin, started glowing. "Pressure..." Kou continued, "Bullet..." Immediately, he flicked with his finger and upon doing so, fired out a wind blast.

It caused the air outside to surge and even pushed Kou's body backward from the intense pressure. However, the wind blast, shaped like a bullet: small and fast, sped forward and struck Kira in her chest, causing her to sense intense pain. It prevented her from breathing correctly and even lifted her into the air, thrusting her a few meters away from her original position.

Kira recovered, grabbed her aching chest, and looked at Kou, sweat dripping from her head. "He... he got it," Kira claimed, seeing Kou's shocked expression. She smiled immediately, "Kou! You did it! You didn't break any part of your body!" Kou looked at his hand, finally understanding more about his ability.

"That's right, kid. You're developing your ability just like Tim did. Keep it up, and you'll make that power your own." Bruno claimed, complimenting and clapping. "I didn't focus on power but the speed of the bullet. I didn't need to worry about putting too much pressure into the attack and relied on that the speed would be enough to keep Kira from getting hurt too badly."

To be continued...