Chapter 8 - Training

"You're not the only one on the line, here." Ex says.

"I don't see you bearing the weight of the entire world on your shoulders." Kasumi says.

"No but I have you to take care of, idiot. So, in a way, yes I do have to bear the weight of the world on my shoulders, too." Ex defends himself.

"Guys, relax. You're both equally important. Ex, is it? How are you guys supposed to train?" Sato asks.

"Well, I already have full control of my power. It's not that hard. But her power is still a mystery. In order to obtain her power, we have to know the full ability of it."

"When do we start?"

"We need to start as soon as possible. The dumbass creature wasn't clear as to how much time we have. It's better to start tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Kasumi asks.

"That's what I said."

Kasumi stands up from the couch and locks eye contact with Ex.

"I'm going home. Come on, Sato."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Kasumi walks towards the door. Before she can reach it, it shuts and locks without anyone touching it.

"Whether you want it to or not, it's going to happen and you have a job to do. It's better to do it and get it over with." Ex says.

"Kasumi, maybe you should listen to what he says. It's not worth risking everyone's lives." Sato says.

"Believe it or not, Kasumi, what he's saying is right." Kanai says.

Kasumi shuts her eyes tight and then softens her look at the ground. She hesitates before turning around and looking at Sato and Ex.

"Fine. I'll do what I can, but no promises." Kasumi says.

"Good." Ex says.

"I don't have a power but I do have a skill that might be useful." Sato states.

"What is it?" Ex asks.

"I'm quite the sharpshooter with a bow and arrow. I have no idea how it'll be able to help, but that's how I can contribute if necessary." Sato explains.

"I think that might be helpful. It just depends." Ex says.

"Since when can you shoot a bow?" Kasumi asks, surprised.

"Archery club. My coach told me I'm a natural." Sato says proudly.

"Right. Ok then, it looks like we all have our own things to do." Kasumi says.

"Kasumi, I need you here early in the morning." Ex says sternly.

"What about Sato?" Kasumi asks.

"Don't worry about me. I'll come with you and watch if I need to." Sato says reassuringly.

"That's not necessary. You'll only throw her off." Ex says stoically.

Sato frowns at Ex.

"Ex is right. Reassure Sato and tell him that." Kanai tells Kasumi.

"Sato, he's right." Kasumi obeys Kanai's order. "You'll probably only throw me off and I need to be focused. I'll be ok, I promise."

Sato looks at Kasumi in surprise and then looks down at the ground in realization. He pushes his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose.

"Fine. I understand." Sato locks eye contact with Ex which isn't phased at all by his actions. "If anything at all happens to her, I'm blaming you."

"NOTHING will happen to her. You have my word." Ex says in a monotone voice.

"Fine. I'll be back here tomorrow morning." Kasumi says.

"Wear something you can fight comfortably in." Ex tells her.

"Right."

When Kasumi goes to open the door, it unlocks. She looks over her shoulder back at Ex before continuing on out the door. Sato follows close behind and shuts the door behind him. After Kasumi and Sato are far enough away, Sato begins talking.

"Do you think we can trust him?" Sato asks Kasumi.

"I guess we'll have to find out. Even if we can't, we don't have a choice. Or I don't have a choice." Kasumi replies.

"Yeah I guess you're right."

"He also doesn't seem interested in actually hurting me either."

"You won't know unless he actually does something."

"That's true, but I can usually read people well. I'm a good judge of character. He's a bit hard to read, but I know he doesn't have malicious intent."

"I'll trust what you say. However, if he does anything to hurt you, I won't hesitate."

"You won't be able to kill a dead body." Both Sato and Kasumi laugh at her joke.

***

Ex does sit ups with his shirt off in the cabin.

"Looks like...I'll be...staying in here...for awhile." He says to himself in between sit ups.

***

Ex is getting things ready for the following day. He's shown setting up a punching bag and rolling in some large stumps.

***

Kasumi puts on a jacket. After she's done with that, she walks down the stairs to see that Sato has cooked her breakfast.

"I have to go to work early this morning. Do you think you'll be ok?" Sato asks.

"I think I'll be fine. His cabin thingy isn't that far from here." Kasumi reassures.

"And I want you to start going back to school. I know it's been a rough few weeks, but education is important."

"I know, but I don't think I'll have time to go to school."

"I understand, but please find time to go."

"I'll try."

"Thank you. I have to go to work now. Call me or text me when you get there to let me know that you made it, alright?"

"Ok I will. Have a good day at work."

"Be careful with that Ex character. If he does anything-"

"I'll kill him. Don't worry." Kasumi says jokingly.

Sato gives Kasumi a subtle smile before leaving. Sato walks to work. He observes the people around him and the sky above him thoughtfully. Moments later, he arrives at the bakery he works at. He's the first person there, so he goes to the back to prepare the shop for opening.He puts on an apron, turns on all the lights and turns the sign on the door to say that the shop is open. He waits behind the counter for someone to walk in. A woman walks in followed by a man with a bright smile. After Sato helps the woman, the man walks up to the counter, making Sato smile.

"Yoshiro!" Sato shouts happily.

Sato steps out from behind the counter and hugs him tightly.

"Sato! It's been a whole day. You're acting like you haven't seen me in years." Yoshiro smiles back.

"I'm sorry. It's just been a really rough few weeks." Sato sighs. "I'm exhausted and I need a break."

"Well, let me go and ask your boss to take the day off."

Sato releases Yoshiro and gives him a gentle smile.

"I can't do that, the boss isn't here yet." Sato says.

"You're the first one here, again?"

"Yeah." Sato says. "The boss said she wanted me here before everyone else for the rest of the week."

"I swear, if she doesn't give you the shop after this, you should just quit."

Sato chuckles at his statement. Just then, more customers walk in.

"Ok I have to help them out." Sato says. "You know I would ask for time off, but I've already taken three weeks off work. I don't think she'll let me take more off."

Sato walks back behind the counter. Yoshiro stands next to the two customers as Sato helps them out.

"Yes but what were you doing those three weeks? I doubt you had any time for yourself." Yoshiro brings up.

"Hello, ma'am. How may I help you today?" Sato asks, ignoring Yoshiro

"I would like a strawberry shortcake and he would like-"

"I'll take a strawberry shortcake as well."

"We'd like these to go please."

"Ok two strawberry shortcakes coming up." Sato says cheerfully.

"Come on, Sato!" Yoshiro cheers. "You need the time off, and we BOTH know that."

Sato opens the glass behind the counter to take two strawberry shortcakes from the display. He puts them in separate boxes and then puts them in a bag.

"Sato, do not ignore me." Yoshiro warns. "That doesn't ever go well for you."

He collects the yen from the couple and then gives them the bag and their change back.

"Have a good day!" Sato wishes the couple. Sato changes his glance to Yoshiro. "I'm just saying, I really don't think she'd let me take more time off. She's planning on giving me the shop and I know it. If I ask for any more time off, I might lose that opportunity."

"But you might not." Yoshiro says with a smirk.

Sato looks down at the counts with his hands resting on it. Yoshiro steps in front of him (still behind the counter) and directs Sato's gaze up to meet his eyes.

"Come on. If not for you, do it for me. We haven't had any time together for months." Yoshiro begs.

Sato pauses for a second and then gives Yoshiro a warm smile. "Ok, I'll ask."

Yoshiro lets out a sigh of relief.

"Thank god." Yoshiro says overdramatically.

"But no promises."

"Got it. So when does she get here usually?"

"It'll be a few hours. You might wanna sit and chill for a few. You could even go do a few things and then I'll call you to tell you what she says."

"I'll wait here with you. I don't mind. I'll just sit over there and watch the news or something." Yoshiro points to a seat in the corner that has a good view of the TV.

"Ok. Thanks, Yoshiro. I mean it."

"For what?"

"Looking out for me."

"I love you, Satoshi. Besides, if I don't look after you, who else would?" Yoshiro teases.

Yoshiro smiles at Sato as his cheeks blush.

"Love you too, Yoshi."

"That's good. We'd have a slight problem if you didn't love me back." Yoshiro jokes.

Yoshiro smiles at Sato again before going and sitting down.

***

Kasumi leaves the apartment and locks the door behind her. She then starts walking on the sidewalk.

"What if you run into your father on your way there or on your way back?" Kanai asks.

"That won't happen, Kanai. Just stop it."

"That looks like him over there."

Kasumi shoots a glance upwards in front of her to see a stranger that just happens to have the same body shape of her father.

"That's not him. Stop trying to scare me." Kasumi threatens.

"Whatever you say. I'm just trying to keep you on edge." Kanai replies. "What if those men come back? Right now? While Sato nor Ex are here to protect you? You know you're not strong enough to fight them on your own."

"Stop it. I'm almost there."

"They'd be able to pick you right off the street without giving you a chance."

Kasumi glances behind her and quickly presses forward. She then turns off the street and into the woods while trying to remember where it was. She continues weaving through the trees. Then she hears shuffling. She stops dead in her tracks and closes her eyes to focus her hearing. The shuffling seems to have stopped. She then continues walking forward. Just then, something kicks her legs from behind, sending her flying backwards and towards the ground. As soon as her feet lift off the ground, it's like everything starts going in slow motion for Kasumi. Without even realizing it, she plants her hands down on the ground and flips her feet over her head, landing on the ground.

"What the hell?"

She lifts her eyes to find Ex standing in front of her with his arms crossed.

"Just as I thought. Your reflexes could use improvement." Ex says.

"Improvement?! Did you see that? I just did a full on backflip!" Kasumi says, proud of herself.

"Yes, and so do little girls who do gymnastics." Ex says stoically. "You didn't do anything special and if you were competent in the slightest, you would've prevented this whole situation."

"What?"

"You'll learn about that later. Follow me."

"Ok…"

Kasumi follows Ex through the rest of the way to his cabin like he told her too. She observes all the items set up for her. Ex stops so quickly that Kasumi bumps into him.

"Sorry." Kasumi says immediately.

Ex sighs and turns around, handing her a paper. "First thing's first. This is a schedule of all the workouts you need to do in order to get in shape."

Kasumi unfolds the paper and reads some of the workouts out loud to herself. "Running...sit-ups...push-ups…"

"Right. Today, I want to specifically pin-point your weaknesses and strengths."

"How will you do that?"

"That part isn't important. How often have you used your power since you got it?"

"Uhm...Just once that I'm aware of."

"What happened? Don't spare any details."

"Well...someone...was threatening Sato. I felt a sudden burst of adrenaline and energy...I punched and broke his arm."

"Sato's?"

"No. The man that was threatening him."

"Have you come across this man before?"

"Yes…"

"How many times before this situation?"

"The man is my father." Kasumi says reluctantly.

There was a brief pause before Ex crosses his arms again.

"Right." Ex sighs. "So it seems what I've learned so far, someone you care about being threatened can be a possible trigger to your power. Going off of that, I think your weaknesses trigger your power."

"Ok..? What should I do?"

"Go stand by the punching bag."

"Ok." Kasumi listens to what Ex told her to do and stands by the punching bag.

"Tell me, what makes you angry Kasumi?"

"I'm not comfortable telling you that."

"Look, whether you like it or not, it looks like we're going to have to work together on this. Just tell me what makes you angry and get it over with."

***

Sato is on the floor with his glasses shattered halfway across the floor with Hirata standing over him.

"Is that all you got?! Huh?!" Sato tests.

"Oh, I can do more than that!" Hirata threatens.

Hirata coils his arm back, ending the scene.

***

"Violence." Kasumi says bluntly.

"I need more than that. What kind of violence?"

"Violence against innocent people."

"Ok then. I think that would piss off anyone."

"Anyway, what am I supposed to do with that?" Kasumi states, unamused.

"I want you to channel your energy and punch the punching bag. Easy enough right?"

"I guess."

"Ok, then do it."

Kasumi readies herself to punch. She gets in a horrible fighting position which makes Ex rub the bridge of his nose. Kasumi puts her fists in front of her face. Ex peeks up at her and then shakes his head silently. Kasumi drops her fists and looks at Ex.

"What am I doing wrong?" Kasumi asks, frustrated.

"Everything. Just punch the bag."

"Whatever you say, know-it-all." Kasumi mumbles.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

"Shut up and punch the bag already."

Kasumi punches the bag weakly.

"God your strength is insufferable. Just stick to the workout schedule I gave you and you should start to show improvement soon enough."

"I'm not that weak!" Kasumi defends herself.

"Yeah you are. Unless you weren't trying."

"Let me have another try."

"Fine. Just hurry up."

"Prove to him you're much stronger than he thinks." Kanai says.

How am I supposed to do that?

"Think about your father, Kasumi. Use the hatred and anger you have for him, channel it into your punch." Kanai adds.

But I don't hate him.

"You tell yourself that, but deep deep down, you know the truth."

"How long does it take you to punch a fucking bag?" Ex asks, crossing his arms.

"Just shut up for a second." Kasumi says.

"He thinks you're weak, Kasumi." Kanai states. "Prove him wrong. Think about what your father would've done to Sato if you didn't intervene. Think about what would've happened to that kid that was being bullied if you didn't help him. Think about the cruel contents of the world and think - no - KNOW that you can't do a goddamn thing about it!"

Shut up.

"It's not that hard." Kanai adds. "Accept that you'll never be able to change a thing about this world. Sato will eventually die. Everyone you know will eventually die, and you won't be able to do anything about it."

"I said SHUT UP!" Kasumi coils her arm back. While coiling her arm back, purple shines from her eyes and builds in her veins. When she punches the bag, she punches a hole straight through it. The impact of her punch causes a burst of air that's strong enough to surprise Ex. Kasumi's eyes and veins go back to normal with her fist still in the hold and with steam coming from the hole.

"Interesting." Ex states coldly.

Kasumi snaps back to reality and shakily removes her hand from inside the hole. She falls backward on the ground out of disbelief and fear. She runs her hands through her hair out of shock. She begins hyperventilating. Ex just watches with a blank look on his face.

"Wh-What the hell was that? I don't–I don't remember doing that? What happened?" Kasumi senses a rising fear inside of her.

"Tch. You just used your power. Get up, we're going to try something else." Ex says.

Kasumi stays on the ground staring forward as if traumatized by something.

"Hey! Snap out of it! You used your power, so what? Get off of the ground and let's move on."

Kasumi shakes off the shock and stands up like what Ex told her to do.

"What's next?" Kasumi asks, still slightly shocked.

"Well, I want to see the true strength of your power. But first, something that seriously bothers me is your fighting stance. Let's work on that. Stand like you did earlier."

Kasumi reluctantly gets back in her horrible stance and rolls her eyes.

"Now what?" Kasumi asks.

"First of all, the stance you're in now, you'd lose your balance before even getting a punch in." Ex states matter-of-factly.

"Then how did I just punch now?"

"It was your power, genius."

"It was your power, genius." Kasumi mocks quietly.

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

"Stop talking under your breath. I can hear what you're saying, so speak up."

"Whatever. Now what?"

"Feet shoulder width apart. Straighten your posture. Fists protecting your face. Tighten your abs for a stronger punch. It's not that hard." Ex fixes.

Kasumi stands there confused.

"Go stand in front of that tree."

"What?"

"Just do it."

Kasumi goes and stands in front of the tree that Ex told her to stand in front of. He stops her about 15 feet away from the tree.

"Shouldn't I be closer?" Kasumi asks.

"Shut up and listen."

Kasumi rolls her eyes but obeys.

"Toes shoulder width apart. Knees slightly bent ready to sprint." Ex explains.

"Ready to sprint?"

"Fists raised to eye level. Closed or open, doesn't matter. Shoulders raised, chin tucked. Straighten your posture."

Kasumi listens to what he says.

"This is the stance you should be taking when fighting." Ex says.

"Right."

"When you punch, don't coil your arm back. It gives the opponent the perfect opportunity to block and punch."

"But wouldn't my power boost my strength and speed?"

"Yes but you can't rely on your power."

Ex steps aside and leans on a tree to her right.

"When you're ready, I want you to pin-point the anger that you had earlier, but this time, I want you to sprint and punch that tree."

"Punch a tree?!"

"That's what I said."

"Wouldn't that hurt?"

"As long as your power kicks in, you'll be fine."

"But what if it doesn't?!"

"It will."

Kasumi sighs and does what he says. She closes her eyes and focuses all her energy on anger. Then, she feels a power flow through her. She shoots her eyes open and takes off. Another burst of air comes from her power. She uses so much strength when she first takes off, she leaves prints on the ground and flings dirt back. When she's sprinting, her hair changes color and so does her eyes. She coils her arm back and with a shout of anger, she punches her arm clean through the truck of the tree. This time, not only leaving a hole, but breaking off the entire tree. It falls to the ground then Kasumi comes back to reality. Steam comes from the trunk of the tree where it was cut. Her eyes and hair color goes back to normal. This time, she feels more calm. She turns around and looks at Ex.

"How was that?" Kasumi asks in a cocky tone.

"Could use some work."

"Whatever. That was great and you know it."

She seemed more in control this time. She's learning quickly. Ex thinks.