Kensei's head was filled with a strange feeling of anguish. Not only this, there was something bugging him: Could Izanagi even manipulate one's mind? He couldn't possibly imagine Aki killing her own comrades. He had little sleep with these thoughts all lingering his mind, but the biggest question was: What changed? What made him change? It was probably his anger that made him somehow ... Snap.
It was as if a switch had been turned on. The night passed quickly, as Kensei walked into the hideout with a stern look on his face. Glancing over to the table in the middle, spotting 3 individuals: Kitsu, Ryuu and ... Hachiman. "Finally here, hmh?" Hachiman spoke, as Kensei glared slightly. It was an unpleasant look to say the least.
Perhaps he was thinking Hachiman had other thoughts on his mind rather than to help. Or at least until he continued to speak, that is. "Change has occurred within you, something even you've realized. Now the next thing is to find out what power you hold, 'boss'.
Kensei crossed his arms, seemingly confused. Power? Sure, he felt different from his usual self, but, did he really have any power to use? He didn't feel like he had anything special, just a strange feeling in his gut. Clenching his fist, he wondered who he would have to train with to use his 'power'.
"You have to learn how to use this power, but to do that we need to know what it is, so you'll be sparring ... Continuously." Hachiman stated, as he loosened up his shoulders and cracked his knuckles up. The look in his eyes only said 'Bring It!'. Kensei readied himself. The two would already dash at each other and start a fight without a care for the rest of their surroundings. Hachiman back-stepped swiftly, leading Kensei to the training room.
There was plenty of space to move around here and fight, no problem about that. Kitsu and Ryuu peaked at the fight from behind the doorway.
"Is this really going to help anyone out? They'll just end up beating each other up at this rate, no? Kensei will just ... " Kitsu started saying, as the two started trading blows with each other.
Ryuu shrugged his head, he was disagreeing with Kitsu's point of view. They would both gain something from this, this was simply something he knew as a god of Knowledge: The nature of these two people. "They'll both learn something, which will lead to a new solution!"
Hachiman struck out, wind starting to spin around his arm as he threw a punch toward Kensei's chest. Side-stepping, he avoided the blow, feeling a wave of wind blast by his side. Kensei swiftly countered, throwing a body-blow at Hachiman. Hachiman took the brunt of it, jumping backward.
"Your body's gotten strong in a short period of time. Perhaps that's also something I can use ... To draw it out! Great Wind ... " He shouted, as wind started gathering in his palm, taking a side-ward stance. Spreading his palms out, he seemed to be forming something different: An orb! It only stretched out, growing to the size of a cannon ball swiftly.
Kensei blinked his eyes as he saw the green-looking energy gathered before his eyes. "Great wind what? Is that wind?!" Kensei thought, peering toward the energy. He clenched his fists firmly, crossing his arms for a firm guard. He wanted to take it head on!
"W-What?! Kitsu, get down, he's going all out!" Ryuu shouted, pushing Kitsu aside as he jumped to the ground. "E-Eh?!"Kitsu said as she fell to the side against the ground.
"CANNON!" Hachiman shouted, as he threw the orb forward at Kensei. Kensei blinked his eyes as it rushed at him at an incredible speed that his eyes could just barely keep up with.
Trying to step back to avoid it, he was mislead into thinking it would just go in a straight line. The orb suddenly stopped as he was jumping backward, and ... Exploded!
Wind bursts out in circular waves, exploding and spreading out as a large sphere. However, the explosion itself was not really the power of Hachiman, he just incurred the explosion through shooting an 'unstable' technique. The room started getting devastated within several seconds, being blown apart and digging a new hole into the floor and the wall at the side.
"If he can stand up from that, I'll accept it ... I'll accept the choice you made, Aki!" Hachiman thought, crossing his arms as he waited for the massive dust cloud to fade away. A cough was heard, as Hachiman blinked his eyes while Kitsu and Ryuu crawled over the floor toward the doorway to take a look.
A shadow was visible from the dust. It was unlikely someone else could've found this place, sneak in and stand at that spot while they were busy, so that meant only One was left: Kensei.
Kensei stood up, as his eyes were completely alive. His breathing turned a little heavier though, anyone's would after taking that attack head-on, although it wasn't truly head-on. It exploded from a distance ... Hachiman must've controlled it somehow. Hachiman smirked, he knew he could leave their plans in his hands, their future. Kensei snapped his neck around, loosening up again.
"Bastard ... How is this even sparring? You practically tried to kill me ..." Kensei said, with a slightly grumpy tone behind it. Who wouldn't be after such a thing got thrown at them? One thing was left to do: Changing the pace and plans.
"Alright, that's enough. Hachiman, you're too dense with your ways! That was dangerous, you almost got us caught into that! Learn some self restraint ... Kitsu, you'll help him now. I have something I thought up as a concept and I'll have you two test it out ... Kitsu, flash him with your Fox-Fire. Just a soft blow to the chest is fine." Ryuu said, as Kitsu looked at him slightly confused.
Ryuu nodded toward her, as she seemed to understand he was all too serious about this. Strange as it may seem, Kensei stared toward Hachiman for another minute, until Kitsu stood in front of him, blocking his sight.
"Don't blame me for this, Ryuu told me to." She said, feeling a bit conflicted about just freely shooting Fox-Fire at him. Gathering flames, she covered her palm in an orb of blue fire, looking at Kensei. He spread his arms, ready to take it up. "Sure, bring it." Kensei said, as Kitsu nodded.
Pushing her fox-fire orb into his chest, he felt a shock of pain emanate from his body. It was as if energy was overflowing within him, something changing completely. "Ngh-" He groaned out in pain, collapsing onto his knees after taking the hit full on.
Suddenly, the back of his right hand started glowing, as a strange mark started appearing and taking shape onto his arm. It was almost as if it was being engraved onto him out of nowhere.
After the shock of pain seemed to have passed away, he slowly stood up, as Kitsu stared at him intently, starting to sweat a bit from the tension this moment gave off. Kensei looked at the back of his right hand, noticing a black mark having appeared, which looked like a tiny set of 3 flames spinning around each other.
"What the ... A flame?" He said, looking at it awkwardly. That's when Kitsu noticed it. Will-O-Wisp. A set of three odd flames bound together is often the symbol for fox-fire in mythology ... So what did this mean? "I thought so. Kensei, imagine a bright blue flame like Kitsu just shot into you forming on your palm. Try it." Ryuu said, as Kensei took a deep breath and didn't even hesitate.
He closed his eyes for a moment, as he imagined the flickering blue flame Kitsu formed, growing larger. Releasing his breath, he opened his eyes, as a blue flicker was seen on his palm, suddenly a small flame bursting upward. He was actually ... Holding a fox-fire flame in his hand, all too casually. He took the attack and now ...
Learned it? The mark was glowing as well ... Did this mean that the mark represented the power he took in? Ryuu had a feeling this was something he would have after Hachiman told him about the 'gathering energy' he saw when Kensei snapped.
"Based on what we're all seeing here, I can tell you one assumption: Your newly-born ability is the ability to ... Take in the abilities of others, and use them." Ryuu said, as they all seemed rather shocked. Kensei held the flame in his hand, amazed by his new power, not sure how to react. All he did for several minutes long, was ... Smile.
Ryuu decided more had to be done. He didn't want to carelessly send Kensei into a battle if he didn't know how his powers worked. Second, Ryuu already knew the 'fuel tank' for his ability was small for a starting ability user. Kensei hadn't ever trained in using abilities, so he couldn't use them for long periods of time.
It would either require some training so he could last in a fight, or he would need to try and finish it in one hit. Ryuu wanted to test something else that was in his suspicions, to settle the limits and weaknesses of this ability. Who knows, perhaps it would change as Kensei grows, but for now, they had to take the safe bet first.
"I want to try something else first. I'm gonna hit you with one of my abilities first to see what'll happen and ask you to do something after to confirm my suspicions. I'll learn you a little about us ability users as well, while we're at it." Ryuu said with a smirk, as he walked up to Kensei. All Kensei did was nod quietly, seemingly waiting for the attack to come.
Ryuu's palm started glowing wildly, as Hachiman saw energy flow from their surroundings into Ryuu's palm. He formed a clear orb of sorts, which appeared to be 'pure magic'. It didn't really have a colour as it was clear, but seemed to lean more toward a white-light-blue colour.
Holding it in his palm casually, looking as if it took little effort to make it, Ryuu thrust his palm forward, shooting it at Kensei from a distance. As it was flying toward him, Kensei roared out: "Alright, bring it!" As he then smacked his own chest to brace himself for the damage and pain. It wasn't as if he didn't feel Kitsu's flame, he was ready for it.
The orb crashed into his chest, as he coughed. "NGh-!" He muttered under his breath, feeling a shock of pain spread across his body. That's when he felt a change once more. As if some form of energy flowed through his veins, he felt something on his arm, a new mark appearing. It was a Triquetra mark appearing right above the will-o-wisp mark from Kitsu's flames. Letting out a deep breath as he opened his eyes, he looked at Ryuu with his fist clenched.
"I'll accept your magic!" He said with a smirk. Ryuu motioned his hand for Kensei to 'come at him', basically telling him to try and shoot that magic at Ryuu. This would be where things get interesting.
Opening his palm, he imagined the very same attack he saw earlier forming in Ryuu's palm. He saw it as it formed, so he already had a visualization of it. Energy started flowing onto his palm, as a smaller orb started forming. It wasn't as if he wanted a big orb, either. He was making it more compressed and compact than Ryuu's. It's already hard to see, plus it'll have more force if it hits. Ryuu blinked his eyes for a moment, seeing something odd. Just like Ryuu did, Kensei thrust his palm forward, as the orb shot over toward Ryuu.
To Ryuu's surprise, it flew faster. That wasn't because it was smaller, but because Kensei built up some muscle thanks to Jiro. Ryuu snapped his fingers, and with a 'clack' he seemed to have spread up a sort of shield, as the orb crashed into it and was subdued. "Too soft!" Ryuu shouted while the attack from Kensei failed miserably.
It was a good effort as Kensei was, but exactly because Kensei was at 'this' point, it wasn't good enough. "Try to use Kitsu's fox-fire now." Ryuu said, as Kensei quirked his eyebrows. Why now? Well, it's great to know you can switch. but it started getting pretty exhausting trying to manage the abilities. "Alright." Kensei said, trying to visualize the flame with his eyes closed. The flame flickered in his mind, as he opened his eyes, trying to form a flame in his palm.
But, strangely enough ... Nothing was happening, at all. There was nothing on his palm, the mark didn't glow and no energy flowed through him. What's going on here? Ryuu smirked, his suspicions had been confirmed at last.
"You confirmed my suspicions. As you just experienced, you can't go back and use the fox-fire ability. I think your powers limit you to using one ability at a time, or rather the last ability you took in. The mark matching your learned ability glows when you use it. Last but not least, we have a form of 'energy' that acts like fuel for your ability.
The more you have, the longer and more abilities you can use. The opposite counts if you have less, of course. You have little Psions or rather a low Psion Concentration in your body, because you've never had an ability. You can take them in from your surroundings, though ..." Ryuu explained in one deep breath. Psions, eh? So these 'Psions' are what drives your abilities and gives people the ability to use them ...
Meaning people with a 'high Psion concentration' are basically strong. Meaning Aki and Hachiman probably have a 'high' Psion concentration, whereas Kensei, someone new to using abilities has a 'low Psion concentration'. "What it comes down to is that you basically need to train your magic endurance. We'll leave you here for a bit to train. You need to try to keep an attack up and charge it up continuously for as long as you can, if you repeat that you'll gradually be able to use more of your abilities."
After Ryuu's explanation, Kensei crossed his arms. Psions, energy, extended use of abilities, to train it so he could make use of the abilities. "I wasn't expecting to be able to pull off anything great from the start, so I'll do that. Hachiman, hit me."Kensei said, as Hachiman and Ryuu looked at him curiously. Hachiman let out an unexpected laugh, thinking Kensei was a bit too eager to get stronger.
"If you can't even use your Psions properly, I'm not going to give you my power of wind. Wind is a difficult power to learn to use or even to use in general. It takes a lot of skill, concentration and mastery, you probably won't be able to do anything with it." Hachiman stated, shaking his head.
Kensei smiled. "That's exactly why I want you to." He said, as Hachiman seemed more curious. If it would be more troubling, why bother? Then again, it wasn't as if he would just say 'no' and leave. If this was what he wanted, he'd give it to Kensei. "Suit yourself."Hachiman spoke, gathering wind on his palm. With one swift move, he struck Kensei, as the wind's force blasted through Kensei's body. Energy flowed through his body, feeling the power grow within himself, as a new mark started forming on his arm above the Triquetta mark. It had the shape of a tornado.
As the three of them left and Kensei was alone, he got up easily. Doing some quick stretching, he decided to loosen up his body first. Perhaps the state of body and mind were both important. Now, the problem was, he couldn't imagine the form of wind either. It was so vague he couldn't visualize it at all. But, that wouldn't stop Kensei. Wind was indeed a free element, and it was generally regarded as 'infinite'. Thus, he tried to imagine a tornado, as it was the mark that showed up. Focusing all his mind on it, he felt something being released, as the mark glowed. Yet, he saw nothing. Strange ...
He had to try it over and over, though. He kept trying to visualize the tornado, as suddenly, he heard some noise. "Announcement: Yesterday there was a gas-explosion due to a malfunction in the pipes-system in the school. The explosion, sadly, took several victims. In order by title, second years: 'Hades', 'Anansi', and 'Morpheus' of the Student Council have passed away. Due to this, we have a new member in the Student Council: Aki Yoshi. That's all for now."
This announcement irritated Kensei even more. A new member? Ridiculous, she was pretty much forced into it. He shrugged it off, focusing more onto the wind, hoping to achieve progress sooner or later. He kept trying to push out the energy, but it felt like it started getting more and more difficult. Letting out a sigh, he tried to relax. "You can gather Psions from your surroundings" The thought echoed through his mind. That's when he tried to imagine the wind flowing toward him instead.
Closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath, he concentrated on the energy around him. Slowly, he felt winds change. Wind gathered, slowly circling onto his palm, forming a small orb once more. Yet, within a few seconds, it faded. He decided to keep going for about an hour, as it passed sooner than he thought.
As he laid on the ground, taking a quick nap, he heard the door open soon after. Hachiman peered through the doorway, seeing Kensei on the ground. "Ready for a fight? It's been getting a bit messy since that announcement from the Student Council. You can probably have some practice in the school grounds."
Letting out a loud yawn, stretching his arms, Kensei pushed himself up to see Hachiman. "Yeah, I'll be fine." Kensei said, as Hachiman smirked with his arms crossed. He thought Kensei had an awkward amount of confidence. Perhaps he was going for a one-shot after all?"This confidence ... Could it be that he already learned to use the wind? Impressive, if that's the case." Hachiman thought, as Kensei wobbled slightly.
They followed him outside, as Kensei got into the main hall. Blinking his eyes, Kensei and Hachiman looked around, seeing bodies laying about. They were ... Probably alive. Taking a look in front of himself, he saw something flash by. Shocking.
A face turned around, looking him right in the eyes. "Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh?!" The guy shouted, looking at him angrily. This guy was clearly, in a bad mood. Not only this, his next target became Kensei. The guy's eye twitched, seemingly very irritated that someone was just looking at him.
Kensei held his arms up, holding a firm guard up, as what appeared to be lightning arced off of the stranger's body. Ryuu took a step back, peering toward Kensei. Ryuu stated something for Kensei to know: "That guy's 'Thunderbird'. Better watch out."
With that hint, Kensei already knew what he just saw. A guy that manipulated ... Lightning? Well, okay. This oughta be great.
Thunderbird dashed in with lightning spreading out, striking forward with both arms as the guy released a net of lightning toward Kensei. Kensei quickly responded, kicking himself off of the ground and jumping over him. Kensei landed, twisting his leg on the ground as wind seemed to surround his legs, twisting and creating a whirlwind with his leg as he kicked at Thunderbird. Being kicked, he swayed and tumbled over horizontally, as Kensei followed up.
Quickly getting to his feet and standing up, he hovered with his left hand over his other arm, as wind gathered around Kensei's arm, quickly. Stomping his foot in, as Thunderbird twisted in mid-air, Kensei punched forward. "Fūjin!!" Kensei shouted, as his fist connected. The punch hit Thunderbird right in the ribs, blasting him back and sending him spinning, crashing into a wall to the side.
Hachiman's eyes widened. "That's- That's just like Aki's- " Hachiman thought, as Thunderbird dropped to the ground, coughing, before slowly getting up. "Zephyr!" Hachiman thought, knowing he had seen this move before from Aki. It was almost the exact same, only that the element was completely different, meaning the principle behind it was as well. Thunderbird seemed angry, yet amused.
"You're pretty damn strong, so I'll kill you!" He shouted out in furiously, as Kensei stretched his arm out. For a short moment, he stopped, not sure what Kensei would do, then continuing to dash forward. However, Kensei seemed to get tired of the stupidity displayed by Thunderbird.
Switching his front feet by pivoting, he thrust forward his palm, releasing a shock-wave of wind that pushed him back against the ground. "You can't win. You'd probably be better off joining us and learn a thing or two." Kensei said, grinning. Such power and dominance were surprising.
He had grown a lot in a short time, perhaps this was the potential both Jiro and Aki meant ... Even Ryuu said something among those lines. Kensei seemed pretty exhausted after those 3 attacks, though. He managed to easily manipulate wind, one of the most difficult of powers to manipulate, but is quickly exhausted in exchange. He had a higher Psion concentration now, but couldn't last long with his stamina yet.
Thunderbird's wicked grin seemed to then change into a smile. "If I can fight strong people ... Then I will do anything." He said, as Kensei smiled. They walked up to each other, firmly shaking each other's hands. A tight grip, shortly, to confirm their new alliance. Although strangely and quickly, he had already gained a new ally for his own fight against the Student Council.
Right after the two released their grip of the handshake, the bell rang. Survival period was over, they could go to the dorms and rest. What a day! As they parted ways, Kensei headed back to the dorms, getting into his room. As he dropped onto his bed, he thought he knew what his future would be. "Aki ... I'm going to get stronger abilities, and save you! Even if I will be using just this wind of war, I will come for the Student Council one of these days ..."
~End Of Chapter Four: Mysterious Power~