"A-Asami! The mountain is getting a little steep!"
Tanjo still carried the tree that Asami had thrown at him while his hands were buried in the bark from the applied pressure from his fingers. The boy had noted a slight slope before beginning to climb the mountain, but it has since gotten worse.
The blue-haired woman, Asami, smirked. "And? What are you going to do about it?"
Following the teenage boy, Asami casually climbed the mountain with her feet leaving indents in the stone, keeping her grounded. Tanjo's eyes widened at that, seeing how forcing her feet into the stone locked her in, preventing her from falling.
Soon, his footing started to slip, descending a step downward. His whole body started to ache, especially his chest. Never before has Tanjo concentrated his Aura Sense in so many places at once, especially for such a prolonged period of time.
Thinking back to Asami's methods of climbing, he hastily stored minuscule amounts of magic into his calves, flowing down to his feet.
'Just a little… push!'
Then, with relative ease, Tanjo's feet were pushed into the mountainside, practically gluing the boy in place. A smirk stretched upon his lips, glee brimming within him.
"Good job. However, you still got to climb to the top." Asami reminded him, washing away Tanjo's happiness in an instant.
Tanjo frowned. "Damnit…"
Looking up the mountain, Tanjo inhaled deeply, removing his foot from the hole he made, to indent a new one, repeating the action with every step.
Asami watched silently, various thoughts appearing. 'Fast learner; managed to figure out an easier way just by glancing in my direction—all without fail.'
After these thoughts, a new one emerged, prompting a cheeky smirk to show on Asami's face. 'But I know for a fact he can't do this…'
"Hey, Tanjo! I'll meet you at the top!" Asami shouted, confusing Tanjo.
Without warning, Asami bent her knees and lunged from her spot, her body leaping to the top of the mountain in a single bound. Tanjo's mouth gaped, his eyes wide in shock.
"Hey!" Tanjo yelled, appalled. "Come back!"
XXX
Rubbing her feet against the stone plateau of the mountain, Asami awaited Tanjo's arrival jadedly. Her blue hair swayed in the wind, her arms concealed under her gray cloak.
Her thoughts flashed in her mind once again, but this time pertaining to Tanjo's gear and status. He claimed to have deserted his village but still paraded in his old armor. Asami could tell right away that he didn't have any other options for gear.
With a sigh, Asami responded to her own problem. "I'll just have to get him some new gear, then."
"Almost there, Tanjo…"
Asami perked up at a distance voice, her head tilting slightly. At one edge of the mountain's plateau, Tanjo's face came into view, albeit with a pained countenance.
'That was faster than I thought.' Asami noted, shifting to greet the boy when he finally reaches the top.
After a few minutes, Tanjo reached the flat surface of the mountain, flooring himself by tossing the tree to the side and landing directly on his face. Asami chuckled, ambling over to the boy. Kneeling, the blue-haired woman poked at Tanjo curiously, hearing a groan emit from him.
"You have excellent stamina, but you do still feel pain, sadly." Asami spoke, a comedic value lingering in her words.
Tanjo gradually lifted himself from the ground, his arms twitching. "No pain, no gain, I guess…"
"That's the spirit!" The blue-haired woman cheered, standing up.
As Tanjo balanced himself, he mentally recited Asami's words:
'You have excellent stamina, but you do still feel pain…'
"I don't recall ever being exhausted since leaving the village. Despite me going through entire forests by jumping branch to branch, I've only ever felt aches from exerting too much magic." Tanjo sounded, his mind tracing back to his time in the academy.
Asami shrugged. "Could be just an Aura Amalgamation thing."
Tanjo hummed in response. 'Maybe Kronos would know…'
*CLAP!*
Tanjo jumped as he heard Asami clap her hands, garnering his attention immediately.
"Now, with the easy part out of the way, we can move on to your next segment of training!" Asami proclaimed.
Tanjo's face morphed into fear and annoyance. "EASY PART!?"
Flapping her hand lazily, Asami replied, "You did just fine."
"Fine, my ass…"
Asami smacked him on the head. "Quiet. When we were heading to the creek, as we were fighting the bandits, and even when you were against me prior to that, you struggled to conjure basic Genso-Kyu's. You have the power, but such a little grasp on it."
Tanjo rubbed his arm awkwardly. "I only just learned how to complete a full Genso-Kyu. Before I was making them too dense and they'd either refuse to form or implode in seconds."
Asami nodded. "But, you also don't seem to have control over which Aura Sense you use."
Tanjo craned his head to the side, looking down at his hands. "I never felt what Aura Sense I was emitting. Whatever Aura Sense emitted was just what I went with. Sometimes, it was all four at once."
Closing her eyes, Asami stood in contemplation. "Has it always been like this?"
Tanjo thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. "It was always problematic, but ever since I met this lady, she supposedly helped me unlock all four of the Aura Senses; all I feel is the same, though."
Asami remained silent for several moments, tapping her foot against the plateau repeatedly. "Remember the reasons I said why mountains were good for training?"
"...Maybe?" Tanjo responded, tilting his head. "You said they were good for…"
"Target practice!" Asami exclaimed, stepping to the side. "There are several mountains in this range, and I doubt you'll destroy them entirely just yet by purely shooting at them. And it'll potentially solve your problem!"
Tanjo nodded slowly. "I assume it's for me to channel the different Aura Senses?"
Asami's shoulders sagged. "Damn you and your quick thinking, I wanted to explain it."
"It was kinda obvious." Tanjo retorted, making Asami sigh for the millionth time that day.
"All right, smartass—behind me is another mountain, I want you to try and shoot a yellow beam," Asami informed, gesturing to the giant mountain in the distance.
Tanjo walked passed Asami, eyeing the mountain. Slowly, Tanjo raised his right hand, his palm facing the mountain. 'Okay, not too dense, not too weak…'
Shortly after, a small orb started to appear—but it was blue! "Damnit, I must be too used to using a blue Aura Sense…"
"Can you try changing it without firing?" Asami voiced aloud, observing Tanjo with interest.
"Maybe, but how?" Tanjo asked, looking at the Genso-Kyu in his hands.
Asami shrugged, different reasons popping into her mind. "Perhaps it's a mental thing. Imagine yellowish things, like flowers, bees—or the sun!"
"The sun…?" Tanjo was audibly dazed, his mind forming an image of the star above.
Seconds passed and nothing happened. Tanjo continued to picture the celestial body that was the pinnacle of their solar system, but his blue Genso-Kyu never altered.
"Think about all of the raw energy a star has, how hot it burns, and how powerful an explosion from it would be." Asami contributed slightly.
Taking Asami's advice, Tanjo started to imagine a giant beam being discharged from the sun, only to feel his hand fizz oddly. Opening his eyes, Tanjo noticed a yellow hue dominating the Genso-kyu, the blue light disappearing with every second.
"I did it!" Tanjo hollered happily, holding his hand in place as his Genso-Kyu was altered.
Asami folded her arms. "Good, now shoot it."
Just like before, Tanjo attempted to force a beam out of the Genso-Kyu, imagining the scenario to be similar to the sun emitting a large explosion. With that thought in mind—*BOOM!*—a beam of yellow light shot out and clashed with the mountain in an instant, creating a cloud of debris in the distance.
Once the debris dissipated, a visible hole could be seen in the mountain, giving leeway for the two to see the other side. Asami looked on, impressed.
"Good thing you didn't go any harder. Twice now that my expectations have been blown through by you." Asami revealed, her gaze drawn to the jet-black-haired boy beside her.
Tanjo smiled nervously. "No one on the ground is going to see us up here, right?"
"Maybe from your large ass beams, they will." Asami jabbed, making Tanjo frown.
"At least there are still other mountains in sight…" Tanjo breathed, looking outward.
XXX
Tanjo certainly is improving, huh? Asami seems impressed! And what about new gear did she mean? Will Tanjo have to ditch his armor, will he get all four of the Aura Sense down? Just how did Asami get to the top of the mountain in a single jump? Stay tuned for more!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_