Three planetary cycles until exams begin.
The next morning came and Kaito found himself in a losing battle against gravity. He gritted his teeth and trembled non stop as he tried to bench an absurdly overloaded barbell. Elysia didn't help at all by sitting on top of it. The song Poker Face from Lady Gaga blared from the speakers around the training room with her mumbling along, not knowing a single word at all.
"Muh muh muh muuuh… Oh ohoh oh ohh…"
With literal blood, sweat, and tears merging then running down his face, Kaito managed to re-rack the weights. He rolled over and fell to the ground, wheezing for air and trying to talk.
"Oh my stars… my arms… they're noodles… Jeez Elysia, I love lifting... but why does every set… feel like my max...?"
Elysia stopped mumbling and hopped lightly from the barbell landing right beside him.
"That's precisely the point, Kaito dear. This training is meant to strengthen your body so you can handle the huge influx of essence you'll be producing. I can't have you exploding on me, hehehe."
He sat up slowly and wiped some sweat from his forehead.
"And that's why you won't let me use essence at all?"
"Exactly!" She said cheerfully, right as a loud buzzer blared through the room.
"Time for your next set!"
Kaito groaned, but got up from his spot on the ground and laid on the bench. Elysia hopped back onto the barbell and continued to hum quietly as her eyes drifted down towards his sweaty shirtless body.
Later that same day, Kaito sat cross-legged on his bedroom floor with his eyes closed. His purple essence swirled tightly around his body. Elysia sat on the opposite of him, monitoring him closely.
"Alright, Kaito dear, do exactly as we've practiced. Accelerate your breathing. Increase your heart-rate. Visualize yourself in grave danger. Convince your mind that it's absolutely real."
He nodded quietly and began to quicken his breath. The sound of his heartbeat accelerating filled his ears. He desperately tried to form vivid images in his mind of danger, distress, or fear… but nothing seemed to work.
Frustrated, he let out a disappointed breath and his essence around him dissipated into nothingness. He opened his eyes and looked up to Elysia.
"I don't know what it is. My heart races, but nothing else changes. Does the CPI scanner say otherwise?"
She shook her head. He immediately fell dramatically backward onto the floor, gripping his hair.
"It's okay, Kaito dear. Rest now, we'll try again tomorrow." Elysia said leaning a bit closer to him with a reassuring smile.
He lay there quietly for a moment before looking over towards the massive window by his desk. His eyes locked onto the red dwarf star and then to the small brown and green dot of the distant planet where the exams are to be held.
"Only three cycles left…" He murmured quietly, his eyes clouded with a bit of concern.
"We're almost there, and I still can't—"
His voice trailed off as he suddenly felt gentle hands lifting his head up from the ground before laying it gently onto the warmth of soft skin. Startled, he glanced up only to meet Elysia's comforting gaze.
"Um, Elysia? What're you doing…?" He asked, confused.
"Back on my homeworld, when I was younger and felt down, my sensei used to let me lay my head in her lap and hum a song until I felt better. Do you mind if I hum it for you, Kaito dear?"
He hesitated for a second before nodding.
"Sure... but… why?"
For a moment, there was a look of worry… or maybe even guilt that came over Elysia's eyes, but vanished right after, immediately returning the previous warmth.
"You've only just joined the crew and yet you've already been through so much. You haven't even gotten your license and you're already burdened with so many people's hopes… even an enemy's. You push yourself so hard, Kaito dear, and it breaks my heart knowing how exhausted you must feel."
She let out a small chuckle, trying to mask the sadness welling up within her, but she couldn't. Kaito felt something wet land on his cheek. He looked up and his chest tightened once he saw tears silently falling from her eyes despite the smile on her face.
"Elysia, are you okay!?" He immediately tried to sit up, but she gently held him back in place.
"I'm fine, Kaito dear…" She whispered softly as she wiped her tears away.
"I'm just… seeing you push yourself so hard… it just makes me feel so sad for you."
Kaito stared up at her in stunned silence. He wasn't sure of what to say at the moment, and who could blame him. Never in his life did he ever expect someone outside of the orphanage to care for him this deeply. And to see that same person shed tears in front of him… it hurt him. It hurt him so badly, and yet, he couldn't understand why. His chest tightened and his vision became slightly blurry. His lip quivered for a short moment before he could realize what was happening.
He was crying.
But before he could fully process the situation, Elysia began to hum.
He laid in her lap as he stared up at her. As she continued her tune, a warmness ran through his body, easing all the tension and exhaustion. His eyelids grew heavier and heavier with each passing second until they finally gave in and he fell asleep—
–but in his dream, there was no dream…
There was nothing.
It was complete darkness.
He floated there, looking around.
That was until he heard an unfamiliar voice a few meters behind him. He turned as fast as he could… but no one was there.
"Who was that…? Matter of fact, just where am I?" He thought to himself.
Then, he heard it again. But this time, it seemed to come from every single direction. The voice became much clearer as well. It was a woman and she sounded almost… human. But what she said was no speech or nothing hostile, it was only a single phrase repeated over and over.
"Love is the key… Love is the key… Love is the key…"
As quickly as it began, the dream seemed to end as his eyes fluttered open. He immediately realized he was laying in his bed now, but shortly after noticed something… or someone else. He turned his head to see Elysia asleep peacefully next to him.
"She fell asleep here…?" He wondered in his head.
He admired her sleeping face as he thought back to everything she'd done for him since he joined the crew. Saving his life numerous times, tending to his injuries, comforting him when anxiety and stress began to overwhelm him. Yet, a single question tugged at his heart.
"Why…? Why would she go so far for me… and for Aqua? I… I don't get it."
She suddenly shifted in her sleep and murmured something adorable he couldn't understand. He gazed at her for a while longer and began to feel something weird riling up in his chest… something he's truly never felt before. He shook his head to gather himself before gently slipping out of bed. Once out, he looked back to Elysia who was wearing some of his clothes she snagged after he fell asleep. He grabbed the blanket and covered her up with it then rubbed the top of her head gently.
He turned then quietly headed towards the bathroom, but paused briefly at his desk as he caught sight of a familiar picture. It was Farro, himself, and the other kids from the orphanage. He didn't say anything at all, instead smiling slightly before fully entering the bathroom.
The next morning, they continued training.
"Alright, Kaito dear, let's try again. Remember, visualize danger." Elysia said as she watched the tablet in her hand.
Kaito nodded and closed his eyes. But instead of picturing himself in danger… he thought Elysia in danger instead. His heart began to thunder in his chest instantly and his essence flared like someone threw gas onto a fire.
Thud-thud thud-thud thud-thud!
Elysia's eyes widened dramatically at the tablet in her hands as numbers rapidly climbed higher and higher.
"175,000… 260,000… 350,000… 400,000!"
"Amazing…" She whispered out softly.
"His CPI is surpassing my predictions."
A loud buzzer sounded off which snapped him out of his thoughts. He started taking deep breaths, quickly slowly his heartbeat and essence before he turned eagerly to her.
"That felt different this time… Did it work?"
"Not only did it work… you exceeded our target CPI by a huge margin. Three seconds sustained at 400,000 CPI. Simply incredible, Kaito dear!"
A big smile grew on his face though he tried to hide it the best he could with little success.
"What changed this time, Kaito dear? What did you visualize differently?" Elysia asked curiously.
His chuckling faded away and he began to nervously blush while scratching the back of his head sheepishly.
"Yesterday I tried picturing myself in danger… but it didn't work at all. So this time I kind of… imagined you being in trouble. Honestly, it got my heart racing immediately right away."
He waited for her response, but only heard silence. Slightly confused, he turned fully towards her who stared blankly at him, her pink cheeks glowing red and the tablet slipping out of her hands.
"Um… Elysia…? You good?"
She snapped out of her trance and waved her hands.
"O-oh, yes! I'm perfectly fine, Kaito dear! Just surprised… that's all." She hurried to her feet and jogged to the center of the room.
She extended her arms and the two small horns on her head began to glow with a golden essence. Instantly, a transparent golden barrier with hexagon tiles formed in front of her.
"Alright then! Now hit me, Kaito dear!"
Kaito stared at her blankly.
"Eh…? You mean—hit you? Like… right now?"
She nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes, go on. I promise it's safe. This barrier is very powerful Kaito dear, I doubt you'll even scratch it without using your new technique."
He stood up slowly, his confusion turning into curiosity.
"What affinity is this barrier thing anyway?"
"It's an ability from a nature sub affinity. I'll explain the details another time. Now hurry up and give it a try!" She said with a playful yet mischievous smirk.
Kaito nodded and clenched his fist tightly as his purple essence began to flow around it. He sprinted forward and swung, only to recoil immediately upon impact. He stumbled back holding his bruised knuckles.
"Woah! You really weren't kidding… this barrier's tough as hell."
Elysia chuckled, watching him shake off the pain.
"Now, Kaito dear… let's try again, this time enhancing your essence with adrenaline."
He nodded before returning to his starting position. He closed his eyes and pictured Elysia in danger once more.
Right away, his heartbeat increased rapidly and his essence surged dramatically, lighting the room with an intense purple glow.
Then, faster than she could react, he vanished from sight and instantly appeared right in front of her behind the barrier, fist already cocked back.
The impact sounded like thunder as he swung and made contact.
The barrier visibly cracked slightly under his power before the sound of a buzzer went off.
"Perfect, Kaito dear!" Elysia said excitedly.
Kaito smiled triumphantly and opened his mouth to say something, until he felt an abrupt pain. Confused, he looked down only to see the skin on his knuckles torn off and bloodied. Not only that, but there was a sharp pain in his wrist.
"What the…? My wrist is broken? I didn't even feel it when I hit the barrier…" He thought aloud.
The next moment, all of the true pain surged through him at once as he began to grimace.
Instantly, a blue essence surrounded him and his injuries began to heal as Elysia quickly approached with a slightly curious, but worried look on her face.
She crouched next to him and began examining his healing hand.
"It seems your body isn't fully prepared yet for the sheer force of this adrenaline-induced essence. Your physical condition hasn't caught up with your essence capacity yet. Given this reaction, we'll have to carefully limit how often you use this ability during the exams. Exactly how much we can push it safely… well, that depends on the next two cycles of training."
Despite his pain, he chuckled lightly with a funny thought.
"Hah, so this is kind of like one of those over powered video game ultimate moves that damages your character when you use it. It's kinda like a way the devs limit the character's power without taking all the fun out of the player's experience while also creating a skill gap between the people who know how and when to use the ability at the perfect time without wasting it."
"Nerrrrdd!!!"
He looked around the room confused.
"Was that Jinx? I swear I just heard her voice through the walls."
Elysia nervously chuckled.
"Yes… exactly like what you said. Just be careful, please, Kaito dear."
He stood up slowly, twirling and flexing his healed wrist.
"I promise I will. But for now, let's keep going. I want to keep going. I want to get stronger."
A proud smile appeared on her face as she took a step back and prepared her barrier again.
"Alright, Kaito dear, let's see how far we can take it today."
Two days passed and the day of the exams were here. Kaito took a deep breath, calming his racing mind as he stood silently next to Aqua's bed as she laid there, seemingly in a peaceful sleep. Elysia's voice cut softly through his thoughts as she stepped next to him.
"Remember Kaito dear, Five times. That's the absolute maximum number of adrenaline boosts your body can handle in combat before you become completely immobile."
"Five times, got it." Kaito replied softly, eyes still on Aqua.
He felt a sudden pinch on his cheek, followed by fingers softly rubbing his face. His attention turned to Elysia's reassuring gaze.
"Don't worry about Aqua. I'll keep her safe." She whispered softly.
"She'll likely be awake by the time the exams are over."
Kaito hesitated momentarily, then slowly smiled, feeling a warm reassurance flow from her touch.
"Thank you, Elysia. I'll be counting on you."
She gently tapped his cheek one last time.
"Now hurry up, Kaito dear. The others are waiting."
He nodded and quickly turned, sprinting out of the medical bay as the door hissing closed behind him.
As he ran through the ship, he reached the ship's main meeting hall. Elara stood there quietly, arms crossed, expression unreadable. The moment Kaito entered, their eyes locked onto each other instantly. Neither spoke at first.
After a brief moment, a smile crept onto Elara's lips.
"Finn and Nara are waiting for you in there."
Kaito didn't say a thing, only returning her smile with one of his own as he strode confidently toward the doorway behind her. Just as he reached the entrance, she said something to him.
"Get your license quickly, Kaito. I'm looking forward to our fight… and seeing just what kind of training you've been through. Don't get my hopes up."
Kaito paused, and a smirk began to form on his face. Without turning around, he replied confidently.
"You know why I'm eager to get my license, captain?"
Elara raised a curious eyebrow.
"Why's that?"
He turned back to her just as he stepped through the doorway, staring right into her eyes.
"So I can legally kick your ass."
The door hissed shit leaving Elara staring blankly at the closed door for a moment before she began to chuckle. She shook her head slightly and whispered quietly to herself.
"I can't wait."
On the other side, Kaito found himself in a long hallway illuminated by pale white lighting. At its far end stood a single door, a familiar figure leaned against the wall next to it.
It was Kaeline.
For a tense moment, their eyes met. Yet, as though guided by some unspoken understanding, they began to walk towards each other. Each step brought back the tension and anxiety he felt between them in the past cycles, but to his surprise, Kaeline raised her fist calmly.
Instantly, his anxiety evaporated and was replaced by quiet camaraderie. Kaito raised his own and fist bumped as they passed each other. They both tried to play it cool, but both struggled to hide subtle smirks at the corners of their lips.
Without a word, Kaito continued forward, confidence, anxiety, and excitement building in each step until he finally stood at the doorway. The doors hissed open and he stepped in. As the doors began to hiss close, he knew there was no turning back…
The exams were finally here.