The next day started as normal as one would consider; Anne and Shadow got up and tended to the small farm crop and washed Ironhide. When they were done, they talked mostly about Anne's life back in her world, from her school days and home life.
"Sasha was always the leader of our group." Anne explained as she showed the picture of her friends. "Sure, she can be bossy sometimes, but she's always looked after us and stood up to bullies."
"She sounds strong." Shadow nodded.
"Then there's Marcy." Anne pointed at the picture of the Asian girl. "She's totally harmless. She's super smart, but super oblivious. She was also insanely clumsy, like the clumsiest person alive."
"All valid reasons to worry." Shadow admitted.
"We always had to look after her back home, but she's all alone here." Anne said in worry. "And instead of kickballs…"
"I understand." Shadow nodded. "You want to find your friends as soon as possible." He stood up and made for the door. "Now, ready to get started on your training?"
"Training! Training! Training!" Anne chanted with excitement as she followed after.
The two walked through the forest before arriving at a clearing with several crates full of wooden staves and practice weapons.
"This is where we'll begin your training." Shadow declared as he stood at the center.
"Oh, this is so exciting!" Anne said with sparkle in her eyes.
"First, we'll start with the manipulation of the energy within you." Shadow stated. "First, press your hands together and concentrate. Inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth."
Nodding, Anne did as she was told and focused, closing her eyes and breathing in and out as she focused, Shadow watching to see if anything would change, but so far, nothing. This went on for almost an hour and nothing changed, and Shadow was started to get impatient.
"Hey, are we gonna do anything else?" Anne asked, opening an eye. "I'm starting to get a little antsy here."
'You're not the only one.' Shadow thought before saying. "Well, perhaps we're missing something here."
Shadow leaned in and looked into her eyes, the Thai girl sweating a bit and feeling a shiver up her spine from his stone-cold stare. Shadow, on the other hand, was staring intently, thinking that maybe he was imagining things during the job involving the stick-bug.
And then he saw it again, the small sparks of blue within her eyes.
'Perhaps it's still weak, therefor can't quite manifest the energy correctly.' He thought to himself. 'Perhaps she just needs a jumpstart, like I did.'
Pulling a hand behind his back, Shadow channeled energy within his index and middle finger.
"Okay, let's try something else," He said. "Raise your hands over you head as high as you can."
Anne seemed confused at first, but did as she was told, raising her hands high, "Like this?"
"Yes, exactly like that." Shadow nodded. "Now, close your eyes and think of the happiest memory you can think of."
Nodding, Anne closed her eyes and looked through her memories from home, from her cat Domino to her parents, then she thought of the time she spent with her friends.
"Sasha…Marcy…" She said out loud with a smile.
Shadow felt the energy solidify on his fingers before poising.
'Time to unlock your potential!'
With that thought, he lunged forward, plunging his fingers into Anne's solar plexus, knocking the wind out of her and sending her tumbling into the dirt, the Thai girl groaning in pain as she held her stomach.
'That should do it.' Shadow thought to himself.
"Wh…What was…that for…?" Anne finally choked out.
"Sorry, but I had to unlock the potential within you." Shadow explained as he helped her stand. "When I first saw the spark, it looked weak, so I gave it a jumpstart."
"Did you have to hit me that hard though?" Anne asked, spitting out some saliva before standing straight.
"Afraid so." Shadow shrugged. "Now, let's try the original position one more time."
Squinting at him suspiciously, Anne spread her legs apart and placed her hands together, closing her eyes as she started inhaling and exhaling at a calm pace. At first, nothing seemed to happen, until Shadow saw several sparks go off around the girl, a light blue circle erupting around her, her hair flickering into a light blue color, and an aura of light blue started enveloping her body.
The young boy stared in amazement, feeling his heart beat fast, and his mouth forming a smile, before the aura went feint.
"Wha…What happened?" Anne said, looking wobbly before Shadow held onto her.
"You have the same gift as me." Shadow explained, demonstrating by enveloping his hand with black aura. "You have a power that can let you do extraordinary things. With the right training, of course."
Anne stared in shock, "You mean, I could do the stuff you could?!"
"And more, with the right practice." Shadow nodded. "Even flying."
Anne gasped loudly, eyes sparkling with awe, "Seriously?!"
"But first, we start with the basics." Shadow stated. "We start with the small stuff before moving on to the bigger stuff."
"How small are we talking here?" Anne asked.
"Basic defense." Shadow declared. "Before we walk, we had to crawl first. In this case, we must learn to defend before we learn to attack."
"True for everyone ever." Anne chuckled.
"Now, let's start with a simple energy casing projection." Shadow said. "A small defensive casing that covers your body in a thin layer around your body as a protective field."
"Sounds simple enough." Anne shrugged.
"Now, breath and focus." Shadow instructed. "Imagine a suit of armor covering your body."
Doing as she was told, she closed her eyes and focused, her body covering in a light aura.
"Okay, I think I've got it." Anne said with confidence. "Now what-"
Suddenly, she was struck in the back of the had with a wooden sword, knocking her to the ground and shattering the barrier.
"Ow!" Anne rubbed her head before glaring up at Shadow. "What was that for?!"
"Your barrier is too weak." The boy explained as he held up the wooden sword. "So weak, a wooden toy was able to shatter it in one hit."
Anne blinked at this before frowning, "Oh."
"Don't be discouraged." Shadow said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "It took me about two days before I could manage the barrier."
"Really?" Anne said before giving a look of determination. "Then I'll manage it today!"
"Hey, no need to rush." Shadow tried to warn her.
"No way I'm about to give up!" Anne declared. "Let's go again!"
Shadow considered it for a minute before shrugging.
"As you wish."
Three days later…
"Still want to continue?"
They were in the clearing again, Shadow standing over an exhausted Anne on the ground, clearly beaten and developing a painful bump on her head.
"How…" She groaned, before looking up at the boy. "How do you make it so easy?"
"It was never easy in the first place." Shadow said with a shake of his head. "I had to try multiple times, and suffer several mild concussions, before I could master this." He then proceeded to help the Thai girl up, brushing the dirt off her clothes. "It's all a matter of not giving up and adjusting things until it's just right."
Anne lit up before realizing her mistake, "Oh, I get it!"
"Now, one more time." Shadow smiled as he stepped back.
Anne breathed in and concentrated, her body being covered in a light blue aura, a light thicker this time. Shadow raised his wooden sword and brought it down upon her head…
…and instead of being smacked to the ground, Anne stood as the toy broke against the barrier!
"Look at that, you did it!" Shadow declared, holding up the broken wooden for emphasis. "I told you you'd get it eventually!"
"Yeah, finally!" Anne whooped with a fist in the air. "Whoohoo! I'm the defense mastah!"
"Now," Shadow then held up actual swords. "Let's test it against real steel!"
"Oh crud." Anne gulped in fear.
Several minutes later, after seeing the barrier hold against real swords, the two moved on to a field with several trees.
"Now, we'll move on to movement and traversing." Shadow declared. "Speed and movement can make a great difference."
"I'm having some Naruto flashbacks." Anne said, before noticing the boy's confused look. "Dude, when we find time, I'm gonna sit you down for an anime marathon!"
"Ahnimay?" Shadow said in confusion, utterly confused.
"No, an-i-me." Anne corrected. "It's a style of Japanese television."
"Japanese? Television?" Shadow repeated, still confused. "You're talking nonsense!"
"No, I-" Anne made to protest before throwing her hands up with a sigh. "Oh, never mind. What's the next lesson?"
Blinking away the confusion, Shadow approached one of the trees, "In regard to traversing, walking on the ground is fine, but it's much cooler, and faster, to go by trees!"
"Yup, definitely Naruto." Anne nodded.
"Confusing reference aside," Shadow waved off the comment before walking up to a tree. "Watch."
With a breath, Shadow focused as his feet were covered in an aura casing, Anne watching as the boy lifted a leg and planted a foot against the base of the tree, then the proceeded with the other foot before he started walking up the face of the tree before stopping upside down on one of the branches.
"Yup, absolutely Naruto." Anne commented.
"To tree traverse, channel the energy into your feet." Shadow explained. "Imagine your feet as magnets to pull you into the tree and walk as though you were still on the ground."
Nodding, Anne focused as much energy as she could into her feet before taking a running start. Placing one foot against the tree, she made to place the other on the surface of the tree, only to fall back down with an 'oof'.
"Try applying a bit more energy this time." Shadow suggested.
Following his advice, Anne focused much more energy. Too much, it seems, as when she made to move, her legs wouldn't respond, as though her feet were glued to the ground.
"Dang nabit, why is this so hard?!" Anne yelled in frustration.
"Apply too much or too little, and it tends to not work as intended." Shadow explained, balancing the pen on his index finger. "The key is balancing the amount of energy you use. Not too much or too little; it has to be just right."
Anne thought about it for a moment, thinking about the word 'balance', but she realized something. Getting back up, she focused once again, channeling energy into her feet, not too much or too little this time, before approaching the tree, planting one foot on the surface of the tree, then made to follow with the other…
…and this time, she didn't fall! She walked up the tree as though she was walking on the ground, before reaching the branch before walking on the bottom of said branch!
"See? You've got it!" Shadow smiled. "Balanced, as all things should be."
"Hey, I think I'm getting the hang of this!" Anne cheered.
When suddenly, the branch she was standing on broke, causing her to fall screaming, before the cloaked boy dashed in and caught her bridal style.
"Although there's always a weak branch or two." Shadow commented.
Anne couldn't help but blush at being so close to him, the way he held her; it felt oddly calming, made her feel safe.
He soon sat her down, "Now, let's try water traversing!"
The two spent several hours with the water walking lessons, Anne trying to balance the amount of energy, only to end up falling into the water, or using too much energy, resulting in her getting pulled under and Shadow having to rescue her. It took many hours, but eventually, Anne did find the right balance to keep herself above the water's surface.
The two soon moved back to the clearing.
"Next up, I'm gonna instruct you on combat." Shadow declared.
"Alright, now we're talking!" Anne declared.
"We'll get you into some weapons combat." Shadow said as he gestured to the weapons in the crates. "Go ahead; pick whichever weapon suits you best."
Nodding, Anne browsed some of the weapons, humming as she thought, before settling on a one-handed longsword, giving it a few swings before nodding in approval.
"Now, let's start." Shadow said as he held up a shortsword. "Just take a few swings at me so I can see your form. Don't worry, I can take it."
Nodding, Anne took a stance as best she could think of, while Shadow's stance was more relaxed and he held his sword in a lowered guard. The Thai girl lunged forward with a downward slash, only for the boy to deflect the attack before delivering a karate chop to the back of her head, knocking her off balance.
"Bend your knees a bit." He instructed. "And tighten the grip on your weapon." He showed the grip he had on his own weapon for emphasis. "Remember, you're not hiding behind it, you're holding it. Otherwise, it's useless."
Nodding, Anne adjusted her stance before trying again, although it didn't do much to block the boy's attack, since his hits were much stronger.
"You must have as good a defense as well as offense." Shadow pointed out. "Hit faster and stronger, and hold your ground."
Acknowledging the criticism, Anne adjusted more, and while she did a bit better, she still struggled to hold her own against the onslaught, the boy getting several light hits in, before the Thai girl made for another swing, the boy easily duck underneath before swinging his sword at her back…
…only to completely misfire and smacked her right in her butt.
"YEOW!" Anne shouted, dropping her sword and rubbing on her sore rear end. "What's the big id-"
She wasn't able to finish when Shadow kicked her feet right out from under her, sending her to the ground.
"Sorry, I meant to hit your back." Shadow said, not meaning to have hit her there. "But take this as another lesson; never expect your enemies to fight fair."
The boy offered a hand, the Thai girl taking the hand and allowing him to pull her up, before dusting her off.
"Seriously, I didn't mean to hit you there, honest." Shadow said. "Especially that hard."
"I'm willing to forgive, this time." Anne said with a smirk. "So long as you pay me back."
"Anything you want." Shadow nodded.
Thinking for a moment, Anne asked, "Who was the most interesting friend from your past?"
Contemplating it, Shadow answered, "There was one who stood out the most, out of all of them; someone I once called brother. His name was Apollo."
Anne's eyes widened, as Shadow went on, "We were like brothers, did everything together; play, train, cause mischief, we were inseparable."
Anne smiled, but that smile soon faded when she saw the sad look in his eyes.
"What happened?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure." He said with a sigh. "I haven't heard from him since we separated. I only pray that he's okay and can forgive me for leaving."
Anne thought about this and felt like she could relate. Ever since they were kids, she saw Sasha and Marcy as sisters, always doing everything together, be it playing or getting into trouble. Not to mention that she worried if they were in trouble.
Holding her caretaker's hands, she offered a smile, "I'm sure he's fine. And if he still holds the same love, I'm sure he'll forgive you."
Shadow looked at her in surprise before smiling, "That's kind of you to say, Anne. Thank you."
Anne watched him put away the weapons, "Now, let's head back, call it a day."
"You got it!" Anne declared as the two walked away.
Some distance away, however, there was a figure in a white cloak and a golden mask that allowed the left eye to see, watching the two leave.
Whoever they were, their eye had only one emotion; hate.