(Akatsuki’s POV)

I blocked her punches with ease. Certainly, they are stronger than two months ago, when she got here to train with me. I’m a bit proud of her. She has been training as if there was no tomorrow, and since I had my vision, the late night meditation was over, so we used this extra time to train like hell.

After the sparring, comes the hunting of the creatures. Lilulana hates the hunting training, since I bind her hands behind her back and thrown her against some strong creature. Not that she can do something about though.

Then, I force her to eat some cores. She doesn’t like eating them, since she says that she might die. But since I manipulate the energy spreading inside her so that is spreads slowly instead of bursting open like happens to me.

Although now she doesn’t resist that much, she still tries to escape from time to time, just for me to get her by the tail and drag her back, with her fingers digging deep on the ground, screaming “release me! Please, I don’t want any more cores!”. What a pity, she doesn’t understand that it’s all for her sake.

Now that I think about it, Shino and Shina were like this on their first year as well. Although I didn’t forced them to eat cores, they did got a deep fear from the muscle training that I forced them both in doing.

Well, she will get used to it soon enough. We still have many years, hehehe~.

(Lilulana): “What’s with that creepy smile?!”

(Akatsuki): “it’s your imagination.”

(Lilulana): “It isn’t! Ah, gods, why the hell I’m still here?!”

(Akatsuki): “Don’t worry, you will get used soon enough.”

(Lilulana): “How so?!”

(Akatsuki): “one year?”

(Lilulana): “NOOOOOOOOOOOOO~!”

I ignore her screams and continue dragging her back by her tail. Although I could teleport us back with Kamui, but doing this is important. To break their morale, and make them notice that they can’t escape, no matter what. Hehehe~~

(Lilulana): ”STOP THAT CREEPY SMILE!! SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!”

(Akatsuki): “Come on, it’s not that bad. You are much stronger than the you from two months ago!”

(Lilulana): “I know that! It’s you Spartan training that makes me mad! How the fuck those two survived this?!”

(Akatsuki): “Although their training was hard for them, yours is much harder. You’re stronger than them after all. You see, I tied them back to back and threw them to the beasts and made them unable to use their arms. Ah, good times.”

(Lilulana): “IT’S THE SAME FUCKING THING!!!”

Ara ara, she’s so loud. Anyway, the time for Yukari to return is close. She should be here by the end of the month.

(later, at the cave)

(Lilulana): “No! GET AWAY FROM ME!”

(Akatsuki): “Oh, come on, it’s just a shard of the core that you have been eating since the last weak! It isn’t so bad.”

I say, approaching her with the shard on my hand. The shard is enough for a mouthful. She will be able to swallow in one go. She looks at me and screams.

(Lilulana): “I WON’T EAT TH- mofu?!”

As she screams, I take the chance to jump onto her and shove the shard inside her mouth. She tries to spit it off, but I force my fingers inside her mouth, pushing the shard deeper in her mouth, forcing her to swallow it. Oh, it’s squishy.

I get off from her, cleaning my fingers on my shirt. She coughs a bit before sitting up.

(Lilulana): “You did it again…”

(Akatsuki): “Yeah. And now I don’t need to control the energy release of the shard inside you since your body is already used to it.”

(Lilulana): “I ended up turning into a monster like you…”

(Akatsuki): Yeah, you did. Now go to sleep.”

(Lilulana): “Yes~~… have you advanced in your spirit arts?”

(Akatsuki): “No. not even a bit.”

(Lilulana’s POV)

I gazed at my master(shishou). Spirit arts are really hard to master, and it’s not the same for everyone. When I ask about it to him, his gaze turns a bit lonely. When I began using my spirit arts, my visions showed me what I lacked, and for each one that I lacked that I conquered, I gained a new power.

I didn’t notice until my mom told me, otherwise, I wouldn’t learn my spirit arts. I hesitate for a moment, before saying.

(Lilulana): “Master Akatsuki, sometimes, the visions show something that you lack. That might help you.”

I walked to my bed and fell asleep.

(Akatsuki’s POV)

Lilulana went to sleep, while I think about her words. Something that I lack. Also, why I was a swallow in my vision? What I lack… something that I long for?

It may seem lonely, but company… no, I have Yukari and the Uchiha brothers. Also, I will meet my friends one day, so I’m not that lonely. Hope… something that I lack… no, it’s something that I must become. For my friends, for my family, for those who I love.

A swallow, a symbol of hope. In my world, the swallows are tattooed in the bodies of the sailors, so that if they die drowned in the sea they can take their souls safely to the afterlife. Not only that, the Christians see the swallow as a symbol of rebirth and new beginnings.

New beginnings, hope. It’s not something that I lack, but something that I must become. I can’t do that from my cage, I lack freedom. I long for freedom. I need freedom, so that I can become something that can guide souls to their righteous place.

I’m not a righteous person, but I won’t refuse to help someone. And I will always protect the ones that I love, no matter what. The memory from when I was five years old comes back to me.

“If you are going to steal from someone, steal from me!”

Hehe, I almost forgot about it. I feel a funny sensation on my abdomen, spreading through my chest. lifting my shirt, I saw the extremely realistic tattoo of a black swallow, with a white 燕(Tsubame=Swallow) in each wing. It’s on the right side of my chest, with its head pointed to my right shoulder.

It’s a black scissor-tail swallow. You know, those swallows with split tail that’s very long. Its tail goes over my left ribs, reaching the side of my body. I can only see only one of its eyes, it’s left eye, bright green, like mine. It has a serious and menacing stare. I like it.

I also can feel my new powers. Surprisingly, they are support types. Fitting for someone who wants to become a pillar for everyone. Anyway, let’s sleep. I’m happy that I came to an understanding of myself. I feel very well. At peace. I really want to show this to Yukari~.