Location: Left Side of Dojo

  Time of Day: Morning

  Day 1 of Week 2.

  Hikari and Slayer stood at the center of the dojo, ready for the training to commence. Slayer grinned playfully, jabbing a thumb at himself. "You ready, Hikari?"

  FWISH! Hikari stretched her arms, her face steady with determination. "Yeah. I'm ready to begin."

  "Good. Then let's get started." Slayer stepped back and crossed his arms. "First up is stamina training. Building your stamina will make the next phase, strength and resilience, a lot more easier to handle."

  Hikari nodded. "Makes sense. If I can hold my Emanation State for a longer period, then I'll have a better chance of getting through the tougher parts."

  "Precisely." Slayer's smirk lingered under his helmet, though his voice turned more serious. "So here's the plan. You'll be entering your Emanation State and hold it for as long as you can. Once you release it BAM! that's a failure. After that you'll get five minutes to rest, and then we start all over again. Doesn't matter if you last five minutes or fifty, the rest is always five."

  Hikari blinked. "Only five?" Her eyes narrowed. "...That's brutal."

  "Ehhh, don't sweat it," Slayer waved a hand dismissively. "I only took four-minute breaks when I trained this way."

  Hikari rolled her eyes. "Wow... jeez, that makes me feel so much better. Thanks for the words of encouragement."

  "HAHAHA! Don't get discouraged yet when we haven't even started. Save the whining for when you actually fail!"

  Hikari sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. "Guess there's no use in complaining now. In that case... I'll give it everything I've got!"

  "That's the Hollow spirit." Slayer nodded approvingly, his tone shifting more serious. "You'll first be starting with one hour, and If you drop it early, the timer resets back to zero. You'll keep going until you hit the one hour mark so no shortcuts. Once you pass that, we'll push you to two hours... and eventually three. That's the final goal here, three uninterrupted hours of sustaining your Emanation."

  Hikari took a deep breath. "Understood... still sounds so cruel though, but I believe I'll manage... I think."

  "Great to hear!" Slayer stepped back, flashing another grin beneath his helmet. "Now then," he gestured at her with an open hand, "show me what you've been hiding this past week. I want to see the Emanation you've worked so hard on to master."

  Hikari scratched her cheek, a nervous laugh slipping out. "Ah, hehe... yeah. Guess it really is time to show you huh."

  "This'll be my first time seeing it, so surprise me," Slayer said proudly, tapping his chest plate with a fist. "I expect nothing less from Lumina's trainee!"

  Hikari smirked faintly. "Just a heads-up though, my aura is a little intense. After all, you said it yourself, Lumina has been training me so..."

  Slayer tilted his head with a dramatic lean, raising his hands like he was pretending to be scared. His voice carried a playful whine. Oooo~ how terrifying! Don't worry, Hikari, I can handle it... actually, maybe I'll take a step or two back, juuusst in case." He gave her a thumbs-up and slid backward, putting extra paces between them. "Okay, good to go."

  Then it began... Hikari closed her eyes, inhaling deeply as her body relaxed. Her hands hung loosely at her sides, expression calm, focused. The silence of the dojo pressed in, until... "Awaken!" she shouted. BOOM! The word burst through the air as it echoed throughout the whole dojo. The pressure in the room spiked and the dojo trembled from the force of it. RRRRMMMM!

  Slayer's fists clenched instinctively, his whole body tensing with excitement beneath his armor. "Oooo~ YES!" His voice crackled through the helmet's speaker, filled with raw hype. "Now that's badass! That's it, Hikari, keep going! Show me that aura of yours!"

  BOOOOM! A burst of pink aura shot out from Hikari, shaking the floor beneath them. The pressure stirred up a gust of wind that pushed Slayer back a few steps, but he held firm, his eyes locked on her in awe. RRRMMM! The dojo quaked for only a few seconds before Hikari exhaled, and the dojo went still again. She stood calm and steady, her body surrounded by a pink heat-like aura. Her black ponytail swayed in the lingering breeze as she slowly opened her eyes... now naturally pink. A small, smug smile curved at her lips.

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  "Hmph... what do you think? Did I impress you?" Hikari asked, her voice steady and confident.

  "Hahaha!" Slayer's laugh crackled through his helmet. "Amazing! Your aura's the real deal. Lumina really trained you well, huh?"

  "Of course she did." Hikari nodded. "I trained again and again until my aura became stable. Now, I can activate it at will. So I thank her for that."

  "Yeah, I can definitely tell." Slayer crossed his arms, nodding. "Can't wait to test its strength later. But for now, let's focus on your stamina."

  "Right! So I just stay in this state, then?" she asked, glancing at the flowing aura in her hands.

  "Uh-huh. So I'd recommend sitting down so you don't wear yourself out too fast. Just get comfortable and relax your breathing. Let the energy flow naturally throughout your body. Closing your eyes helps too. Kinda like if you're meditating."

  "Got it! I'll give it a try then!" Hikari said brightly. She lowered herself to the floor, crossing her legs and shutting her eyes. Her breathing slowed, and the aura around her steadied.

  Slayer gave an approving nod and moved toward the edge of the dojo. Settling on the stairs, he leaned forward with his arms on his knees and lowered his voice. "Better not disturb her."

  Minutes passed...

  Hikari's pink aura flowed steadily around her with calm. At the thirty-minute mark, she hadn't budged and her body was still, her breathing slow and deep. Even at fifty-five minutes, her expression stayed composed, focus unbroken.

  "Five more minutes!" Slayer called from across the dojo. He studied her quietly, his tone softening beneath the usual confidence. "...She really is something huh." The final minute passed. "You can stop now, Hikari!" Slayer's voice carried across the room.

  Hikari's eyes fluttered open, the pink glow still burning softly. She blinked, startled. "Huh...? Oh! That was already an hour?"

  "Yep! Time's up. No need to push beyond that, especially not on your first full run."

  "Right... I'll release it now." Her aura slowly faded, slipping away as she let out a long breath. She stretched her arms overhead with a small sigh. "Phew... it felt like I was meditating inside a dream," she said with a light chuckle. Rising to her feet, Hikari dusted off her clothes.

  Slayer pushed himself up from the stairs and walked over, clapping slowly, his tone through the helmet filled with playful exaggeration. "Wow, look at you!" Slayer laughed through his helmet, giving her an exaggerated thumbs-up. "I might have to consider making my aura pink too, haha! You didn't drop it once that whole hour, very impressive. Seriously, where the heck did you come from?!"

  Hikari shrugged with a teasing smile, her tone playful. "Hmm... I don't know. Maybe I'm just naturally gifted~."

  "Well, whatever it is, keep it up, comrade!" Slayer smirked beneath the helmet, voice brimming with mischief. "At this rate, we'll be done before Lumina." He stepped back with a little flourish, gesturing toward the stairs. "Now, take a thirty-minute break. After that, it's two hours nonstop."

  "Roger that!" Hikari snapped a mock salute with a grin. FWIP! Her ponytail flicked as she tilted her head curiously. "Well, hopefully I can make it through that too. Hey, Slayer... just out of curiosity, how long can you hold your Emanation State?"

  Slayer rubbed his chin with a thoughtful hum. "Hmm... last time I checked? Around eight hours."

  GASP! Hikari's eyes shot wide open. "HUUUH?! Eight hours?! Are you frk'n serious?!"

  "Yup." Slayer leaned casually to the side, arms folded. "But hey, that's nothing compared to Lumina."

  "Wahh~, w-wait! Lumina can go longer than that? How?!" Hikari planted both hands on her hips and leaned toward Slayer, eyes wide as if demanding an answer.

  "Easy! Because she's Lumina, of course, haha!" Slayer said with a booming laugh, one hand on his hip, the other waving dramatically. HAHAHA!

  ("That doesn't really answer my question...") Hikari thought with a small sigh. "I mean... I knew she was amazing, but I didn't realize that amazing..."

  Slayer clenched a fist, his voice surging with energy. CLENCH! "One day, I'll surpass her though. I just gotta keep pushing until I get there!"

  Hikari watched Slayer with a soft, admiring gaze, her thoughts drifting. ("I wonder how powerful Lumina and Slayer really are... I'm just glad they're on our side in this battle. With them, we might actually have a fighting chance against the Echos. We'll definitely make it back. Just hold on a little longer, Dr. Naru... we'll be coming back with help soon enough.")

  Slayer's voice snapped her out of it. "Anyway, enough about us. So go ahead and take that break and do whatever you please during that time. But just make sure to save me a few training dummies if you feel like messing around with them, haha!"

  Hikari tilted her head side to side with a mutter. "Like I told Lumina once before, I'm not that violent."

  "Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, kiddo." Slayer teased, giving an exaggerated wink through the helmet as he turned toward the door.

  "Kiddo?" Hikari blinked, her cheeks puffing as she planted her hands on her hips. "Hey! I'm not a kid! I'm an adult scientist!"

  "See ya in thirty!" Slayer called over his shoulder, waving without turning around. CLACK! The dojo doors closed behind him. She glanced around the quiet dojo, stretching lightly. "Hmm... so what should I do now?" Her gaze drifted toward the far wall. "Guess I'll just take a look around for a bit. I wonder how Captain and Lumina are doing though..." With quiet steps, Hikari began to wander, her mind still puzzling over how long Lumina could really hold her Emanation State.

  Meanwhile, across the right side of the building...

  Captain and Lumina were just beginning their stamina training... but naturally, Lumina had a slightly different method in mind. One that will change Captain's life forever...