(OOC: This is a thread for spirit power as well.)

"Right foot...Left foot...Right foot...Left foot", these words kept pumping through Kaito's mind at a faster speed than his legs were moving at and it pained him that he kept having to take these tedious steps to progressing himself further and further as a swordsmen. Since he had come to the Zaraki district to ask the former lieutenant, Rab Nesbit to train him things had been as miserable for him than ever. Although Kaito had found the Nesbit to be a generally a very likable guy, the truth was Kaito was even strong enough to be training with him and it was definitely noticeable when they had started doing kendo practice and Kaito would start breathing heavily when they were only half way through the training. While normally he didn't care, one day out of frustration, Nesbit had said something about a girl having more fortitude than Kaito and it really hit him that his resolve was awful. So in order to correct this, Kaito decided, unbeknownst to Nesbit that he was going to run around the entire Rukongai area in one day every earlier morning before the man woke up.

Kaito knew that the training was ridiculously impossible and would probably require him to have the stamina of a captain, but Kaito was determined to do it until he had enough spiritual power to keep up with the likes of Rab Nesbit's caliber. He had started as soon as the giant of a man had fallen asleep and he had just made his way past the 34th district when his limbs caught on fire. Refusing to stop because it would mean that he was as weak as Nesbit had said he was, Kaito continued to plant each foot in the sandy ground as if there were no tomorrow and he couldn't give up now. Each movement of his legs brought him indescribable pain as he kept them moving in a forward motion, refusing to listen to the lactic acid that had begun to act as poison to his own body, "...I must keep going..." Kaito thought to himself. He wanted to have the power to find the reason that he didn't want to die because he felt that if he didn't want to die then there must be something that he is fighting for. Even though he hates fighting, Kaito refused to believe that fighting wasn't a means to attaining something that is very important to a person.

Breathing heavily and his vision beginning to blur from the exhaustion of running, Kaito pushed himself as he continued to dip into his reserve of spirit power and ran as much of it through his muscles as he could so that he could keep moving towards achieving his goal. Pushing his thighs to their extremes, he could almost feel as the pain was given voice through the throbs of his muscle and his mind started to tell him that he needed to stop running. All these things were holding Kaito back to the point where he wanted to give up and to make matters worse he had no more reiatsu left in his being; no matter how hard Kaito tried it was as if he were a dried tomato left out in the sun, where all of his juices had been bled dry and only rotting and decaying would be his only forms of changing. Finally just as he past the 5th district he collapsed onto the sandy ground outside the village area and he couldn't get up this time without reiatsu in his body which he had none of. "A-am I really this weak?" Kaito thought as the sun rose up calling forth the start of a new day which would mean that Nesbit would be expecting him.

He didn't want to get up, more factual in fact was that he couldn't get up any longer; he couldn't stand being weaker than lieutenants and captains and hollows anymore. As sometime passed by as he lay in that sand, Kaito contemplated giving up and dying right where he lay so that he wouldn't have to go through such intense suffering and he would be able to sleep as much as he wanted. If it wasn't for that one question then Kaito would have peacefully let go of his existence and faded into death willingly, but for some reason no matter what kind of release he thought that death would provide Kaito couldn't except just dying at the level that he was at. "I...I...I must test the strength...the strength...of my existence..." he thought as he pressed his hands into the sand in an attempt to get up. His hands slipped outward resulting in him falling face first into the ground once again as he lay still again, seemingly giving up once again on his desire to live. Kaito surprised even himself when he kept trying to push himself up on his own two feet and then finally he was standing again ready to give running a shot so that he could become strong enough to find his reason for living.

Once he made it to his feet, Kaito took a step forward and again felt the sting of exhaustion bite at the core of his soul as the wind blew the sand up into his face as if nature itself was daring him to continue willing himself to a breakthrough. Feeling as if he had to do this no matter the cost, Kaito reached deep within himself, a part of himself he rarely ever went to because he didn't understand it and drew forth not just the power to move, but the power to fight even more. Taking even more steps; this time faster and harder and longer, Kaito hit his stride as he continued to pour reiatsu into his worn out legs and his overworked heart. "I'm going to find that reason..." was all that Kaito could think as he ran towards the sun, back to the man that would give him the skills to fight for the knowledge of that reason and nothing more than that.

Amazing job of pushing your char to his limits.

+3 to Spirit Power

(Spirit power please)

Kaito had woken up this morning with a mouth of bad tastes and the feeling of heaviness from the previous day's training which didn't make him to keen on trying to go running, but he also realized how much better off he would be doing it for his training. Yawning as he stepped out once again into the dreary morning which of course made him even more uninspired about the run that he was about to attempt, "Geez...I wish the old man wasn't so tough on me so I wouldn't have to do training just to be able to do his training..." Kaito let out in an exasperated breath. He stared at the gate of the backyard of the lean-to house that he was staying at for a couple of minutes before finally forcing himself to get his feet churning towards it and past it in a rhythmic running motion. Soon he was not only out of the backyard, but he was out of the Zaraki District altogether which was good because Kaito didn't want to end up running into those guys and their sticks again lest he get another beat down. He was back out in the desert that he had come from mysteriously, but he never took the time to wonder why it was that he came out in this desert as he continued lifting one sandy foot after the other traversing his way across the smoldering sands.

He had just reached the point where he could no longer see the shoddy buildings that made up the Zaraki district when he felt a pain flare up in his chest as the air hurt the already sore lungs as it filled his air sacs. The strain of lifting one foot and then the other was also further made difficult because of the fact that the sand weighed down on his feet when they sunk into it after every step that he took. While Kaito wasn't pleased with the fact that he had to do this running he formed a steely determination that he wouldn't allow the throbbing pain in his thighs to deter him from achieving the goal that he was so fervently pushing for. It was after he felt the sun rise directly overhead of the desert that he truly felt the immensity of the odds that were stacked against him completing his morning run, "Damn...sun, why the hell is it so hot outside so early in the morning anyway..." griped. Even though he was sure that it wasn't more than a half hour to hour that had passed since he had set out to go running, but he could already feel the muscles in his body crying for him to give up the thankless task of pushing them so far beyond their limits.

Stepping forward even though he knew that he had already gone beyond his physical limits, Kaito became aware of just how powerful willpower and one's mind really was, "To think that...with just my mind I could continue pushing even with my body in this condition..." he thought. While it was his will that was moving his muscles, Kaito was well aware that even his mental powers had their own limits which were closing approaching as he continued to absorb the heat that was pouring down upon him. Naturally the only problem wasn't the heat, but at the moment Kaito couldn't take his mind off of how hot the sun's rays felt upon his skin and he was sure that by now he might even begin seeing mirages which would really be irritating for him. The fall of his foot once again brought another plume of sand scattering through the air and into the wind which took it to nowhere while Kaito himself felt the strain of pushing his cramped muscles in the same direction that the mindless sand was flowing towards. By now his run had become more of a staggered limp as his motions had become jerky and no longer retained the amount of precision that they had when he had first set out on his morning jog.

As he pushed continuously on the strained muscles Kaito could feel that his own consciousness was wavering in and out of focus as the sun beat on him relentlessly, "What am I doing? To what purpose do I have for pushing myself to these ridiculous limits?" he found himself wondering. Aside from his steps becoming uneven and almost unstable as he tried to hold on to the fleeting pieces of his mind so that he could at the very least make it back to the lean-to in time to continue his next training session. He picked a spot in the desert up ahead so that he would be able to have a goal that he reached in his morning jog before being forced to head back to the old man's place completely beat from the run, both mentally and physically. Through sheer determination, Kaito managed to reach the predetermined spot with very little problem, but when he turned around to start heading back to the Zaraki district his body simply gave up on him and he collapsed to the ground. His eyes became heavy as tiredness seeped into his bones along with the warmth of the sun that continued to wash away every ounce of power that he had left within his being, "I can't just lay here..." he thought as he tried to focus his vision.

Planting his hands into the ground, Kaito refused to give up as he forced deep breaths into the lungs that had long since ceased to obey him; he pushed up with his arms while bringing his legs underneath him as he stood up still dazed from exhaustion. No matter where he searched in his soul, there was no power for him to latch on to get him through the weakness that he was feeling; Kaito knew that determination alone could only take you so far and without power to back it up there was no way that he could make the journey back. It was then that he remembered that time that he had almost died while undergoing the spirit particle training that the old man had come up with and what had happened when he had almost given up. It struck him that his strength returned to him eventually as long as he kept pushing even if he didn't notice that the strength was returning, Kaito realized in that moment that he didn't need to look for the power to continue he only needed to find the faith. With this in mind Kaito trudged back to the backyard of the old man shakily keeping in mind that it was not only forcing yourself to do something that makes it possible, but rather if you can have faith in your ability to do whatever it is then power will come to you when you need it most.

Super! +3 to Spirit Power

(Spirit power please. Thank you judges very much once again.)

Kaito had thrown back the sheets determined that he was going to run through the desert that was just outside the Zaraki for at least a good 30 minutes before he had to turn around due to the exhaustion that he knew that he would be feeling. "I have no choice...this is just ridiculous. I can't simply just keep doing the same thing that I have been doing..." he said quietly to himself as he struggled to get his now shredded academy uniform. He tiptoed out of the lieutenant's house and once again took off out of the gates of the ex-shinigami's humble abode as he took long stride that lead him into the filthy, dangerous streets of the Zaraki District. As he cruised through the streets at a relatively comfortable speed Kaito looked up to the sky to see whether the sun as it normally had would play a factor in the training that he would be doing once again so when he noticed that it was slowly peeking its head out from behind a cloud he groaned. It occurred to Kaito that he had indeed been improving in the level of his training and it gave him even greater conviction to work hard in this training excercise than any other time.

He made it outside the outskirts of the Zaraki district with relative ease and he was happy with his progress until he stepped onto the hot sand of the desert that he vowed to cross for a least a good 30 minutes, "Just the sand alone is burning through my sandals...30 minutes out here isn't going to be easy..." he observed. Knowing enough to pace himself, Kaito gently lifted one foot over the other in a bicycle motion so that he wouldn't wear himself out anymore than the sun itself would. The rhythm of his feet pushing through the sound put Kaito into a grove which was so powerful that he didn't even need to think about picking his feet up or running so that his feet wouldn't seek into the sand which caused him to lose stamina faster; he had reached the point where he no longer consciously needed to pay attention to the movement of his feet. During the time that he was jogging through the sand completely oblivious of the harsh conditions around him, Kaito thought about the many experiences that he had since he had materialized in the forest just outside of the Rukongai area. It bothered him that there was so much for him to achieve even though he was definitely proud of the level that he had managed to reach in such a short amount of time, but at the same time he wanted more than that.

Feeling his body suddenly stumble, Kaito snapped back into the reality of the desert and he felt the weight of his own body's fatigue as he continued to trot through the life sapping sand, causing a swirl of it to sink into his sandals every time he stepped down. As he heaved in a big breath to try and focus himself once again, Kaito also noticed the pain that shot through his chest as the much needed breath seeped into his being like an rich acidic substance that his body would die without. Once he got over the initial pain from the soreness of his lungs, Kaito opened his eyes and stared in front of him as he contemplated how much longer he could keep going before he had to turn around, but then he remembered his word and decided to push through the full 30 minutes. With the wind picking up the hot sand and spinning it through the air Kaito felt as if the specks burnt his flesh with each cloud that he was forced to run through, draining the very limited power that he had even more. "The mind is truly the most powerful and fragile of the weapons that anyone has at their disposal..." Kaito thought in an attempt to have his mind focus on something other than the pain that threatened to swallow his body whole.

For some reason that even Kaito himself couldn't understand it seemed that no matter how much trouble it seemed like he was having to deal with when performing a difficult task, he always managed to push further than he expected because his will refused to let him give up. Another footfall in the dust brought more of the fiery sand into the air and searing into Kaito's flesh, but the crimson eyes remained glued in the direction straight ahead as he struggled to push his feet into the ground knowing that it would prepare him for the obstacles he would be facing in the future. Like always Kaito felt the physical pain of the lactic acid spreading through his thighs and he even felt the usual sense of pity that told him to give up the task because it was too impossible, but there was also something more. There was an emptiness within him that he had always felt, but he never felt it as deeply or as intensely as he was feeling it now, "How can I continue on like this...?" Kaito wondered. His body responded to his self doubt by doubling its weight once again and Kaito's knee dropped nearly into the sand on his next step and the only that he avoided falling to the burning hot sand floor was because he stuck his hands in front of him to counter the fall.

Now that his steps had become even more uneven and lopsided than before Kaito was sure that this time he was going to die out in the desert of the Rukongai district as a no name person with no purpose or reason to be living in the world, but his mind refused to embrace that thought. Even though Kaito's personality would have led him to give up there was some part of his being that refused to give in to these defeatist attitude feelings that kept weighing Kaito down; in truth it was the most alive part of Kaito. Instead of focusing on the physical pain that he was feeling, Kaito decided that he would focus upon this feeling as he planted his left foot into the sand and pirouetted turning back towards the Zaraki district so that he could get back before Nesbit awoke. As he made his way back the Rukongai area he felt the pain of his legs cramping up, but he didn't allow that to stop him and even though it seemed as if every breath brought pain into Kaito's lungs he was able to simply push through it. Even his body became slightly lighter than it had when he was running in the beginning, "This must be my resolution to live..." Kaito realized as he made his way into the Zaraki area; he was slightly happy because he now knew just how important the strength of his resolve was to the success of his overall personal mission.

+2 spirit

(Spirit Power please)

Once again it was morning and Kaito wasn't sure that he was feeling up to running through the desert of sand outside the Rukongai area, but he also wasn't sure that he could do anything else to help improve on his stamina which was the main goal for the day. He got out of bed quietly so as not to wake up Nesbit who would surely yell at him for being up so early in the morning when he had training later on, "For a jolly, old, fat guy he really doesn't have any sympathy for people who don't do things his way..." Kaito commented quietly as he slipped out the door. As he left the backyard of Nesbit's shanty house, Kaito tried to come up with a way to improve his endurance even more than he already had; Kaito new that he wasn't a person with weak constitution, but for some reason Nesbit always complained about his endurance. It bugged him to no end that the man kept saying that he knew plenty of female shinigami that had much more tolerance for fatigue than Kaito did. Not that he had any qualms about women being against, Kaito, but if it were his duty to protect women as a man there was no way that he could deal with the fact that a women had more endurance than himself; it was simply unacceptable in Kaito's opinion.

He stepped out into the into the area of the Rukongai district of Zaraki, where he had already experienced many adventures and he was sure that there was still more to come in this area even though he was a shinigami now, "So many memories...both good and bad..." he thought to himself. Little kids ran through the village street playfully which was unusual because of the dangerous aura that surrounded the village; when people thought about the Zaraki district they normally didn't think about its playfully, safe environment. With that in mind Kaito curiously followed the children down an alley where a man with a pointy joker's hat was clapping as he sat down on the dirty floor clapping rhythmically at the children while bobbing his head. Not saying anything Kaito continued to watch the scene because it was rare to see such careless happiness in this area of Rukongai, but then the jester turned to where he was standing and motioned for him to come forward and join the playful crowd. Kaito walked uncertainly to where the children were clapping their hands at the clown in utter delight and then he heard the clown's annoying voice, "You're a shinigami, right?", the clown said in a high pitched voice that made Kaito cringe slightly in both annoyance and from the pitch of the voice.

Smiling painfully, Kaito nodded his head and waved his hand not wanting to put on a bad show in front of the children that were gathered in the area, "It would seem that I am a shinigami, Jester-san..." he started, but he decided to take a shot at the jester for calling him out, "...any fool could see that from my kimono and my shikakushou" he added lightly. To his satisfaction he watched the jester bristle noticeably at Kaito remark before stammering out, "W-well children we have been graced today with one of the Sereitei's soldiers..." he said mockingly, "...but I guarantee that I can last longer than him circling the Zaraki district while carrying 10 children on my back for at least 3 and half hours..." he declared with flourish. Kaito watch as the children began to go into a frenzy hopping around every which way at the jester's implied challenge and Kaito saw that there was even some women watching to see what would happen in this instance, "Troublesome clown...I can't allow myself to be shown up in front of women..." he told himself. Nodding his agreement, Kaito turned around and waited until the ten designated children began to climb onto his back in a frenzied manner in an awkward triangle before he rose once again hoping that the clown was bluffing. To his surprise the jester hadn't been bluffing about his strength Kaito watched the scrawny man with the bell hat hoisted his share of children on to his back with ease, "Well then, shinigami-san, we will jog around Zaraki with these children on our backs for exactly 3 and a half hours" the jester said as he immediately took off.

Gritting his teeth, Kaito mutter, "Cheating fool..." as he dashed off hurriedly to catch up to the jester, who despite the large number of children on his back was moving rather swiftly to the edges of the district, "Oi, shinigami-san, one more thing there is to be no use of shunpo here!" the jester shouted over his shoulder. Kaito felt each step labor with the weight of the 10 people that were now part of his weight composition as he trailed the jester while cursing him in his mind the entire way. Even though Kaito was sure that an hour hadn't passed yet, he felt the burning of his lungs begin to rob him of his concentration and he was still behind the jester who was leaving clouds of dust for Kaito to follow in at the same pace he had been running at the beginning of the competition. Putting his head down, Kaito pushed even further upon his aching muscles as the footfalls in the earth became increasingly more distinctive as Kaito pounded a ground underneath him as a way to compensate for the extra weight. By now there was no way that Kaito could hide the fact that his breathing was heavy since when he tried to inhale he made a guttural wheezing noise that caused worried looks to creep upon the children's face as he continued to push toward the end of the competition.

As the clown with Kaito in hot pursuit passed by the checkpoint, Kaito heard the boy with the watch scream out that it had been exactly 3 hours that they had been running now and Kaito couldn't help, but feel elation at the way things turned out for him. Turning his head back to the children upon his back, Kaito asked, "See you guys?...and you were worried about me the whole time. There are only a couple more minutes before I can stop all these strenuous exercises..." he said nonchalantly to the children as he flicked his weight towards his thighs so that he could help gain control of the children who were falling off his back. Although Kaito felt good he kept feeling the lactic acid burn into his muscles threatening to slow him down as he continued his quest for pride even though he didn't think that it would matter at this point. Just as everyone and the guy were at the entrance of the meeting hall Kaito quickly picked a spot and he wasn't going to like the effort of continuing it even though he was right in front of the other stations, but Kaito stamped each foot in the ground in hopes of not loosing. Suddenly with no warning the world around the company of the other defensive players, Kaito wasn't sure is he had enough strength to even give them instructions, but he took three steps towards they are supposed to check-in there, Kaito stumbled to the ground with a sore back, "Shit..." he thought to himself.

+2 Spirit!!!!!!

(Spirit power please. Thank you judges)

After defeating the dumb clown in the contest that he had proposed, Kaito decided to take his leave since he didn't want to be involved in anymore ridiculous incidents that might obstruct him from his training once again, "Man, that was annoying...who knew that such crazy people lived in Zaraki district?" he thought as he placed his hands within his robes. As he was walking through the filthy streets of the Zaraki district once again, he saw as many people began to wake up to do their early morning chores. When they saw him it was as if a dark cloud came and took hold of their faces, but Kaito was used to that; the day that he had entered Soul Society it had been the same way with the people of this district since for some reason this was the toughest district to live in. In fact, Kaito remembered when he had gotten to the entrance of the district he had thoroughly flogged by a group of men, who in arrogance called themselves the "Hell Gate Warriors" so that they could beat up on unsuspecting travelers. Although Kaito didn't enjoy the beating that had given him, he also couldn't deny the fact that they may have been the reason that he purpose in his life as well because if it hadn't been for them then he never would have realized what it meant to truly feel the desire to live.

Lost in his thoughts Kaito was abruptly jerked back to reality as someone had given him a firm elbow which effectively knocked him off his train of thought, but Kaito didn't bother confronting the person since it would only lead to him having to exert effort so that he could make the person see things his way. He kept on walking as if nothing had happened when the person called out to him, "Wait! I need your help please! Don't walk away, you're a shinigami, aren't you?" the person called out desperately. Sighing Kaito stopped and half turned his head as he stared at the ragged citizen of the Rukongai area, "What's the problem?" Kaito asked with no sense of caring, enthusiasm, or even concern as the man explained that there was some sort of accident with his wagon and that it was about to roll down a hill crushing one of the huts at the bottom. Every fiber in Kaito's being simply wanted to turn away from the guy and tell him that everything would be fine, but the grubby man would certainly not let things end so easily for Kaito since he was already bouncing around in front of the young shinigami in anticipation for his help. Begrudgingly, Kaito uttered, "Y-" before the man grasped his wrist firmly and began to drag the shinigami through the grime covered streets of the Zaraki district to where the scene of the accident was, "What have I gotten myself into..." Kaito miserably wondered.

Then man seemed to be genuinely worried that they wouldn't make it in time to help, but even as he noticed the man's fear and anxiousness Kaito still could really only think about the nice warm bed that he had left so that he could be dragged around by some strange person. Apparently they had gotten close because the man began to grip his hands even more tightly which was a horrible sensation because the man's hands were for whatever reason extremely sweaty as they clasped onto Kaito's hands. Over the distance where the hill was, Kaito could see men trying to wedge themselves in the way so that they could stop the wagon's progress, but Kaito also saw that they were losing the battle as the wagon seemed to be gaining ground on the struggling men. Even when he saw the men struggling, he still didn't feel any remorse of sense of concern because he was sure that things weren't as bad as they seemed to be at the moment and he thought that it would really suck if he helped when he didn't have to. Sighing he pushed his heels into the ground causing him and the man that had been dragging him through Zaraki for the better half of fifteen minutes to stop in their tracks.

"Look, I know that you are very worried about your friends and I get that, but it seems like you have enough men for the job so I'm just going to disappear alright?" Kaito said as he shook the man's hand off his own and turned to walk away when he suddenly heard all the men shout along with the creaking of wood. He immediately whipped around to see the men leaping away from the cart that began its accelerated descent towards the houses that were at the bottom of the hill, "Shit...I didn't actually think that it would fall..." Kaito chastised himself. Using shunpo several times before he appeared midway on the hill as the wagon came careening down at breakneck speed, Kaito closed his eyes as he raised his palms straight out as he readied himself for the impact that was coming. When the wagon crashed into his palms it didn't come to a complete stop because of how much weight was in the wagon so the momentum that the wagon was coming with was amazing enough that even with Kaito pumping reiatsu into his arms, he wasn't able to stop it as he kept skidding down the hill. He knew that there was no way that the men could help him at this point since if anyone tried to interfere the weight of the wagon would probably sweep all of them down the hill which is not something Kaito wanted to have on his conscience, "Get to the bottom and tell everyone to get out because I don't know if I can hold it!" he shouted.

Sweat dripped down his back underneath his clothing as he struggled to hold his ground against the weight of the wagon that seemed to get heavier and heavier as time passed on; it also didn't help Kaito that the sun was beating down upon him sucking up even more energy than holding up the wagon was. Trying to take in deep breaths, the young shinigami attempted to switch the position of his feet so that he could possibly make it easier for him to continue holding the wagon up, but that didn't work out since the moment he moved his feet the wagon lurched forward. Worse yet, Kaito could feel himself sliding through the dusty earth backwards as the wagon continued to make its way for the houses below, but since Kaito had already decided to help he wanted to finish things out. "Dammit...I can't let go or else someone will get hurt, but at the same time holding on much longer isn't necessarily a viable option right now either..." he reasoned with himself as he evaluated the choices he had. Deciding that it was better to just go all out, Kaito raised his remaining reiatsu and began to pump his legs as the wagon was slowly pushed backwards up the hill; gritting his teeth Kaito began to hate the joker that he had raced against even more since it was because of the competition they had that he wasn't able to gather more strength than he currently had in him.

+2 spirit

(Spirit power please. Judge as you see fit)

Kaito could tell that the people had cleared out from the bottom of the hill which was where the wagon would be heading in a few seconds since Kaito didn't have the reiatsu to continue holding it up, but he had to try. "I wish that clown had just left me on my way instead of having me carry children around on my back..." he muttered as another bead of sweat hit the ground below him. His feet slid a few more inches down the hill under the duress of the wagon and Kaito gritted his teeth as he poured more reiatsu into his legs trying to hold the wagon up so that he could buy as much time for the people below. Considering that there were many shops that had to be told and that there were only a few men who were delivering the news Kaito figured that it would take at least a good half hour before he could even consider thinking that everyone was safe. Unfortunately as much as Kaito wanted to, he was sure that his strength wouldn't hold out for another 30 minutes since the wagon seemed to get heavier and heavier with each passing second that went by.

Suddenly Kaito's body jerked abruptly and suddenly he began sliding down the hill at a steady constant pace despite all his efforts to stop the movement, "Oh man...this is it...I have to put every ounce of my being into this or else everyone is going to have a very bad day down there..." he grunted. Extending his arms fully, Kaito readied his body for a quick shift in position so that he might have a better chance at slowing the wagon down, but his arms were already getting tired to the point of cramping as he held the wagon out. Sucking in deep breaths, the young shinigami flipped his body around so that his back was now against the wagon and his feet were out in front of him acting as a brake against the force of gravity that was pulling so forcefully on the wagon. Still sweating profusely from the effort of switching his body position, Kaito struggled as the change in his body leaned caused the wagon to pick up a little speed as it winded down the hill even more than it had before. Closing his eyes, Kaito drew on a huge amount of reiatsu and buckled his legs into the ground with such force that it caused the back of the wagon to fly up a little bit as the stop came so completely.

Sighing in relief, Kaito's body trembled with the effort of maintaining the stance that he currently had as he looked out to the town to see the men running from store to store warning the keepers and customers of the tragedy that was being postponed on top of the hill. As the weight of the wagon continued to strain his body Kaito looked up into the sky as the clouds became more visible as the afternoon approached, "What a troublesome day...all I wanted to do was go for a light run and now this..." he complained. The muscles in Kaito's legs began to beg for mercy as the weight of the wagon seemed to become greater and Kaito knew that it was now a factor of time since he knew that he wouldn't be able to hold on long enough for everyone to clear out. Then an idea hit him, but he knew that it was a gamble since the risk of the wagon simply falling onto the town was very high in this case, "I could attempt to put all my strength towards pushing it back up the hill...but if I fail I know I won't be able to hold the wagon any longer..." he guessed. Since he knew that he wouldn't be able to hold out until the men finished anyway, Kaito decided that it was worth the gamble to try and push the wagon up.

Once he made the decision his head dropped into his chest as he realized that he was going to have to deal with the undesirable aspect of him having to switch body positions again which would lead to the wagon falling down even further down the hill. Accepting this as a necessary cost of the plan that he was about to execute, the young shinigami began to inhale deep gulps of air in preparation to quickly flip his body back to its original position against the wagon. Counting off seconds in his head, Kaito paced his breathing until the time came for him to make his move which he then flipped around as fast as he could manage to place his hands against the wagon to keep it from falling. In the process of turning around though, Kaito stumbled most likely due to the exhaustion that already racked his body and watched in horror as the wagon accelerated towards him. At the last moment he was able to bring his left hand up and caught the wagon with it just before the giant load ran him over, "Shit...that could have turned out very badly for me..." he struggled to say through deep breaths.

Since Kaito had his left hand braced against the ground so that the wagon wouldn't bowl him over in his vulnerable position he was unable to stand up completely which would have made his task a lot easier than it was looking currently, but there was no other way for him to do what he had to do. Breathing heavily from the exertion of trying to hold back the wagon Kaito quickly ran through his options once more trying to find the quickest and most efficient way to get out of his current situation only to find himself stumped. Sweated dripped onto the bridge of his nose and then fell even further to his upper lip where it seeped into his mouth so that he tasted its salty testament to the weakening state of his body, "Tch...I may actually require help here..." he admitted to no one. The wagon lurched dangerously and Kaito felt the weight of the wagon bearing against him more than it had been before causing his fingers to dig through the earth to no avail. Deciding that there was no right way to get out of the situation, the young third squader gathered his reiatsu and in one final effort pushed back against the wagon stopping its progression, but Kaito knew that this was an all or nothing deal so he kept pressing forward desperately hoping that he could somehow push the wagon back to the top of the hill.

+1.5 Spirit Power