Remedial Training - Week 2 (Cass Solo - Shunpo App and Kido App)

I consider this Chapter 2 of Cass' personal story arc for Chapter 1 please read Remedial Training - Week 1
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Cass stood in the middle of his room in the sixth squad barracks barefoot, his eyes closed as he concentrated on the flow of his spiritual energy.   He was trying to focus the majority of his power down to the balls of his feet as Miyuki had done and cast the hado he had just learned a few days ago.  Over the course of three days he had been blasted off of his feet more times than he could count, but the last few times he had attempted it he had at least mangaged to guide the lightning around his quarters before his control slipped.

Okay...okay...you can do this...you already have coiled the energy in on itself while using your hand to direct the flow of his spiritual energy. It is just a matter of  controlling it with your feet instead of your hands. Miyuki, his blue haired mentor, had told him that he just needed to practice coiling the energy using his arm to direct the flow of his spiritual energy.  However, Cass had wanted to take it one step further and learn to use this spell without the use of his hands just as she had done.  Closing his eyes as he channeled a majority of his spiritual energy to his feet and held it there for a moment,  “Hado, Number Eleven: Bound Lightning!”  Cass grinned as he watched the line of energy start to make its way away from him.  When it neared his bed Cass directed the lightning turning it right to avoid mat and sent it up the wall to about eye level.   Then finally Cass started to coil the energy in on its self, it took him only a matter of heart beats to finish three tight coils before it his control slipped and he was blown off of his feet and into the wall behind him.  

“Dammit...”  Cass got to his feet and realized that it was almost time for him to head to his lesson with Miyuki, if he didn't leave soon he would be late.   Apparently he had been standing in place for much longer than he had originally thought, “Dammit!”  he said as he ran out of the door of his quarters and started to run making his way towards the Shino Academy.  

Breathless and covered in sweat Cass made it to the room where he normally met Miyuki and frowned there was a note on the door with his name on it.  Ripping it off the door Cass unfolded it and silently scanned the letter,  Cass, today we are going to meet out in the sparring arena.  Miyuki name was written at the bottom of the note  and Cass frowned, he hated being late and now he was going to be doubly so; the sparring arena was on the other side of the academy.

It had taken him nearly fifteen minutes to navigate across the campus in a rush and when he topped the hill that over looked the pit of the arena Cass smiled happy to see the blue haired woman sitting on one of the walls waiting for him.  Without even thinking Cass barreled down towards the pit.  “Hey! Miyuki sorry I am late, I lost track of time and was late in the first place then when I got to the class room I found your note.”

Miyuki looked up at him with a smile and waved, she was trying to say something to him but Cass couldn't make it out before she disappeared  from her perch, an instant later she was at Cass' side.  “It is no problem, but if you knew how to...”  She disappeared again and was instantly on the other side of him. “...use shunpo being late, even if I change the location at the last minute...”   She disappeared again this time apppearing in front of him and Cass was instantly stopped by a net of kido energy that suddenly appeared around him.  “...would never be a problem again.”  Miyuki kept her calm smile.

“What the hell is this Miyuki?”  Cass struggled to get free but the kido net held tight,  “Come on Miyuki I was only a few moments late did you really have to do this?”

“No I didn't but it is going to help you in more ways than one.  First off the kido you are going to learn today is very difficult to set up right, you see I didn't put that up until you even got here. However, because I can utilize shunpo, or flashstep, I can move much faster than your eyes can follow. “  The blue haired instructor dispelled the net and watched as Cass stumbled a few steps before regaining his balance.  

“So you are telling me that I have to learn to move faster than the eye can see in order to cast the next spell you are going to teach me?”  Cass couldn't even begin to wonder on how he was going to accomplish that in one day, “Shouldn't you of warned me that I needed to be doing things to build up my speed during my training with you, Miyuki?”  

“Not at all; the art of shunpo involves spiritual control more than that of speed.  Now don't get me wrong speed is a very improtant part of it.”   Miyuki frowned as she tried to think up a way to explain it to Cass,  “Think of it like this:  by using your spiritual energy and pooling it at the bottom of your feet you can launch yourself forward so fast that you disappear from eyesight for an instant.  Like this...”  Miyuki took two steps towards her student and then vanished only to tap him on the back.

Cass spun around to face his teacher and frowned, he had been trying to follow her with his eyes that time but still he saw nothing.  “Alright where do I start?” he said he was mentally defeated when it came to this one.

“Focus on feeling your spiritual energy around you...”  Miyuki walked around him as  Cass closed his eyes, “You have already learned to let your spiritual energy flow naturally without totally losing control of it.  Now all you have to do is hold it back and only let it escape from the bottom of your feet, when you feel like you are ready I want you to take one step forward Cass.  Keep your eyes closed and take one step forward”  Miyuki stepped back and smiled, she could already sense the flow of his energy changing subtly, Cass had no problem changing the path of his power.   Suddenly Cass vanished and appeared out in the middle of the arena.  

“Great job Cass!”  Miyuki beamed, her student was progressing fast, but he needed to learn to move faster and predict an opponents moves until he learned to see another person using shunpo.  Cass turned around his face showed surprise at the fact that he had actually accomplished his first flash step. “Now in order to make sure you fully grasp this less Cass I have a simple game in mind.  All you have to do is catch me.”  She smiled as she vanished only to appear at the edge of the arena, “No need to worry I will stay in the bounds of the arena.”

Cass frowned, as he pondered how he was supposed to catch the blue haired teacher if he couldn't see her movements.  At least now I can catch up to her once I learn to follow her.  Cass shot forward leaving nothing but a cloud of dust where he stood before.   He appeared only inches from where Miyuki had been only to find she was already gone standing against he wall of the arena.  

“You will never catch me when if you keep having to stop like that.”  She laughed.

Cass took off again this time keeping his eyes trained on Miyuki; when she moved he could have sworn he saw the slightest hint of a blur leaving her body before she disappeared entirely.  That is it! That blur it has to be her using shunpo, could it be possible that before her body has vanished completely.  Cass smiled as he figured it out, and this time when he appeared where Miyuki had been  Cass didn't waste a moment and vanished again.

Miyuki smiled as she dashed around the arena evading her student, she was moving much slower than she could in hopes that he would catch a glimpse on how to see a person using shunpo.   Apparently her tactic had worked somehow when she saw Cass shoot off in her general direction without having to stop and look around.   He is beginning to understand it. Miyuki vanished again as she started to move in order to avoid her student.

Cass saw it clearly this time Miyuki had vanished and he changed direction on the fly as he met her in the center of the arena.  Cass grabbed for her sleeve but he grabbed nothing but air.  “I...think you have grasped the nature of this lesson.

“Are you ready to begin your kido lesson for today?”  Miyuki spoke as she rested against the wall of the arena waiting for Cass' answer.

Shunpo Application - 1000 word requirement
Words written - 1550

Cass frowned as he looked over at the blue haired instructor that had just taught him the art of shunpo like she was crazy.  “What...do you mean...'am I ready for my kido lesson?”  the shinigami huffed trying to catch his breath.  True it didn't require much physical effort to use flashstep, but he was far from being a master of the art and had used way to much energy to move from one place to the other.

Miyuki laughed,  “Come now you can't really be that tired you only flash stepped maybe a handful of times today.  Honestly if you can't handle that you shouldn't even be here.”  She ran her hand through her blue hair trying to get it out of her face.  

The shinigami frowned as he straightened up, he was not about to give up being a shinigami over a little weariness. Cass met Miyuki's eye nodded.  I can deal with anything this blue haired witch can throw at me,  if she thinks I will stop because of this she is wrong.

Miyuki grinned, her ploy to insult his pride had worked,  “Okay first thing you need to understand is that this is one Kido that requires a set up before it is very able to work.   In fact that is what I was doing when you first arrived and I was using flash step to move around you I was really setting up the kido net around you.”  She continued to explain watching Cass to see if he understood.

“So this net is just using kido energy to create multiple little barriers then flooding them with power in order to spring the net?”  Cass asked as he started to think aloud, “So the reason you taught me flash step is so that I could set up the net fast!” His eyes went wide when it all finally clicked.

“Not quite.” Miyuki took her hand and waved it out in front of her leaving a visible line of kido energy., “When you use this kido, your net's threads are visible as you are setting it up; I taught you shunpo so that you can flash around a person and set it up fast enough that they might not be able to react before the net is woven.”   The line of energy vanished as Miyuki gave up her control over it.  “Now I want you to try and weave a web around this arena, there is no great test here just chant the spell and weave your net.”

Cass grinned as he got ready to take off around the practice arena, then stopped, Miyuki hadn't told him the name of the kido so he didn't even no how to start.  “You never gave me the spell's name.”  Cass spoke as he eyed the blue haired instructor questionably.  

“Good, you are paying attention.   The name of your spell is Bakudo, Number Twelve: Ambush Flare.”  

Cass crouched down like he was about to run a race and channeled his energy to his feet and his arms this time, planning on using his hands to weave the net.  “Bakudo, Number Twelve!: Ambush Flare!”  Cass vannished as leaving a trail of kido energy behind him.  First he circled the entire arena before shooting from different sides of the arena to form a pentagram in the its center.  Finally, as a finishing touch, he formed another pentagram upside and on top of the other.  

Appearing in front of Miyuki, Cass was drenched in sweat and barely able to stand.  “Bakudo, Number...Twelve...Ambush Flare.”  He forced out the words as he tried to stay up right. He was using way to much energy to shunpo, that much was apparent as the net flared brightly in the arena for a few seconds before it disappeared completely and its weaver fell to the ground.

“Very good, Cass; your net was good but you need to practice your shunpo technique more and not waste as much energy as you have been.”  Miyuki helped him to his feet and put one of his arms over her shoulders to help him walk upright.  “I will meet you back in the classroom two days from now, so rest up.”  With that they both vanished as Miyuki helped/half-carried Cass back to his barracks.

Kido Application – Bakudo Number 12 – Words Required - 220
Words Written – 728

Three days later

Cass stood out in the practice field, he had a few hours before he was supposed to meet Miyuki for his kido training, but that didn't matter at the moment for Cass was training with someone else at the moment. His Captain infront of him, apparently he had been receiving reports from his instructor on how well he was progressing in his remedial training. He decided that since his workload at the moment was light that he would take it upon himself to help Cass refine his shunpo technqiue.

The white haired captain grinned, his subordinate was doing well after a few hours of just trying to match the captain's moves. Sure he was holding back that much was obvious, but after he had be informed of Cass' sloppy shunpo technique he decided that he could use it as an excuse to get out and have some fun. From the beginning he spotted Cass' problem, he was having to think about every step too much and as such he was forcing too much energy into one step hoping that it would propel him faster. Because of this, after only five steps Cass would already be winded from the effort, so the captain came up with a simple game of follow the leader. Cass would just have to follow the captain's every flash, this way he wouldn't worry about where his next step would take him.

Immediately the captain noticed the improvement as Cass' moves became faster and the strain on his body was lessened. After about fifteen minutes of repetitive shunpo the captain decided that it was time for a break. “You did well Cass, I don't know if you realized this but we have been at this little game for a while now and you are not showing any signs of the extreme fatigue that you had been before.”

Cass stopped, taking everything in for a moment. The Capatain is right, when Miyuki first taught me this I could barely take fifteen steps before I felt like I needed to rest. Now the Captain Shiorai has kept me following him for nearly half an hour and I don't feel nearly as tired as I would have before. Cass frowned, The last time Miyuki had to carry me back to the barracks...I was weak...I wont ever let that happen again.

“You know zoning out like that is rude, Castiel.” The white haired captain spoke keeping his tone light and casual. But he could see the look of disappointment that haunted his subordinate's face. “You're thinking of when Miyuki brought you back weren't you?” The look of surprise of Cass' face told him he had it the mark. “I know it's hard to except the fact that you have limits when you are new to this life, but we all do. Even I have limits that if I push to far I will end up just like you were, dead on my feet, but what you need to understand is that those limits are there to be pushed to the breaking point.” The captain placed a hand on Cass' shoulder, “Every time you push against it you push your limit a little higher for the next time, so don't feel so glum about needing help. That is an order.”

Cass smiled and nodded his head, “Yes sir, but if you will excuse me I have to go meet Miyuki now...if I don't hurry I will be late for our training session.”

Captain Shiorai grinned and nodded his head in return, “Fine then, you are dismissed.” The captain smiled as his subordinate just vanished into thin air, using his newly refined shunpo technique to make up for the lost time. That kid has a lot of potential, I wouldn't be surprised if he made Vice Captain some day.

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When Cass made it to Miyuki's class room he wasn't surprised that she had another note on the door telling him that he needed to go out to the sparring arena once again, but this time he wouldn't be late. In only a matter of minutes he was at the top of the hill and saw Miyuki once again leaned up on the edge of the arena waiting for him. Vanishing Cass flashed step down the hill and stopped in front of the blue haired instuctor, with a cheerful smile he bowed to her. “Good afternoon, Miyuki.”

“Cass, glad you're in better shape.” She smiled, “And it would seem you are starting to get the hang of using shunpo, you barely seem tired at all after all the steps I am sure it took to get you here.”

“Thank you, but the credit isn't all me, Captain Shiorai helped me out a lot this afternoon. I guess he got tired of me passing out infront of the barracks practice field.” Cass paused a moment letting this sink in, “So what is on the agenda for today?”

Miyuki smiled, she had asked Kai to help Cass on his technique. Knowing that if he couldn't quickly get the hang of using Shunpo that he would be miles behind others in his squad. “Today you are going to be learning a very easy Hado. But first I want you to do something for me, and trust me it has everything to do with what I am going to teach you today. I want you to pool as much spiritual energy into your left had as you can then cast kaykuu.”

Cass frowned, but did as he was told and started to pool his energy to him it felt like his hand was submerged into a bowl of ice water. Finally when he couldn't take it any longer Cass released the energy: “The fires of hell, a scrap of your power, another damned soul. Hado, Number Five: Kaykuu!” Cass thrust his left hand forward as a deep blue ball of flame shot forward and exploded against the opposite wall of the arena.

“Now can you tell me why that spell formed the way it did? Why it became a ball of flame?”

“Well, it became a ball of flame because I recited the incantation for Kaykuu.” Cass answered warily as he looked at Miyuki.

“Yes it became flame because of the incatation but why a ball of flame?” She pushed hoping to lead him to the right answer.

Cass stopped and thought about this for a moment, “Because the spiritual energy in my left hand was pool there was no specific form when I released it so it became a ball of flame?”

Miyuki's eyes lit up, “Right, you pushed the energy away from you so you naturally formed it into a sphere because it was easiest to launch that way! Now for the kido you will learn today you are going to have to do that same exact thing except you have to give the energy shapes and divide it multiple times.” Miyuki extended her right hand and held it open, “Hado, Number Twelve, Needle Release!” twelve thin needle shaped energy extensions formed out of her hand as she held it there for Cass to see.

“This requires control over the engergy to form it out of your hand, however most beginners often use there whole arm to form this spell. They use their pores as points of release for the energy where the needles form. Then when they are ready to launch it at their opponent they just fling their entire arm.”

Cass looked puzzles for a moment, “But wouldn't this spell be better suited for defense? I mean if you can form needdles from your pores, wouldn't it be best to use it to stop an incoming punch? I mean if I had to fight you with those things coming out of your arm I wouldn't do it hand to hand.”

Miyuki smiled, he was beginning to learn that not every kido had just one use. “You are right, which is exactly what makes this spell so versatile. You can use it for defense and then when your opponent backs off to assess the situation you can...” She flung her arm at the scorch mark left by Cass' fire ball moments before sending the needles flying like darts into the wall, “...skewer the opponent at a distance. Now Cass, you give it a try, just say the incantation: From my skin, I release the porcupine's spines. Inject the target”

Cass closed his eyes, he would try using his entire left arm. Slowly the engergy started to gather making his entire arm feel as if it had been plunged in the icy depths of the ocean. “From my skin, I release the porcupine's spines. Inject the target. Hado, Number Twelve: Needle Release!” Cass opened his eyes when the coldness in his arm subsided and was surprised to see about twenty small needles forming up his arm.

“Good, now you see the downside of spacing out the area you want to cast this spell; the needles are much shorter. They wont be as intimidating or dangerous as the longer needles but they still will hurt.” Miyuki made a sweeping gesture with her arm, “Now try firing them at the wall over there.” Cass flung his arm and sent the needles flying but to his dismay only about half of them hit the wall the other half soared high over it. “The more needles you create the harder it will be for you to aim their flight pattern. Keep that in mind should you ever use this offensively.”

Miyuki turned to leave, “That is all for today Cass, but next week the real fun begins I was told to step up your training to every day. It appears your Captain wants you in top form faster than he originally thought.” With that she vanished leaving Cass alone in the middle of the field.

Kido Application - Hado Number 12 - Words required 220
Words Written - 1657