Make A Man Out Of You

Risaka accepted her argument easily enough, thankfully, she didn't really need the girl indebted to her over selflessness she really didn't have: "Yeah, you and me both...", admitted the blonde, pressing forth to chase after the remaining girls, "I can solve my own problems without needing others throwing themselves onto the fire."

And when they do that, it's just one more debt for you to pay... Of course, Kanna didn't really mention this last part, though the gray girl could simply look at her - look at the way her eyes drifted off with a hint of unease - and she'd know exactly what thought crossed the blonde's mind. After all, it was exactly the same one she herself had when she thought Kanna had stood up to the Colonel for her sake and nobody else's. Indeed, Kanna knew abuse far too well... From her father to her foster family, to the bullies in school who saw a loner as easy meat. She was never easy meat though, she had that piece of shit dad to thank for that. After bashing her father's head in, everyone else's seemed pretty meaningless.

Indeed, Kanna still had her reason to guide her; even in those moments her rage took over, she no longer felt totally blinded by it as she would have years ago. Perhaps she had martial arts to thank for that, or perhaps no one had simply pushed her that far. Not that she had any interest in finding out which...

Pushing that thought away, they pressed forth through the wilderness, easily catching up to the girls, with none but the heavy rain to keep them company. Compared to her half dead arms, Kanna immediately appreciated how healthy her legs felt by comparison, proving how even all the marching up until now didn't completely drain her like that woodcutting and those push ups. She could almost say she was ready for another round, if not for loud, aching grumble from her stomach...

"Ugh... If only rainwater could sate hunger...", groaned the girl, shoulders slouched, eyes half lidded as one hand reached for her taut, trim midriff. She too wasn't looking at her companion, but at the girls ahead, towards the start of the group... If food would ever come, that's where they'd see it. She scarcely noticed how hungry all that running and chopping had made her until she actually cooled down to resume the march, and before long she'd looked to Risaka just to see how she was doing. That's when the girl's next question caught her attention, "Not really... I just like them; guess you can call it self expression. Yeah it hurts a lot, but you get used to it after the first couple.", shrugging, Kanna shook her head. It kind of made her look different, but that wasn't a real answer... Lots of things made her look different, yet she preferred body art. Of course, nothing quite amused her like Risaka's next question, enough to make Kanna bite back a chortle as she waved her tattooed left hand over her face, clearly flaunting the tattoo in a very recognizable gesture, "Are you blind...?"


Was she making fun of her? The way Kanna looked at her almost implied she at least thought so, giving her a look tinged with sarcasm. Indeed, it wasn't really about craving attention, as she didn't really give a fuck what others thought of her. If Risaka really needed an explanation, then self expression might be the one she wanted... The attention was a side effect, but the blonde had learned to deal with it.

"Ugh... Again...", she rolled her eyes once the man's shouting once more reached all the way out back; thinking about his screaming at point blank, shooting spittle all over the place... That thought would annoy her days to come, "I wonder what he's gonna have us do this time, eat grass?"

Kanna couldn't help glance at Risaka, half expecting her to have any clues... But how could she, right...? It really felt like an instinctive reaction. As they arrived though, it seemed like his plan had more to do with breaking the parts of their bodies that yet worked: Their legs.

The way she looked at her waving hand spoke for itself. That momentary look of teasing faded from her thoughts quickly enough, warily noticing just how out of it the girl looked. Not that she was doing any better herself. Not even that dull throbbing, or even an aching soreness at even motion, Kanna simply couldn't feel her arms. The water running down them, or the chilly wind against her skin. Whenever she moved them for whatever reason - usually pure instinct - she regretted it immediately after her, as if trying to swing around heavier weights than she'd ever grasped in her life. But Risaka looked far worse off:

"You really shoulda noticed before though...", noted Kanna, mostly just trying to get the girl to keep talking, lest she simply pass out along the way. Her stomach growled once more, and would have hastened her step if she yet had the energy for it... She really didn't... At this point, she only hoped whatever awaited at the next checkpoint would include food. As they trudged forth over mudded woodlands, the rain that had so blessed them with hydration had now become their worst enemy as feet sunk heavily into the mud, making each step a strenuous, grueling effort

Time passed sluggishly, and quite frankly neither of them had any idea just how early or late it actually was. Every so often, Kanna gazed up at the sky, letting the showers wash over her face as she obeyed the instinct to look up at the sun and tell the time. Only to recieve a fresh reminder of how she wouldn't really see anything. Ugh... She shook her head, trying to shake off the worst of her exhaustion as even her thought process became as dull as her body. Indeed, sudden motions were beyond her at this point, and such was the case when Risaka suddenly cried out:

"Whoa there...!", startled, her body jolted as the wide eyed blonde tried to reach out, the wide eyed blonde tried to reach out, but not only her arms, her reflexes failed her as well; as such, the mere attempt at grasping the girl and prevent an eventual fall proved utterly fruitless, "Careful... If you fall down know you might not get up again..."

She'd try and seek the girl's gaze, but knew there was no point. One look at Risaka's face fully unveiled how completely out of it she looked, and Kanna could only grit her teeth. At this point, they had only their will to trust, no help could ever come from each other. Merely talking to her as such drained more energy than she had in the tank, Kanna could spare no more for her. It actually took them a good while to realize they'd reached the second point:

"Oh... Look at that...", she panted, crouching, leaning in slightly, just enough to get her hands on her knees and catch her breath.

She took every invaluable minute of rest, exploiting those moments the Colonel took to babble on and on, toss around his random insults and unreasonable demands. Bla bla bla, bla bla bla... Kanna no longer had the energy to even care about the guy's shouting, or wince at it. She scarcely processed a single word with a dull, exhausted look on her face, with naught but that fire in her eyes to show she was still alive and kickin. That was, until one single specific word came like music to her ears, sweeter than any siren's song.

Grrrrrr...

"Food...", her mouth watered, her stomach growling louder than ever before at the simple mention... Finally. They could finally eat lunch/dinner whatever, she didn't really care anymore, all that mattered was to get the meal she needed at long last, "Fucking finally...!"

If not for the rain, she'd have surely been drooling by now as a faint smile steadily drew on those panting lips, a different sort of emotion appearing on her face. Kanna had never felt this hungry in her life. At the first signal to begin, Kanna didn't hesitate. She didn't trudge or even walk, but dash with every bit of energy she had left. Actually moving her arms to the first first grappling nook took far more effort than she anticipated though. Her numb arm struggled to move, her weak grip faltered all too easily across the wet surface she should be holding on to. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed hard enough to crush, resting her foot wherever to hoist her body up and climb the first few inches.

It truly seemed as if these two had more in common than they gave themselves credit for... All of Kanna's pride and resolve to stay true to herself, to follow the path she alone could tread... She'd scarcely forgotten when she first she noticed that side of herself, or perhaps it had been there before she could remember. Like Risaka, she too never had any real goal beyond her independence, beyond doing everything herself with no authority ruling over her. At least, no subservience on her part, no bonds she couldn't sever overnight if she so needed... As she climbed up the wall, she found herself looking at the tattoo on her dominant left hand more often than not, whether she'd like to or not. A compass whose North always pointed ahead of her, reminding her to keep her eyes on the road before her at every time.

Sure, it only actually pointed North if she were to glance at it like one would a watch, but then, that's not really the point, is it...? She certainly didn't think so, for everytime she looked at that compass, Kanna remembered what exactly did it mean to press forward on her path, and it gave her just the strength she needed to remember what she fought for. Unbowed, unbent, unbroken. She'd made it this far... No way she'd let a narrow minded Military officer step all over her!

"Ugh.. Hnnnngh... Hah..!", Gritting her teeth and pulling for dear life, she climbed yet another crevice. A mere pebble along one of the most grueling stretches of road she'd have to carve. But to fall here meant bowing before the institution she'd very quickly grown to loathe, and more importantly, it meant forgoing any chance at eating triumphantly. She'd either return home as a loser with her tail between her legs, or go without eating for god knows how long. No way in hell she'd let that happen!

The rain would make this grueling task close to impossible, and though she rationally understood this, the instinct to eat and the passion for victory spoke louder than anything, two voices screaming at her from within her deepest recesses, urging her onward. She had to get over that wall, by any means necessary! Fortunately, the rationally minded Kanna could still observe and assess her situation - unblinded by instinct or emotion - and realize success here meant being patient. Just as when her hand slipped free the first time, the same could easily happen at anytime throughout the ascent if she rushed it, and by then she'd have climbed enough to suffer from the fall.

Kanna took a deep breath, trying to ignore the low, persistently aching grumble in her tummy, demanding she get over the wall as fast as she could. Instead, she fought the numbness in her arms, slowly moving the trembling limb upwards as she seized hold of the nearest protusion, squeezing for dear life, as hard as he could yet grip and harder still. She fought for each couple centimeters like the grand battle of her life, holding with tooth and nails. As with the chopping block, Kanna never looked down, merely glancing up as she sought the next handgrip.

In their hurry some of the girls wound up falling down and find themselves forced to restart... Other surrendered entirely. Even a few others resorted to using their Quirks, much to the Colonel's chagrin. But it seemed the man still had it out for the two of them, as he uttered no words on the matter. Unfortunately for Kanna, she didn't have any Quirk to help her with this, her ability never did much to help her once a battle was underway... It helped with knowing her enemy, preparing for them, everything... But she never had that luxury here. She could only depend on herself, her battered and bruised, thoroughly exhausted body, and the unrelenting drive to draw out every last drop of energy from it.

Step by step, she steadily won her way to the top, but just as a smile began to draw on her lips, she gasped as everything went south: Her hand slipped! All of a sudden she was left dangling one one arm and leg, her own body far too heavy for one arm to hold the whole weight. Before long, she'd feel that grip weakening, fingers threatening to slip away at any moment

"Yabee!!", she huffed, wide eyed as she suddenly saw the ground below, the very frightening and probably impossible prospect of starting again after falling back down. Instant defeat. The vision she saw as she looked back down, submission to that man and his so called authority...

Not good... If she fell down now, no way she'd get this high again. Knowing this, she grit her teeth and held on for dear life, pulling her body as close to the wall as humanly possible, yet as the trembling in her arm intensified, even the slightest breeze threatened to knock her to the ground. Though she soon pulled herself close, she couldn't find anywhere for her sluggish arm to grab onto:

"How is it ya weakling?! Huh?!", shouted the Colonel, taunting the defiant blonde, sounding all too pleased with himself to finally see confidence shaken... In no small part thanks to her visibly faltering arm strength, "You'll be eating dirt if you don't make it over that wall! You see just how weak you are now?!!"

No... This time it was personal. Pushed to the limits of her body, and now to the limits of her will, Kanna had nothing to lose but her pride. In a last ditch effort, she bit into the handhold right in front of her mouth, holding her body close to the wall just long enough for her dislodged hand to find a new perch:

"Like hell...! LIKE HELL I AM!!!", her answer came as a shout as she channeled every last bit of energy she could muster. Less than a meter between her and the top, "RAAAAAAAA!!!", and with the loud, bellowing battle cry of a fierce martial artist, psyching herself up, breaking past the binds of her exhaustion, Kanna hoisted herself up, and made one final spurt towards the top of the wall, reaching it just as Risa came flying over her, "Holy shit... Risaka...!"

Straddling the wall precariously, Kanna reflexively swept her arm in the path of her falling companion, before she could help herself or realize the futility of her action. Though unable to actually grasp the girl, when Risa bumped into her arm, she easily knocked the blonde off balance, knocking her down right after her before she could realize what happened.

"Whaa...!", her wide eyed, surprised interjection was immediately cut off as sharp pain ran through her entire body. The mud had visibly softened the grassy field below, but even then, it hurt like Hell... And then...

Lights out...

That gritty, muddied look of the girl who fought for every inch up that wall, climbing her way with tooth and nail in a bold, blatant display of ferocious willpower... At that moment, she had little attention left to spare for what happened down below, seeing naught but the sights of the other quirk wielding girls past her, all while keeping her eyes on the prize and nowhere else. Objectively, Risaka's display seemed no more surprising than all of the other girls, but ultimately she was also the only one here Kanna actually knew, the only one she felt a shred of interest in... Not even that distracted the blonde from her objective though, now with mind, body and soul joined as one in the quest for higher ground; every fiber of her being determined to push past the literal and metaphorical wall in front of her, higher and higher until her hands seized the priceless victory.

Well, not exactly priceless, but even so it defenitely felt as such.

As she fell down in triumph, a momentary satisfaction took over for only those instants between her reaching the top and hitting the ground, unconscious... And after that...? She could describe it as nothing but a very sweet nap, something she wanted more than anything (save perhaps for food) without even having realized it, not with all the adrenaline pumping through her veins, urging her sluggish body onwards. She knew not how long she'd been unconscious, but found herself in a far more comfortable place, her messed up uniform replaced with a hospital garb.

In this unfamiliar condition, Kanna came to with a dull, aching soreness all throughout her body, one of, if not the outright greatest she'd ever felt throughout her life. Yesterday, she'd beaten the Colonel, proving her strength despite the punishment for her defiance. But at what cost? She could scarcely feel a thing beyond that soreness, any attempted motion in her arms especially came with a weak, unsteady trembling, yet thankfully not as much as she might have expected yesterday... Her back though... That was a whole other story. A sharp pain in her right shoulder caught her off guard enough to make the blonde hiss, despite her enviable pain threshold, vividly reminding her of the fall that knocked her out.

"Fuuuuck...", she groaned achingly, pushing her prone body up in a herculean effort. She really disliked feeling confined to anywhere, even hospital beds, and soon sat up, one hand coming to rest beside her as she looked around and took in her surroundings, all but wincing at the very vivid memory of the cause of her injury, "This is unreal... Didn't expect to get this messed up just from one day. That piece of shit..."

Yet despite her lingering rage and visible twitch of her her eyebrow, Kanna didn't really feel a sudden urge to punch things. Even without the soreness, that leftover satisfaction kept her mind at ease, only feeling a certain measure of annoyance at how much she had to mess up her own body just to get through that day. She'd fallen on her back with most of the weight on that shoulder. Lacking the excruciating pain of having broken something, she nonetheless understood she'd most likely dislocated that shoulder and had it reattached. As for where she was, even an idiot could figure that out. The instruction camp's infirmary... If she was here, then probably the girl who fell alongside her couldn't have gone far no? Furrowing her brow, Kanna's eyes of jade scanned the other beds, but soon found more than a few girls laid in separate beds, making it hard to see in which one she might find her.

"Did she get off easy...?", she mused, bringing an unsteady hand to her chin, looking intently at the nearest bed, "Maybe her Quirk boosts her toughness too..."

Thankfully, the girl answered the question for her, suddenly getting up in far too great a frenzy than her body should allow. Even Kanna wasn't so sudden about it, and she had far less bandages wrapped around her. She couldn't help but knead the painfully sore muscles of her arms and upper back. Despite the pain, that little massage brough a satisfying relief to the sore tension, and the blonde found herself idly indulging in that touch, calmly listening to the girl speak. Indeed, now that she mentioned it, Kanna no longer felt that ravenous emptiness in her stomach, one of the many forces spurring her to leave herself in this sorry state:

"Finally awake, huh...", Kanna greeted lazily once she heard her mention a 'blondie', yet not without the faintest hints of a smirk as she properly looked over the bandaged gray girl. She did indeed look far more beat up than herself, which was saying something... And of course, the blunt Kanna wouldn't simply keep it to herself, only slightly astounded by her state, "But wow Risaka, you really look like shit."

She could only guess how much extra damage she'd have taken for using her Quirk like that, ontop of all what she'd already taken from the Colonel's torment. Turning her torso to face her, the blonde bent on leg in front of her, taking a moment to apply that same kneading touch to her legs. While sore, she hardly felt anything compared to the stiffness in her arms, so wound up not paying it that much attention. Instead, she sat upon the edge of the bed, letting her legs hang loosely and finally pushing herself off with what few strength her arms yet had:

"Now then... I aint gonna laze around in bed all that...", but as those words left her lips and her feet touched the ground, her weakened legs immediately gave way and she lost balance, fumbling as she nearly fell down. Grabbing onto the side of the bed with one hand kept her from falling flat on the ground, barely, leaning forward slightly as her quivering legs struggled to support her weight, "Whoa there...! Guess I ain't as peachy as it felt like."

Well, at least some part of her could be called such, as leaning forward made the loosely tied hospital garb slip out ever to slightly to the sides, revealing a bit too much of her tattooed back and perky behind. She cared little for it though, instead, she had only one thing on her mind as she struggled to acclimate to her weakened legs:

"Fuck, I'd kill for a smoke...", a frustrated, groaning sigh escaped her lips, just wishing she'd have her pack of cigarettes nearby... Wishful thinking really

Indeed, no point arguing who among the two of them looked worse at this point, so Kanna outright refrained from doing so. Gradually, she fully acclimated to her weakened legs and managed to stand unassisted once again. Ugh... She grit her teeth at the effort required to take a simple step, and knew she wouldn't get anywhere like this. At this point, the blonde merely frowned when the girl claimed to be fine.

"Yeah, same... Not sure if they force fed us, or some shit, but I aint really hungry, at least, not like before.", she replied, obviously sniffing out the lie on the girl's part, but refraining from mentioning it, letting the subject die in peace. She saw the girl use her quirk to pull off a stupendous jump like that, she heard the pain filled cry coming from her lips long before she even hit the ground, and just now saw the state she woke up in, even worse than her own.

With each step she took though, her legs felt steadier as she got more and more used to this heavy soreness, easily weighing down each attempted movement by what felt like twice her bodyweight. Slow, steady and determined though, the blonde moved away from the bed and towards a nearby hanger, where her freshly washed sportswear stood waiting. Reaching around behind her back, she undid the knot on her hospital gown, then brought both arms in front of her, slooping her shoulders. The flimsy garment fell down unceremoniously, fully baring her sinuous form, battered and bruised by the results of yesterday's training. Grabbing the stretchy garment, she pulled the neckline out wide and slipped both legs through their respective spaces, then pulled the whole thing up, finally slipping her arms through the sleeves and covering her tattooed body.

"No, it really doesn't...", she agreed, finally turning to face Risaka once more as she started stretching, interlocking her fingers and wincing as she raised her arms high, then turned her torso to either side until every single joint crackled. Little by little, with every stretch, she'd feel the blood properly flowing through her stiff, overworked muscles, gently warming them up, "But i need to get my body moving, as do you. I mean, who knows what kind of fucked up bullshit did that Nazi plan for today...?", pausing, she proceeded to stretch one arm to the side, a pain filled grunt giving way to a long and deep, satisfied breath, "Not that I'm looking forward...", and then repeated the same motion, stretching her other arm out, twisting her torso into the movement, "...To finding out... But I still gotta be ready"

Once more, that fierce, defiant fighting spirit seemed all too vivid in those focused eyes of jade, fully attesting to how Kanna definitely understood how the war was from won. The Colonel would come at them with more outrageous shit, so they had to get their heads in the game as soon as possible. Thus she'd keep warming up and fighting off her body's reluctance to move, performing a series of stretches and finally skipping in place slightly. When Risaka all but claimed the Colonel as her prey though, Kanna's brow furrowed:

"Yeah, you aint the only one with a bone to pick with that guy...", she declared, crackling her fists unyieldingly, very much proving her reluctance in letting the grey girl hog their tormentor all to herself. She wouldn't really mind taking turns though, that much was clear, "When the time comes, I swear imma kick 'im in the nuts."

With both of them ready to go, she followed her companion as she opened the door, and before them stood a room filled with food, no doubt the meal the Colonel said they'd recieve should they cross his final hurdle. Yes, seeing it reminded her of that infuriating military man, enough to clench her fists and click her tongue... But she also knew they'd fought hard for this meal, hard enough to end up unconscious on a hospital bed:

"Shut up and eat.", urged Kanna with a blunt, aloof tone - surprisingly down to earth - resting a hand on her shoulder, sighing as she walked past her. That understanding touch said a thousand words, the blonde clearly understood exactly what thoughts caused Risaka to freeze in place as such, to mumble all those words, "We dunno when we'll have food again."

As the grey girl made no motion towards the food, Kanna beat her to it, slumping down on an empty chair, her knees spread out more than a couple of feet apart in that very unfeminine posture she always took. This wasn't about help. This hard earned meal was theirs to savor, and more importantly, to properly replenish their energy. If Risaka couldn't even see that, she probably wouldn't have a chance to beating the Colonel's next challenge. As if to state her point, she merely picked up a couple loaves of bread, spread some butter on it, and started eating:

"Tastes like shit...", she mumbled, swallowing the first bite as her nose twitched in annoyance, "Just like you'd expect from the military..."

Whether because it reminded her on who'd provided their meal or because of her prejudice for the military, this pretty much tasted like one of the worst breakfasts Kanna had ever had, leaving a foul taste in her mouth. Whether the food was indeed low quality or not remained up for debate, but despite sharing Risaka's displeasure, the blonde ate herself a hefty breakfast, as much as she could without compromising her fitness for the hours to come. True to her lazy nature, she mainly stuck to buttered toasts with whatever else she could find: Ham, jam, peanut butter, you name it... Nothing really did it for her though, but oh well. Only two more days until she could kiss this hellish instruction goodbye.

"Suit yourself...", shrugged Kanna, barely glancing her way as she expected the girl to know better than to fight on an empty stomach. Yes, she obviously understood her pride. Had the Colonel simply offered them food, the blonde might have rejected (well, maybe not while in her earlier, ravenous state). But she saw this as a bet the man had lost, pitching all the stacks against them, only to watch them clear the challenge better than some of those he seemingly favored.

And more than that, Kanna was cunning. When she reached the point of loathing someone as such, she'd do whatever it took to triumph, fighting onwards with tooth and nails... And that meant replenishing the tank as much as she could. Thus, she ate even if she couldn't satisfy her palate, even if she found it bad enough to crook her nose. When a single desire overcame all others, the blonde would do whatever she needed to achieve it, more so than what she liked. When she finished with her meal, she simply stood up, adjusted the lower rim of her outfit around her thighs, and walked outside.

The sudden brighteness made her squint, raising a single hand above her eyes. Yesterday's storm had given way to bright, sunny skies, with only a couple clouds in sight, not nearly enough for any to threaten to block out the sun. Immediately, something stood out, something out of place. The colonel and the other girls - Risaka included - were nowhere to be seen:

"Huh... Where the fuck did they go...?", she wondered, hand on her hip, raising an eyebrow as her neck twisted left, then right, scratching her head.

With a crooked, quizzical brow, Kanna looked around and finally took a step forward, readily exploring her surroundings. She saw another cabin like the one she'd just left, that's probably where the Colonel was sleeping...? She didn't really see that many people. Risaka was easy enough to spot though; she'd be very discreet without her gray zone, but alas, she had it, and thus Kanna immediately detected it. She didn't have time to approach her though, as all of a sudden she saw a pair of girls running around back and forth, warning what few people were still up and about aimlessly:

"Hey, hurry up!! Colonel's already starting with second day's drill! He'll have us all doing pushups if everyone not in the infirmary isn't there soon!"

In response, Kanna merely rolled her eyes... She wasn't really afraid of his punishment or anything, as she probably proved before. But she also hadn't come here to run away from the training expected of her. In case Risaka still hadn't been warned, Kanna would go over and do it for her, looking as determined as ever before:

"Come on...", she'd tell her, the resolve in her eyes contrasting with the otherwise uninterested, deadpan look on her face. She too had grown used the soreness in her body, enough to hold that casual, laid back stance, sinking her weight on one hip and crossing her arms, "Second day's starting already."