She lied there in shock not being able to process what was happening around her. The past few hours she lied on the couch doing nothing, but drinking. Her clothes were a mess and her hair was considered a pigsty. The kitsune just didn't care about anything. Nothing would make her feel better. Seeing that she has to take full responsbility for the Nakamura Family and now her Aunt was dead ontop of all the other shit that's going down. Some much hit the kitsune at once to the point she was growing tired of even living, but she had to. There was a fire inside of her that was still burning.

She remembered Hikaru's words:

"You are a Nakamura, not by blood, but by bond. Nothing can take that away"

The thought of her older brother's words sank in a little. She thought about all the shit she had gone through. All the suffering, blood, sweat, and tears that went into trying to be happy. Trying to live for her family and most of all, for her brother. She made a promise to herself a long time ago that she would always be just like Hikaru, if not better. She strives to become his equal. It was not a dream. It was a promise!

Slowly, LeeAnn rose up from the couch, sitting upward. Her body was leaned forwarding. her hair dangling down to hte floor. Lying on someone's couch would do nothing. Even if her body wasn't fully healed yet, she didn't care. She needed to train her body and mind. The only way she knew how to channel stress and cope with situations is to train her magic. It always cleared her mind when things were tough. The kitsune got up and cleaned herself. She dressed into her training outfit that she bought recently in Astera, seeing her clothes were still in Orchidia. Some basic black pant and tank top with a red jacket would do the trick. It was simple.

LeeAnn grabbed the bottle of wine and the apartment key Manzo had given her. She locked the door behind her and went off to the beach. It was night time and not many people would be out around this time of day. The beach was barren and lonesome. The moonlight hit the ocean calmingly as the waves gentle hit the shore line. The white noise of the ocean had always been a peaceful sound to her since she was a kid. She didn't know why, but that was one of her favorite sounds besides the sounds of fire crackling. She let her hair loose this time. Taking a drink of her wine, she set the bottle down and did some meditation to clear her head before stretching.

LeeAnn sat criss-crossed style and listened to her heart beat. Blocking out all noises like the ocean and seagulls gawing at night. In and out. In and out, her mind slowly was becoming clear and blank. A method that always worked when she trained.

Spells: 1100/8000

Tail 7: 60/100

Time flew by as LeeAnn became more and more relaxed., Her mind was a clean slate and ready to work on training. It was a nice night out and everything was quiet. No one around to bother her or cause her an anxiety. The redhead opened her eyes and sat up from her spot. She spread her legs apart and started doing simple reaches for thiry seconds each. Touching her toes, the ground and doing it over again. A few walking lunges worked on her. She did about twenty of them going back and forth along the sea shore.

Going down the list, she did arm circles, jumping jacks, squats, and a few more stretches to get her blood pumping. All of it took fifteen minutes to do all of it. It was not long before she was ready to do a small jog along the beach. She could feel the warm blood inside of her pumping through her veins. She started out into a nice walk. The pace of her feet gradually picked up speed into a slow jog. A nice, steady pace to maintain for her heart to start pumping. The work her heart did caused her to feel a little out of breath as she was little out of shape. It was her fault for not keeping up with training like she had promised herself when she first joined the Rune Knights. She had slowly slipped away from that. Not anymore, she had to grow in strength and speed. It was the only way to excel and the only way she knew how. Working hard always pays off in the end is what her parents always told her. Their advice was correct!

She worked very hard to please those around her, but what about herself? That was a joke right? Who would think about themselves? LeeAnn never knew what she wanted other than to be happy. She wanted to be happy with friends and family, to heal from all the past pain. To no be scared of people and afraid to take a risk. She was always surrounded by fear and fright that she was terrifed to even talk most of the tim.e A few times she had worked past that, but so far no luck. That's what she was trying to work on is joining a new guild. Blue Pegasus was perfect for that! It was something her family help find and the guild was well-known for it's... good looking mages to put it into words. Though, they were strong, no doubt. That was one thing she never doubtesd about was that fact. LeeAnn took a break and sat down on the beach watching the water dance with the moonlight hitting it so clearly. Leeann would tilted her head trying to form a picture with the moonlight. Sometimes seeing a turtle or a bunny rabbit. The small game didn't last long as she got back up and went back to the job again.

1602/8000

Tail 7: 62/100

Keeping up the jog, she maintained it for a while until she turned around to go back the other way. The kitsune reached her spot where her stuff were. LeeAnn looked down at her stuff. There lied a small notebook of things she could do to help her train. It was from the days as a Rune Knight. She always kept notes about different methods to try out. Her eyes skimmed down the list until it reached to something her mother had her down when she was younger. It was the simple aim at target method. Quickly, she closed her notebook and placed it back into her bag.

"I need some sort of hay or grass and rope" she said outloud. LeeAnn searched around the beach for trash or odds and ins to make dummies. There was some tall grass, but mostly a lot of rocks. A LOT of rocks. The kitsune gave up and found some rocks. She piled them into a small tower of some sort. It was enough to look like a person. She needed to practice her spells anyways. LeeAnn stood in a simple stance. She took a deep breath controlling her thoughts and flow of magic. Slowly, she placed her hands in a circle formation. A fireball struggled to emit. LeeAnn tried again. A small ball of fire formed, but flicked out. She took another deep breath this time concentrating even hard on the spell.

Slowly, a ball of orange fire started to flicker and become bigger until it was at its max. LeeAnn flared her eyes open and casted the fireball at the tower of rocks. Upon impact, the rocks fell over and left a few burn marks. It wasn't much of an impact in her opinion. LeeAnn stacked the rocks again and tried again. Same results. But she expected this kind of result from the kind of spell it was. A lower ranked spell, but she was very much out of shape when it came to spell training. With now being the head of hte Nakamura family, she had to become the best of the best. There was not doubt about that. The young kitsune repeated this process over and over until she felt she gotten it right. Next, was maintaining this spell with her mana. She had her arms crossed and staring at the spell. Watching the fire crackle, the orange flames burned within the fireball. She kept the method up, it wasn't as much work once she got the ball rolling. "This is quite easy now that I think about it" she smiled, quiet pleased with herself. She would probably treat herself to some nice alcohol. LeeAnn emitted the spell at the indeed target. The tower of rocks fell down again. She picked up the charcoaled rocks once again and placed them into a pile quickly enough to not burn her hands. "Okay...what else do I have to train? Any more spells...perhaps some more medidation would help since my mind is getting fogged up again" she said. She placed herself in the same position as before only this time, concetrated reall hard.

2127/8000

Tail 7: 63/100

LeeAnn yet again focused on the waves motioning in and out and how the sound would sizzled when hitting land. Her red hair was put up in a bun to keep it out of her face. The young Nakamura sat alone in a indain-stlye position. Her emotions were calm. Her mind was blank. Her heart was ready again. She opened her eyes and got up from her spot. LeeAnn looked at her backpack and took out her notebook.

There was another option to just work out her own body. It was the only method she could think of for the time being. LeeAnn got up from her spot and found good spot to. She beginnged with some stretches like before. After a while, she felt ready. LeeAnn started by doing some push up and planks. Remembering from the basics of training in the Rune Knights as pages. The intructors would torture them with simple stretches for hours at a time until they all fell through. It was tedious for her back then. Now, it was just the same, at least with the planks. They were the work of all. She only noticed that it had been a little. LeeAnn took a small break getting a drink of her win and all. The young kitsune went back to work. She grabbed a semi-heavy rock for her to lift and started to work out muscles that had not been used for a long time. She lifted the rock from left to right then up and down. She repeated it until her muscles hurt and burned. Even so, she continued to do so with her muscles aching and burning like fire. Pushing past her limits.

"A Nakamura I have to forge through" she spoke to herself. She may of not been blood related to the Nakamura family, but she held every other aspect of one. She had proven to her family she is worthy of the name multiple times. Her heart lied with the family as so did her spirit. She couldn't have made it without Hikaru or her family. They forced her to surpass her limits as a mage. The ruthless training she underwent over the course of those years since she was a kid. They knew from the start she was special. She caught up to Hikaru quickly over the course of those years and now, she will become better than he ever was. To protect her family and those she loves. Those she cares about. Kon. Manzo. Hikaru. Kazimir. She cared for all of them yet...they were just as capable of defending themselves. The Nakamura family gave her strength and she had to continue with the legacy. A small price to pay for something so great. She had to. LeeAnn felt her muscles burn until she gave out. The rock dropped onto the ground with a hard and loud boom. The earth shook a little as she fell and smiled thinking about her family. They were what mattered the most, not some title from the Rune Knights. She had to continue if she were to ever surpass her brother. Hikaru was strong, but she knew he would want her to surpass him above all else.

2666/8000

Tail 7: 65/100

Surpass him! Surpass everyone in the Nakamura family and become the strongest of them all. No. Become the best of everyone! She knew her brother was the type to want to become a legend. His dream was now hers. With ever bit of srength she carried of her brother, she got up and smiled.

There was no need to give up now even with sore and achy muscles. She had to become a legend. A legend everyone would remember for the years to come. There was too much as stake in her mind. Her health, the family legacy, pride, and her aunt. What was the true reason why she was dead? There had to be a motive or was it some accident? The more she thought about it, the less she felt sure about the whole situation. She shook her ead to snap the thoughts out of her mind for now. Now was time for some more training, the young girl sat up from the sand and yawned. It had been a long day so far. She needed to rest. A small nap would do.

LeeAnn found her brother's cloak and put it over her as she slept on her backpack like it was a pillow. Slowly she shut her eyes and drifted asleep til' morning. Slowly she heard sounds of seagull gawing and the warm sun rising onto her sleeping face. She squinted her eyes and stared up. The sky was clear and free from clouds. Slowly she sat up ad stared out in the distance to see the rocks sitll there and her brother's cloak still lying on top of her.

2941/8000

Tail 7: 66/100

The redhead wakes up and looks around. She sits up ad looked down at her chest, forgetting the change that happnened earlier this week. LeeAnn really had not looking inside of a mirror since then. Tide pools liked nearby, she got up and grabbed her things. Her bother's cloak remianed around her shoulders as she struggled to get up. The young kitsune kneeled down to look at herself into the pool. She saw flaming orange hair the color of flames from her magic. Her eyes had changed except her ghoul eye. A fang remained as she now had a over bite and most of all the marking was gone. She remembered shopping for clothes with Manzo that day. Seeing all of this, but she quickly forgotten how much really had changed.

She cupped her hands around her breasts still trying to get used to being blessed in the chest, as they would say. "Sheesh, I will never get used to this body" she spoke. She wondered what would Kazimir say about her new body, she thought about it more and a mischevious smile came upon her lips. The kitsune laughed and shrugged it off. LeeAnn got up and walked to the shore looking at the sun shining on the ocean in front of her. It was beautiful. Off to the side, a young family and their baby were playing in the sand, enjoying their time together. LeeAnn's ears fell back as she look away. She thought about Hans and the old days, but those days were over. She shook the thoughts out of her head. Those thoughts weren't needed. She had Kazimir and Manzo now.

3219/8000

Tail 7: 69/100

It was hard to believe this whole form was supressed by the magic. She stared at the ocean thinking about everything that happened. Her legs were still a bit sore and tight from last night's training. Lactic acid had formed in the muscles her legs after working out. It was like a disposement from her muscles cells from working out too hard or something. She never paid attention in biology. The kitsune decided it might be best to continue training after her breakfest. If she were going to be under Manzo's wing, she needed to follow his rules. Eating was on of them. She was extremely thin for someone her size. LeeAnn took out some more of the special jerky that Manzo had made of her.

She seriously owed this guy a lot and was going to do everything in her power to make sure he was proud. She was going to become strong for him and her family. There was a lot that needed to done and dwelling on such things were not going to do anything. She took a large bite out of the special jerky loving the savory taste yet still hating herself for loving such a thing. It was the forbidden fruit many people would hate her for. It took a while to finish her breakfast, but was an honor one. The young kitsune wandered about after she finished her breakfast along the beach to clear her mind and find a good spot for mediating.

3470/8000

Tail 7: 70/100

Why was she so obessed with mediation? It was an effective method is why. There had been times where she has not mediated before a battle or training session and it ended horribly. Her mind would get foggy and hinder her performance. This was all for the sake of trying to perfect her magic. To become the best and live on as the strongest Nakamura member ever to live. That was her dream, but first things first. She had to just focus on a day to day schedule. Training was her only thing on her to do list other than searching for Kazimir. Zalor, her gryphon, patrolled the area every few hours to find any clue of Kazimir's location. LeeAnn put away her food and packed her things. She walked past another family with two kids and the mother who was pregnant. The oranged haired woman hesitated and looked away. IT was a sore spot for her.

Where was Kazimir? She missed him!

Without him, her wounds would never heal properly. It was emotionally and mentally what she needed the most from him, His presence would make or break her worth while. She would think about the days her brother was around and yet he wasn't. Kazimir and Manzo reminded her of Hikaru. LeeAnn sat down on a plot of empty sand in the open tide. She could feel the ocean drag sand from underneath her. The movement felt great beneath her feet and body. It was sorta soothing to her needs.

3724/8000

Tail 7: 72/100