One morning, as they rested by the river after an especially grueling run, Shin broke the silence. "You've awakened your aura detection," he said. "That means it's time to learn how to control your ki properly."
Laverna looked up, sweat-drenched and breathing hard, but nodded with determination. Shin stood, arms crossed.
"You've got too much explosive power for someone still learning to rein it in," he added. "We're starting advanced kunoichi techniques now—beginning with suppression."
Laverna didn't speak, but there was a subtle, fiery glint in her tired eyes. She understood the weight of what he was offering. And she was ready.
For a month, Shin trained Laverna, taking no jobs at that time. He focused solely on honing her ki control, pushing her to exhaustion every single day.
He forced her to run until her legs gave out, to lift boulders and logs until her arms trembled, and to repeat it all until her stamina was drained to the dregs. Through this brutal regimen, Laverna's Kitsune blood awakened more noticeably.
"Move faster, Laverna!" Shin barked as she stumbled through a forest clearing, her legs screaming with every step. "Your ki's leaking like a cracked dam. Focus!"
Laverna, gasping, shot him a smirk despite the ache in her muscles. "What's the matter, Master? Afraid I'll outshine you if I don't hold back?" In her mind, she reveled in the title—Master. It felt right, like a chain she willingly wore, binding her to this man who pushed her to her limits. Every shout, every demand, was a gift, and she, his masochistic student, craved more.
Shin's eyes narrowed, unamused. "Talk less. Run more. You're not even close to your limit."
"Oh, come on," she panted, dodging a low branch. "You call this a workout? I've had worse from a bad tavern brawl!" Her body begged for rest, but her spirit burned brighter with every taunt. She loved this—the pain, the strain, his unrelenting commands. It was torture, and she was addicted.
"Keep mouthing off, and I'll double your laps," Shin snapped, pacing alongside her with infuriating ease. "Your ki's still flaring. Suppress it, or you'll burn out before noon."
Laverna laughed, a sharp, defiant sound that cut through her labored breathing. "Double? Triple them, Master! I can take it. Can you keep up?" Her legs wobbled, but her Kitsune blood surged, healing microtears in her muscles, urging her to push harder. She wanted to see how far he'd go, how much he'd demand of her.
Shin stopped, planting himself in her path. "Fine. Drop and give me fifty. Now. And keep your ki locked down while you do it."
Laverna skidded to a halt, chest heaving, and dropped to the ground without hesitation. Her arms shook as she began the push-ups, but she grinned up at him. "Fifty? That's it? You're going soft on me!" In her head, she was his, wholly and utterly—his to break, his to rebuild. Every grunt, every bead of sweat, was for him.
"Soft?" Shin crouched beside her, voice low and cutting. "You're slacking. I can feel your ki spiking. Control it, or I'll have you carry rocks up the hill next."
"Bring it on," she growled through gritted teeth, her twentieth push-up making her shoulders scream. "I'll haul your whole mountain if you ask, Master." The word rolled off her tongue like a prayer, and she meant it. The pain was her proof, her offering to him.
Shin stood, crossing his arms. "Mouthy student. Finish those, then we're running again. No breaks."
Laverna's grin widened as she pushed through the last of the set, her body aching but alive. "You're gonna have to try harder to tire me out," she teased, springing to her feet with a wince she didn't bother hiding. She loved this dance—the harsher he pushed, the more she wanted to rise to it.
Pain became her companion, yet it stirred something buried within her. With every ache and bruise, her natural healing accelerated, far surpassing what she once experienced during her years as a slave.
The more it hurt, the more her blood responded. Her body began to crave the strain, adapting quickly, healing faster, and growing stronger in return.
In Laverna's mind, it seemed that she was being tortured again, but in another form. During her time as a slave in the Lichtenstein household, she was thrown into the hunts, being hunted, beaten down, and on the verge of death. This time, with her new life as Shin's servant, she admitted that it offered more freedom than what she had before.
Her resentment towards Shin evolved into admiration. Shin had shown time and time again that he was true to his word. His demeanor didn't change even after days or months had passed. Usually, people show their true colors after growing comfortable, but not Shin.
She concluded that's how Shin was, and that made her grow attached to him. She debated within herself whether it was the crest influencing her thoughts or her own feelings, her fantasies within her subconscious bleeding out naturally.
Now, as he trained her, she was ready to give it all to him. He had never betrayed her, not even once. To her, Shin had grown to be the reliable man she leaned on despite her broken past. With all that, she silently vowed her loyalty to him, believing that he would guide her path to reclaim herself for a better future.
Unseen by Laverna, Shin felt the subtle strain of her exertion pulling at his own reserves. The more she pushed, the more he sensed the faint tug on his ki and mana—a drawback of their bond, one he'd learned to suppress under his own masters long ago.
His pool of energy dwarfed hers, and he could keep going, but the effort wasn't without cost. He buried the fatigue deep, his face a mask of unyielding resolve.
Showing weakness wasn't an option, not when he knew what was at stake. To Shin, Laverna was more than a student; she was a potential asset, a weapon to be honed.
The Imperial Crown had revealed its corruption through Guild Master Davis's intel, and Shin's resolve to dismantle the kingdom, piece by painstaking piece, had only hardened. He pushed himself to his limits, just as he pushed her, driven by a vision of a future where the Crown's tyranny would crumble.
As he watched Laverna bloom—not only into his right-hand woman but into a woman who stirred something deep within him—Shin felt a quiet conflict. Her strength, her defiance, her unyielding spirit were shaping her into someone who matched a hidden desire he hadn't fully acknowledged.
It was as if she were being molded into his ideal, a partner in both battle and something more. Yet he questioned whether this was his own want, grooming her to fit his vision, or if Laverna herself was driving this transformation, her will aligning with his in ways he hadn't anticipated.
In his mind, he was fulfilling his promise to her, equipping her with the tools to never be enslaved again. But in fleeting moments, he wondered if he was imposing his biases, his desires, onto her path—shaping her into what he thought she should be rather than what she truly needed.
Even so, he pressed on, unable to stop. This was Shin's way: always thinking of others, burying his own needs beneath the weight of duty and purpose.