Additional Note: Learning [OT2] & [OT3] Strike Raid!
~~~> My Techniques! <~~~

TWC: 2,500
Solo Thread Cap: 10,000words!
Currently: 2,500 / 10,000

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As the expression went; another day, another dollar, and while Rhapsody didn't have a job for which to earn money, thus making the idiom lost on her, she at least understood the value of effort. While relaxing might have been a preferable way to pass the time, she had a mission, and to complete that mission, she needed discipline. Days off were fine, but the discipline she needed required work and effort to be put in daily. It was for such a reason that she'd taken to returning to what had effectively become her 'home base' of sorts; it was a ship she'd stumbled upon during the winter season, and one she'd made her own during her stay.

A rather large ship, now affectionately and simply called "home"; the Saiyan Space Pod she lived in in between her travels was large enough to be considered a small house. There was a room for the captain, which Rhapsody had long since taken refuge in, and another room dedicated to at least three crew mates. The ship came equipped with a kitchen, a storage room, the command room of course, a bathroom, and a training room. While Rhapsody was still a novice to the very idea of space travel, she'd at least come to a proper understanding as to what the use of the ship was for; lest she accidentally destroy the ship or find herself stranded in space however, she'd chosen not to make use of the ships traveling features.

After a quick visit to a city to the far North, Rhapsody would make her way back to the forest and once more to the ship she’d claimed. The Northern City had taught her about the different biomes that existed across the planet; it seemed seclusion in the shrouded forest had made her rather ignorant about the world, but at least now, things were changing. Still, while she was becoming rather well educated, it didn’t change the fact that she still had plenty to learn.

Such was why she’d returned to her ship, to make use of the Intergalactic Web and all the new terms she’d picked up over her travels. Furthermore, she was curious to see if she could find some way of building a resistance to the cold, and that meant further training. Her previous training had taught her about the transformation she held within her that she referred to as Valor Form, and inheritance of Nasu’s will attained through her efforts and determination. Valor form had allowed her to resist the effects of gravity, but she was still unsure as to why that was; all she knew was that if she could resist gravity, then perhaps the form could be used to resist the effects of the elements as well.

Coming down from the skies above, Rhapsody would swoop in and land beside the large mound of vines that collectively hid her ship. “I’m home~!” She’d cheer, placing her hands upon the vines, “If you please~” She’d say playfully, eliciting a response from the vines as she asserted her will upon them, “Thank you very much!”

The vines would begin to retract, uncoiling from the ship and returning to deep beneath the earth, where they would travel to the forest’s edge and coil around the trunks of the large trees. The ship was freed from the embrace of the vines, and was no worse for wear than it had been when she’d first found it. If anything, the ship was looking better than ever considering the pains she took to clean up its exterior during her previous stay.

Reaching into the satchel upon her hip, Rhapsody would remove the device that controlled the ship; with a quick press, the hangar door would open and the ship would return to life from its low standby mode. It was a pleasant sight that she’d quickly come to miss; she’d spent so long within the ship, that it was no different than being her own home at this point. While she still longed for her actual home in the shrouded forest, there was no mistaking the feelings she had for her ship.

Rhapsody would rush within without a care in the world, with the hanger door steadily then shutting behind her. “Ahhhh, it’s good to be home!” She’d cheer, undoing the satchel from her hip and placing it down upon the captain's chair as she passed by, “Hmm, everything still looks the same as ever. Hehe, I should bring Miss Zerori here at some point! She was kind enough to show me her home, it’s only fair I do the same soon!” She’d say to herself as she walked down the hall and towards the bathroom, “But first, a well deserved, desired bath!” She’d exclaim excitedly as she rushed within.

Even with her self-restoring magics, she’d had a bit of a trying time with the sudden climate she’d endured in the north. More unfortunate however, was the spoiled state she found herself in with her desire for a good bath. It wasn’t as though there was no means of bathing back in her village, but bathing in a cold lake compared to a warm tub was a completely different feeling!

While it was a strange endeavor at first, Rhapsody had quickly become accustomed to using the tub to bathe. It was rather large, but still not quite accommodating to one with wings as large as hers; but she’d found a particular position to lay in that suited her, and there was simply no going back. From the warm water, to the deliciously smelling soaps she was now well aware not to attempt eating, she simply could never go back to lake bathing as her main form of personal hygiene.

Her bath would last around an hour; training time was meant for training, eating time was meant for eating, and relaxing time was meant for relaxing. Once she’d sufficiently enjoyed herself, her bath time would come to an end and with a towel wrapped around her form, she’d take to traversing the confines of the ship. It was time for a bit of study, and as such, that meant it was time to take to the Intergalactic Web. While she may have only been garbed in a towel for the moment, considering her stance on referring to the vessel as “her ship”, she felt no shame or worry as she walked around. She’d take to sitting in a cross legged position upon her captain's chair, and would begin pulling up images on the main monitor, beginning her online search.

For another couple of hours, burning away the remainder of her day, she would look up methods on gaining resistance to the cold. Her initial findings had been the opposite, teaching her of ways to resist the heat of all things; while she would bookmark such findings for future reference, her sole focus had been on the cold.

Many of her findings had been less than acceptable, with several mentions about “gaining weight” and the insulation benefits to “blubber” of all things. Her research had left her in a bit of a conundrum, as strangely enough, she found it difficult to find any mentions of magic or energy manipulation in the mix of everything she stumbled across. There were certainly mentions of what whoever wrote up such web pages thought of as magic, but digging deeper revealed such things to be nothing more than a sham for which to extort people out of money.

Smugly, Rhapsody would hum at her immunity to such things, as she had no money for which to be scammed! She was unaware that this wasn’t necessarily something to boast about, but for now, it was something she took pride in. Sadly, her research would come to an end with the setting sun; she’d recalled measures of resistance that the Grand Elder had taught her before, but she was still well away from being able to take advantage of such training.

With a sigh, Rhapsody would conclude her research and take to finally getting dressed. She returned to her captain’s quarters where she’d left her outfit prior, unwrapping the towel from her head before taking to reclothing herself. Her magical attire was rather convenient; it was self-repairing, and self-cleaning, yet only seemed to be so while in her presence. She hadn’t yet realized that the cause was due to the garments draining her of her mana however; all she knew was that she wished she could extend that same magic to herself. It’d have been nice to be able to regenerate and never get dirty; just as she thought came to her mind however, she’d quickly dismiss them. After all, if she never got dirty, then she’d never get to enjoy the baths she so loved!

Enjoying a quick meal, and then resting for the night, Rhapsody would bring her day to a close. Upon waking the following morning, after a light, but enjoyable breakfast, Rhapsody would take to the gravity chamber to begin her training.

“Well, cold resistance doesn’t seem possible for me just yet.” Rhapsody would say as she took to adjusting the settings on the gravitron, “At least, not the more useful measures involving magic.” She’d continue with a sigh as she set the gravitron to fifty times Earth’s gravity, “This is no reason to surrender however! Magic isn’t the only measure, I must simply remember what the Grand Elder taught me, Mind over Matter!” She’d exclaim excitedly as she took to the center of the room; hardly feeling the effects of the gravity chamber at this point.

If she couldn’t do something as convenient as casting a spell to resist the cold, then she’d train the tried and true method of enduring it. Just as her body had grown accustomed to fifty times Earth’s gravity, she was intent to grow accustomed to the cold; barring that, she hoped to grow tolerant enough to endure it. First, came the art of focus…

On this first day of her training, Rhapsody would sit perfectly still within the gravity chamber, merely enduring the added weight upon her body. Her chest felt heavy, and her wings were like massive weights chaining her down; even her ears felt like they would slap shut against her head, but she would endure it all. She was used to the artificial gravity, and believed she could even withstand further pressure; sadly, it seemed her ship was at its limit, so fifty times was all she had access to.

Regardless, her training continued for hours; silent, and motionless, Rhapsody would focus on nothing more than the energy she felt deep within the pit of her stomach. She would control that energy, focusing it throughout her body like a liquid filling a bottle shaped like her body. It was an interesting control she felt, and one like no others; it went beyond merely flexing a muscle, and was wholly different from the incredible energy she accessed when taking on her Valor Form.

This energy was something new, something grand, and yet something that’d always been with her. It was her life energy, she wasn’t certain about this, but it was the conclusion she’d reached. She felt like if the energy was ever snuffed out, then she’d be no more; but at the same time, controlling the energy meant controlling her very life.

The hours would continue, and so focused as she was on her training, she would completely miss lunch, and was unaware when the sun finally began to set. The day would come to a close, with night overtaking the forest outside the ship; as it did however, the end of Rhapsody’s first day of training would be reached. From the tip of her toes, to her finger tips; the energy she controlled, her very life force, would spread to every facet of her body and be completely under her sway. As the last bit of energy filled her being, her eyes would open, and finally she would stand.

It was a new feeling, akin to drinking something you’d never drank before; it was delicious and fresh. She felt as though she could control every piece of her body like it was a separate existence from herself. It was difficult for her to put into words, but what was certain, was that she felt like a new person.

Her first day of training would come to an end with this, and she would disable the artificial gravity and decidedly take a break. Yet even as she ate, and attempted to sleep, she’d taken to refusing to lose her focus and maintained a strong grasp on her energy control.

“HYAAAAH!!” Rhapsody would exclaim, throwing her keyblade at full force through the chamber in an arc, before swiftly spinning about to catch the weapon as it flew full circle around the room, “Ha!” She would cheer, “And again, HYAAAH!!” Once more she’d perform the action; continuing to do so, over and over again.

Her training within the gravity chamber had continued for days, this time however, with access to a timer so as to prevent herself from losing track of time yet again. Being unable to magically guard herself from the cold, she’d taken to training her focus so as to endure the differing climates that plagued her. While she seemed to be in physical training now, in truth, she was still just as focused as the first day of her training, if not more so.

What better way to train once focus than to split said focus across multiple tasks, such was how she found herself training her Strike Raid ability. She grew faster, and stronger with each throw of her keyblade, and the split of her focus made for an excellent challenge as she sought not merely to guard against the oncoming attack, but to catch the spinning weapon while it moved at full speed.

Day after day her training continued, before she found herself unknowingly able to access the full extent of her abilities. The power behind her every swing could be adjusted as she saw fit, and her concentration had become unwavering. While she still had a long way to go to catch up to Nasu in terms of skills, she’d come just as long a way from being the clueless girl who was tripping over her own dress and merely imitating strikes she’d read about in books.

Her little vacation, as it may have seemed, would finally come to an end after a week’s time had passed. While there was still much for her to learn, she’d certainly gain a great deal of strength during her time training. Her body felt light, and the strength that coursed through her was beyond what she had once thought possible of herself. While she wanted to train further, she was ready to continue her search for the Guardian; having gone to the South, East, and North in her travels, only one direction remained… West!