Not a Mob: Psycho 34 (Patreon)

After the hell of the first day, Ohta genuinely didn't expect Karin to return for a second. He had pushed her much harder than strictly necessary to try and discourage her, but just as he was beginning to wrap up breakfast, a knock sounded at the door.

Making his way over, Ohta opened the door to find Karin looking up at him with a resolute expression on her face, this time wearing a sleeveless blue tank top, navy-blue spats, and a baseball cap.

"You don't know when to quit, do you?" asked Ohta.

Craning her right brow, Karin countered, "Don't tell me all that was just to scare me away? If it was..."

"Nah, it was legit," replied Ohta. "I just had you doing stuff you ordinarily wouldn't do until your body and mind had acclimated to intense strain and pressure. In other words, I threw you into the deep end."

Exhaling a sigh of relief, Karin regained a serious expression and said, "If that's the case, let's continue. This is to ensure my and my family's safety, so I won't give up or break that easily."

"So it would seem..." muttered Ohta, stepping aside to allow Karin into his apartment. He had spent the previous night wondering if he was wasting his time, but as Yoruichi was training the scrubs and Ichigo was using the underground study chamber to regain his power, Ohta had nothing better to do but focus on finding his center. It was said that teaching others was a good way to get a new perspective on things, so with Karin showing up of her own volition, Ohta figured he might as well teach her the basics. It beat sitting around, moping, and meditating all day...

"So, what'll it be today?" asked Karin, looking around Ohta's apartment as she asked, "Running through a field of blades? Bathing in lava? Skydiving without a parachute...?"

Shaking his head, Ohta replied, "I told you it was important to experience various extremes. Yesterday had a lot of variety, so it wasn't as stressful as it could have been since your brain and body constantly received new stimulation. Today will be the complete opposite."

Demonstrating a horse stance with his knees bent at ninety degrees, back straight, and fists near his hips, Ohta stated, "You will get in and hold this position for as long as possible."

Though it was an incredibly awkward position, especially since she was wearing spats, Karin gave an affirming nod before emulating Ohta's form and posture. Getting into it immediately made her aware that her thighs were about to be incredibly sore, but what made things worse was Ohta moving over to his bed, sitting atop it in a meditative posture, and closing his eyes without further explanation...

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Though he had been hearing the sound of her distressed groans for quite a while, Ohta waited until Karin had fallen onto her ass to open his eyes, finding her splayed out on the floor with closed eyes and a pained look on her face, brows trembling.

Looking over to his alarm clock, Ohta remarked, "Four minutes and some change. Not bad."

Hearing Ohta's words, Karin's brows furrowed deeply. It felt like she had been holding the pose much longer. Hearing that it hadn't even been five minutes made her realize just how hellish the day's training was going to be...

Matching Karin's expectations, Ohta got off his bed, making his way over to her to extend a hand as he said, "Get up..." in a firm, authoritative tone.

Clenching her teeth, Karin accepted Ohta's outstretched hand, allowing him to pull her up and subsequently place his hand atop her head. As he did, the pain in her groin and thighs seemed to melt away. Unfortunately, the moment he was finished, Ohta retracted his hand, saying, "That's one. Unless you can reach the six-minute marker, ninety-nine more to go..."

Though she trembled at the notion, Karin only hesitated for the time it took Ohta to return to his bed before getting back into a horse stance, a look of grim resolution on her face as she was determined to reach six minutes at all costs...

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Roughly three hours after they had begun, Karin was only her forty-first set when she fell to the ground and abruptly started silently sobbing. It wasn't an exaggeration to say the training was tortuous, but, as anyone with a strong will could attest, it was by enduring pain and suffering that one became unbreakable.

Instead of pitying Karin and asking if she were okay, Ohta gave her a few minutes to collect herself before asking, "Can you continue...?" in a calm tone.

Though she sniffled and kept her eyes concealed with her forearm, Karin eventually gave a silent, affirming nod. In response, Ohta got up from the bed. However, instead of extending his hand to pull her up, he knelt next to her, placing his hand atop her head and alleviating her pain as he said, "Then we'll continue after a short break. Want some hot cocoa...?"

While still hiding her eyes, Karin gave another nod, responding, "Yes..." in a meek, sobbing tone. She was experiencing a mild emotional breakdown, so she needed some time before rising to a seated position a few minutes after Ohta set a cup of cocoa next to her.

Taking a sip of the bittersweet beverage, Karin made her opinion of it known, muttering, "Your hot cocoa sucks..." with furrowed brows and a notably sheepish expression. She couldn't believe she had broken down and started crying, causing her to feel a blend of anger, embarrassment, and self-loathing...

"Hey, don't beat yourself up," said Ohta. "Most people would have given up a long ago. You've also improved your time from four minutes and ten seconds to four minutes and fifty-three. That's still quite a ways from six minutes, but, considering your muscles haven't really gotten any stronger, it shows your willpower has increased."

Though the truth was that Karin got stronger each time he healed her torn muscles, Ohta knew from personal experience that belief played a critical role in mental and spiritual development.

Hearing that she was improving, Karin's frustration and anxiety lessened considerably. Before Ohta informed her otherwise, she thought she was performing worse each set. If it was true that she had improved her time by forty-three seconds, that was a lot of progress in a fairly short period.

Sniffling one last time, Karin adopted a hopeful and resolute expression, earning an approving nod from Ohta as she said, "I'm ready to continue." in a firm tone. She failed to surpass the six-minute marker, plateauing around five minutes and thirty seconds, but she didn't give up or break down a second time...

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"I'm back," said Ohta, plopping down outside the twenty-meter no man's land marking his Zanpakuto Spirit's personal space.

Catching Ohta a little off guard, the shadowy jackal asked, "Why do you waste time training that whelp? How does aiding her 'benefit' you in any way?"

"Are you genuinely curious or just fishing for an excuse to insult and tear me down?" asked Ohta.

"Answer me," ordered the shadowy jackal.

Snorting through his nose, Ohta asked, "How can you claim to know me better than I know myself and 'not' know the answer to such a question? There's only one reason I'm helping that brat..."

"..."

With the jackal remaining silent, Ohta adopted a cheeky smile and said, "I'm training her because I fucking feel like it. Watching her push herself beyond her limits sure as shit beats sitting here, attempting to talk sense into your sorry ass..."

Rising to his feet, Ohta dusted himself off, stating, "To that end, there is something else I wanted to tell you..."

Knowing what Ohta would say even before the words left his mouth, the shadowy jackal narrowed its ghostly white eyes.

"I don't fucking need you," declared Ohta, turning around and slipping his hands into his pockets, walking away as he asserted, "I'll crush everyone and everything that stands in my way using my own power..."

"..."

Waiting until Ohta's form had vanished from his sight, the shadowy jackal put its head down on its paws. However, instead of looking upset like it usually did, it appeared fairly relaxed as it closed its eyes and muttered, "That's what you should have been doing from the very beginning..."

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Though it never got easier, Karin felt like she had gotten accustomed to Ohta's tortuous training methods by the end of the first week. She also noticed that her body had started to experience changes, her previously flat abdomen gaining a bit of definition as her thighs, calves, legs, back, and, somewhat worryingly, her butt became notably more toned.

While the changes in her body were objectively good things, a testament to the progress she had made, Karin couldn't help noticing that Ohta had yet to teach her anything remotely supernatural. He just had her training her body and increasing her mental resistance, so after entering his room for the eighth day in a row, she dropped off her backpack, turned to him with furrowed brows, and asked, "When are you going to start teaching me telekinesis and stuff? At this rate, even my brain is going to become a muscle..."

Shrugging his shoulders, Ohta replied, "We've been trying to get you to a level that typically takes months in just a few days. Without a strong mind and an even stronger body, you could break both trying to learn even the basics of what I have to teach."

As Ohta's physique was the best she had ever seen, both in-person and while perusing magazines, Karin didn't doubt his words. She did, however, ask, "Then, how much longer do I need to keep this up?"

Adopting a teasing smile, Ohta replied, "That depends on you. Once you learn to tap into your mental and spiritual energies, you can use them to develop your physique indefinitely. If you're looking for a more concrete answer, a good baseline is reaching a point where you're bulletproof. The odds of you getting shot at are slim, but never zero..."

Blinking in surprise, Karin asked, "Are 'you' bulletproof...?"

Exhaling an amused snort, Ohta replied, "At my level, I could stare into the barrel of a tank like I'm posing for a picture."

Though it was difficult to imagine 'anyone' taking a tank round to the face without sustaining damage, Karin's ebony-black eyes glistened with awe as she correlated Ohta with a Hero from a comic book. She knew he could fly, and if the power he had lent her was any indication, he could probably level entire buildings with his attacks. Combine that with imperviousness to bullets, and he wasn't much different from a real-world Superman...

Quashing the idolatry in Karin's eyes, Ohta gave her head a light chop as he stated, "Anyways, if you want to get a jumpstart on your psychic and spiritual training, I have a few methods in mind. Before that, though, it's business as usual. Bust your ass from now until around three o'clock, and I'll teach you how to begin developing your psychic abilities. Fair warning, though...it's incredibly boring at the start..."

"Yeah, but then I'll be able to move things with my mind, right?" asked Karin. "Seems worth it to me."

Exhaling an amused chuckle, Ohta ruffled Karin's hair and mused, "You sweet summer child. If you think the frustration of training to failure is bad, wait until you spend hours failing to get a paperclip to twitch..."

"..."

Though she initially felt a fluttery sensation in her chest when Ohta ruffled her hair, Karin's somewhat embarrassed smile morphed into a deadpan when she heard his words. Fortunately, unlike Ohta, who had to figure things out from scratch, she had an experienced teacher who could boost her psychic powers using his own...

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(A/N: Only another chapter or two of the 'centering' sub-arc. Then we're off to Soul Society~)