"Focus, Lauren, you can do it," Inori said. It was the first day of real training, and Lauren was definitely feeling the pain. She was stretching her Silver Power to the limit. To summon up this amount of pure Silver Power was stressful, and the strain was practically unbearable. Lauren was about to lose consciousness, but she kept trying.

"Lauren! Stop! Stop!" she barely heard Inori say. Finally, she let go, and she fell forward a little bit. She was quickly caught by Kai, and he helped her stand up. Lauren looked back at the Silver Power she'd generated. It was a mass that was too large to behold, but Inori looked at it like it was nothing.

"I should probably take that back, lest Taiko is lurking," Lauren said comically. She opened her arms in a wide sweep, and the Silver Power was drawn back into her. However it did nothing to help with the fatigue she'd just been through, besides, it was really hot outside, and she was being forced to wear jeans.

"It will help you get stronger, you can wear something a little more comfortable tomorrow," Inori had said. Lauren sat down for a moment, then she decided to go inside and rest up. She changed into a cut-off tank top and shorts, then went back outside. Her long braid swung loosely behind her. She didn't like it down, so she always had it in a braid or ponytail. In fact, it was easier to manage when it was up all the time.

"I'm back," Lauren said. She was a lot more loose now for some reason. Maybe it was her thrill-seeker personality she used to have, and because of her newfound friends it was brought back? Lauren didn't know, but it wasn't the time to ponder on it. Kai was talking to Shu and Inori, so Lauren just decided to turn towards the forest that lay beyond the monastery. Not to walk into it, just to look at it. She liked to take in her surroundings, it made her feel secure somehow.

"There you are," Kai said. "Sorry, I was asking the two what you were doing here in the first place, other than hating your dad."

"No, I shouldn't have gone inside. Should've known you would be chatting away," Lauren said jokingly.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Kai yelled.

"No no no! I didn't mean it as an insult! I just..." Lauren rushed, blushing. Her pink glow faded as she saw Kai laughing away. She quickly stood up straighter, and tried to laugh along with him. Yeah, she wasn't as strong as she was when it came to emotional stuff. Usually she would've been stone-faced, a blank slate of sorts.

Inori came back over, and told Lauren that she should take a walk or something to help restore her Silver Power quicker. The kunoichi smiled, and headed back in the direction she had looked, towards the forest.

"Hold on! I'm coming with you!" Kai called out behind her, making Lauren stop dead in her tracks. She turned around, and waited for Kai to catch up. They walked a little bit, then Lauren smirked.

"What's that smile about?" Kai asked.

"I like to go fast," and with that Lauren took off. She sped down the beaten trail, leaving Kai in her dust. He quickly gave chase. A couple of laps later, Lauren finally was feeling tired. She began to slow, then when the time was right, she suddenly stopped, and Kai hadn't noticed. He looked over his shoulder, and tripped over a rock. It sent him reeling into a pond.

"Hey!" Kai said.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Lauren took a final run towards the pond. She reached her hand out to help the soaked Kai up. He gladly took it, a little too gladly. Kai yanked on her hand, and she was pulled into the murky water too.

"Oh, you're gonna get it!" she growled, tackling him. "Do you have any idea how much work it takes to wash this hair! It's down to my knees for goodness sake!" She playfully kicked at him, making sure not to really hurt him. Kai was laughing all the way.

This felt somewhat serene to Lauren. It was as if they'd been friends since they were born, even thought they'd only met some matter of months ago. Honestly, they were a little more than friends, but it felt like some sort of childish game sometimes.

Finally, Lauren had calmed down. She sat in the pond, even though reason told her that she would catch cold. Lauren didn't really care that much about the frigid water. It didn't seem to bother her that much, and sitting in her current situation was too nice to just quit on. These moments seemed to be rarer and rarer now that she was a target for a lot of demons apparently. At least Lloyd wasn't in danger since he had just found his powers and they weren't fully developed yet, thankfully.

"What'cha thinking about?" Kai asked.

"Nothing."

"I know that look though, and you were worried about something for a little bit," Kai told her. "So what's up?" Lauren took a deep breath.

"Its just that these moments aren't as common as they used to be, and I guess I'm worried a lot about what my life will be like for the rest of my life, and whether I'm putting others at risk," she sniffed, and felt tears coming on. "Sometimes I feel like Taiko's puppet!" She slapped the surface of the water, sending ripples across the expanse.

"Sometimes I don't know if I'm doing the right thing! Sometimes I don't know whether I truly love you! Sometimes I don't know if I'm too hard on my father! Just because of Iak, I have become selfish, and rude, and I've forgotten all that used to be! Sometimes I don't know if I'm worth it!" Lauren yelled out. She was about to say more, but Kai suddenly pulled her in close.