Ultimate Kaisen

One Step Forward

The past few days had proved to be quite daunting for Ben. No moment expressed his growing frustration better than his current predicament.

It was midnight, and rays of light courtesy of the full moon instilled a sense of peace and tranquility around the city. While most people were in the comforts of their homes, sleeping in anticipation of the upcoming morning, Ben was still wide awake. Standing several feet away from a tree at the park Satoru brought him to some days back, Ben could be seen wearing a different set of clothes from his normal attire.

Though he wore his signature black t-shirt,he also wore grey, ankle length pants. His footwear was a pair of wooden sandals in place of his signature black and white sneakers. The Ultimatrix could be seen in all it's glory, occupying a good portion of his left hand.

Repeatedly panting due to exhaustion,sweat could be seen dripping off of Ben's forehead to his cheeks, and his hands. Despite this, the look of resolution in his eyes seemed absolute.

Ceasing his panting and clenching his fists,Ben manifested his mana through the familiar pink aura. Unclenching his right hand,Ben would then swing it forward as if throwing an object. Ben's eyes widened as he looked at the tree,as if he had expected something to happen to it. He then held up his right hand, and to his shock, the pink aura dispersed. However,it would reappear in a manner akin to a flicker.

Clenching his right fist tightly,Ben then swung his left hand forward in the same manner he did his right, but to his dismay, was met with the same result. Gritting his teeth, he would begin to alternate between throwing his left hand and right hand forward. Despite still being met with the same outcome, Ben would be prove to be unrelenting in his actions, evident by the short but loud battle cries he would let out each time he threw a hand forward.

Unfortunately, several minutes would pass, and the result would remain unchanged. After throwing his hands forward in evident frustration a few more times,Ben would let out a loud groan of annoyance before falling on his knees. Now knelt on the ground, Ben would then fall on his back by his left side, and stretch out his arms and legs. He had reached his limit, both physically and mentally.

Sighing out of exhaustion, Ben's breathing would maintain a steady pace as he no longer engaged himself in his strenuous training. With the soothing breeze of the night sky washing over his body, specifically his face, Ben's mind began to recollect the events that led to his current training.

Flashback

It was two hours before midnight, and it was the night in which Ben,Yuji and Satoru encountered the two cursed spirits:Jogo and Hanami.

Satoru had gone to meet Yaga as he initially planned,Yuji was in the sitting room continuing his movie marathon. Ben had politely declined his request to watch with him,as he had something else he wanted to do.

In a room, sitting on the edge of the bottom bed of a double bunk was Ben, holding a Plumber's Badge in his right hand with a smile.

He wore his black t-shirt and grey shorts, but didn't wear any footwear whatsoever. Considering the events of the day that was gradually reaching it's end,Ben saw it necessary to reach out to someone of importance to him. As he activated the Plumber's Badge, the hologram of his cousin, Gwen, appeared.

She wore a pink, sleeveless, night wear sleep shirt and a night wear sleep shorts of the same color. Her hair was untied from her ponytail, and as such,it fell down to her back.

"How's my favorite cousin?" Asked Ben with a warm smile.

"She was just about to turn in for the night until her doofus cousin asked her to stay awake for the next hour." Said Gwen as she crossed her hands in annoyance.