Once Lelouch was sure Ishi was asleep, he walked a good distance away and took out his swords. "Time for a bit of training then...."

Ishi was woken from her short slumber by the sound of clanging metal. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she carefully stood and went to investigate the source, finding something that made her speechless. There was Lelouch, practicing his technique. So graceful, yet powerful at the same time.

Beads of sweat fell from Lelouch's forehead. As they were falling, he would slice them in midair with amazing precision of his sword. He would do this for every bead that fell repeatedly for several hours. For every hour that passed he increased his pace and sliced the sweat into smaller beads. After about three hours, he saw that Ishi was waking up.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?"

"Not really," Ishi said, stretching to loosen the kinks in her back. "That was actually pretty amazing. I've never seen such precision and speed like now, it's amazing. You're amazing..."

"Not really. I need to get stronger. One can never have enough power at their disposal." Lelouch put his swords away and took off his jacket to cool off from his training.

"Yeah, well, that makes two of us," Ishi said, sitting down cross-legged. "Say, have you ever heard of Invoking the Elements?"

"Doesn't ring a bell. Care to explain?" Lelouch sat down next to Ishi.

"It's a kind of magic that was used long ago to call upon the four elements and their Archangels that make our world: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. It's not as simple as it sounds because you need to have complete control over the elements as you perform whatever you need to do, otherwise something can go terribly wrong. But once you have their assistance, you can do just about anything for a short amount of time before you dismiss them. The Archangels cannot belong to only one person." Ishi finished looking quite proud of herself for knowing this.

"Hmm. Sounds interesting. I can do something similar myself but I only can control the raw element and only in the quantities in which I acquire them. So far, the only element I can control is fire. It's tricky trying it my way. I do agree that your way does sound harder to accomplish."

"I have tried to call them a few times...but I don't have a strong enough will or spirit," Ishi admitted, looking down at her boots. "In truth...I don't know any magic at all, just hand-to-hand combat. I feel pathetic..."

"Nothing is pathetic as long as it has some use to someone. You say you are a good fighter? Then use that skill to protect what care about most. Trust me. Nothing is worse than living for nothing. It's the worst feeling in the world." Lelouch offered a sympathetic pat on the back.

Ishi took comfort in that hand and moved closer to Lelouch. Protect what she cared about most? "But...I don't have anything to protect. The only thing I had to protect is now six-feet under, and that was a long time ago."

Lelouch flicked Ishi's forehead. "Idiot. Everyone has something they are meant to protect. You just need to find it."

"Yeah, but the question is: will I ever find it?" She said, laying down with her hands behind her head, gazing up into the dark abyss.

Lelouch looked up with her. "That only you can answer. You must find something that you truly treasure. Only then will you be able to realize that you are needed in this world. Hopefully I will also one day find such a hope."