Deciding to abandon any further investigation for now, Jaid turned around and headed across the way to the southwest corner. After passing the main road to the headquarters, she noticed that the road to this building was publicly accessible as well. So whatever was there, the people of Bisomote could visit it too.
At the end of the road, she found a recreation center and gymnasium. There was a public entrance and a member entrance. Obviously, she’d take the member entrance to avoid suspicion, but still peered into the window on the public side. She could only see the lobby from where she stood, but there were plenty of telling signs.
In the lobby itself there were vending machines, massage chairs, and a general lounge area. The signs led to locker rooms, an indoor pool and hot tub, fitness room, a zoneball field, and private rooms where individual classes could be held. It was impressive, yet still smaller than the member side somehow. There were already a few Bisomote citizens and Fiend residents inside having a grand old time.
The member entrance immediately opened into a fitness room. Perhaps they found the pretense of a lobby unnecessary in their case. The room was filled with weights and exercise equipment. There were also various other machines that Jaid couldn’t even begin to understand. Trying to figure them out would have to wait for now because she was immediately drawn to the commotion in the corner.
“Really, I don’t have time for this right now,” Xard Randex complained to the others. “Buy what you want, Nachi. Just try not to get scammed too much…” Xard glanced over to another Fiend and then headed to the exit, passing Jaid and giving her a courteous nod on the way.
Jaid looked over to the two that remained. Maybe this is my chance to make friends. Xard had mentioned something about scams, but for some reason that just intrigued Jaid more. Since she was living a dubious double life, maybe she’d have an easier time approaching those with their own agendas. Those who genuinely wanted to be here just out of pure enthusiasm would be harder for her to get along with.
“Alright, I’ll have those delivered by tomorrow,” the man offered a handshake to the woman to seal the deal. She reciprocated emphatically, like she’d just struck silver. “Oh, a new customer.” The man’s eyes lit up whom she now recognized as Roque Personson from the dossier. Even under his bio it stated ‘Yes his name is real, we ran an extensive background check.’ She never would have believed it otherwise.
“Roque Personson, at your service.” He introduced himself anyways and handed her a business card. “Anything you need, I can get it. Since we’re fellow members, I’ll even give you a discount. Here, have a free sample, even.” He handed her a small bottle, though she wasn’t sure where he’d been keeping it. “A special post-workout supplement designed specifically for Fiends. It’ll have you feeling right as rain within minutes, no matter how much your muscles ache.”
“Come now, Roque. You’ll make a woman jealous if you jump at every girl who crosses your path,” the woman admonished him. “Don’t you have an order to fill? If you don’t hold up your end of the bargain, you may lose your advantage tomorrow. Wouldn’t want that, now would you?”
“Uhh…” The unflappable Roque actually seemed quite flapped for a second. “Yes, I should go make some calls. If you’ll excuse me.”
“Hi, I’m Nachi, the trainer here,” she introduced herself as Roque made his exit. When Jaid went to shake her outstretched hand, she found her forearm grabbed instead. Nachi pulled her in close before she had time to react, their faces now only a few mere inches apart. “You’re a pretty one. Let’s get you sweating!”
“Ehhh?!” Jaid was puzzled and now being dragged across the room by Nachi.
“You came here to work out, right?” It seemed like a leading question, and Jaid was certainly being led by it. The next thing she knew, she was down on a bench press with Nachi slotting weights onto the bar. She certainly hadn’t come here to work out, but somehow got caught into Nachi’s flow with no polite way to escape at this point. “We’ll start a routine in a minute, but I want to see how much you can handle first.”
Sweat was still dripping from Jaid’s face while she sat on a bench, recovering from what had just happened. If asked to recount it, she wouldn’t be able to, having all but blacked out from that fever dream of a workout session. She checked the clock on her phone, her arm bursting with heat as she lifted it. Only about 30 minutes had passed, but it had felt like days.
Before long, she found herself desperately chugging the free sample Roque had given her, desperate for any release from this agony. She’d planned to throw it away, thinking it to be a sham, but was willing to try anything in the moment. While she’d exercised regularly in her past life, nothing while she was still a human had ruined her like this. True to his word, the concoction brought her back to life within a few minutes. She groaned for a new reason. He’d nabbed her, and now she’d have to be a regular customer if this was her new routine.
She looked down at her clothes. They were soaking in sweat, and the lining of her bra was visible. Normally, she’d spazz out at such indignity, but she just didn’t have it in her to care at the moment. Somewhere in that nightmare, she’d noticed a sign for the member’s locker room with an accompanying bath. While she’d prefer to go back to her room, she definitely didn’t want to go outside looking like this. There were also convenient laundry machines in the room, so she could have her stinking outfit fresh by the time she was done bathing.
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As she was soaking away her aches and agony, Jaid started thinking about her clothing situation while in the tub. She hadn’t really brought proper athletic attire with her. While she knew she’d be exercising, normal clothes had suited her fine since becoming a Fiend. But she’d need something more tailored to the job if they were going to keep getting abused like this. Her normal wear would get worn out in no time.
She made up her mind that she’d head into town next and look for some new clothes. While she was there, she’d do some grocery shopping as well. Even though she expected she’d spend most of her meals at the restaurant, having quick food to eat at her leisure would be nice. Maybe she’d be able to hear some rumors or unbiased opinions from the townsfolk about the Fiends For Hire as well.
On her way out of the gym, Jaid now saw Tize being run through the same ringer that had tormented her. She couldn’t help but sprout the biggest, happiest grin since she’d arrived. While she knew she shouldn’t be antagonistic towards him, she felt it was a bit deserved for following her around. It could be mere coincidence that he had shown up here as well, but Jaid couldn’t help but guess at his motives.
◆◆◆
The supermarket was a bit less robust than what she was used to, but still was able to get a nice haul despite the limited selection. Sadly, most of her favorites were missing, but there were plenty of local delicacies to try. Jaid had already seen several delivery trucks heading to the For Hire compound, so she at least knew ordering things wouldn’t really be an issue. Perhaps recognizing her as a new member and wanting to get on her good side, the store manager offered to deliver her groceries so she could continue shopping without the extra burden.
The town only had three clothing stores. One was for suits and other formal attire, another was for children, so this only left Jaid with one general clothing store to shop from. If she didn’t find what she was looking for she’d have to order online which was never the best option for clothes. She also knew asking Mallea was an option to have some custom made, but she wanted to avoid anything that’d possibly constitute owing a favor for the time being.
“What about these, anything you don’t hate?” Jaid was perusing the sports-wear and heard a familiar voice from a few aisles over. Not one to leave something uninvestigated, she scoped out the situation. She was expecting to find Kada, but didn’t expect who she was with. It was a Lesser Fiend, the only one who had a direct warning on their member profile. Kaizu Izuzu, who had the warning: ‘If you see her being hostile to anyone, PLEASE REPORT IMMEDIATELY.’
Jaid knew virtually nothing else about her, and her bio had been pretty bare—nothing to warrant such a warning. Clearly, something was going on that hadn’t been shared yet. This was only enforced by the fact that Kaizu was now on a leash tied to one of her wrists, the other end being held by Kada. Thankfully, it wasn’t attached to a collar around her neck, or this would be an entirely different context that Jaid didn’t want to think about.
“Oh hey Jaid, shopping too?” Kada greeted her normally, as if the situation wasn’t worth mentioning. Eventually, she caught on since Jaid couldn’t pry her eyes away from the leash. “Oh, this? It’s just a precaution for now. Kaizu actually requested this herself. It’s only until we find out how she’s able to control herself around bad people.”
Jaid looked over to Kaizu for confirmation. “Yes, I find it preferable to having my entire body disabled. I know I must be monitored, so I’d prefer a firm hand restraining me over the looming fear of losing bodily function.”
“Okay, I sort of get it.” Jaid didn’t get it at all. She understood the mentality of having the restraint and a preference over whatever other option they were discussing, but without any background context, it just seemed ludicrous. In the hope of moving things forward, however, she acted like it was normal enough. “I’m here looking for workout clothes. How about you two?”
“We’re trying to figure out combat gear for Kaizu,” Kada brought her up to speed. “She didn’t like any of the options we gave her. Nothing here is suitable of course, but we’re trying to get her to settle on a design so we can have Mallea make something.”
Kada kept explaining beyond this, but Jaid had stopped listening. Combat gear; another oversight. Well, not quite an oversight. Jaid was quite used to wearing combat clothing, far more than daily wear, in fact. However, her usual garb would stand out dramatically among this group, so she had to leave it behind, even with all the logos removed.
It had always been her intent to acquire something after coming here, relying on the experience of the others to suggest something for her and possibly use it as a bonding experience with someone. However, she was now realizing the gaping hole in that plan. It completely went against her faux backstory. If she was supposed to have been a merc all her life, she should be drowning in combat clothes.
Hmm, maybe I can say I threw it all away when I left the mercenary life behind. Not the best lie, but it’ll have to do for now. She’d still have to do ample research into the stuff before asking someone, and soon. The reality was she had never picked any out for herself. It had always been assigned to her. The only freedom she had was to alter her old gear slightly upon joining the Central Peace. It was a new horizon, but one she should already be an expert in. A groan almost escaped her lips, knowing how she’d be spending the next few nights.
“Oh come on, Kaizu, you can’t just rip it to shreds!” A tearing sound brought Jaid back to reality. Kada was disciplining her for cutting the arms and midriff off of a top with a dagger. If she was so dangerous, why were they letting her have a dagger to begin with?
“What? I wanted to know how it’d look without them,” Kaizu had no remorse. “I’m done with restricting clothing. I’ll cover the bare minimum, but my Marks need to feel free. Honestly, how you dress seems amazing to me. Maybe a bit less nautical themed.”
“Oh, well if you put it that way…” There was a vain attempt for Kada to hide her glee from being praised. Jaid had heard enough and returned to her regular, though now seemingly a bit boring, shopping.