Arashi’s Gym

~Two Hours Later~

Reiki was still lying down in the ring with his head resting on a couple of boxing gloves. Asami was sitting by the corner of the ring with her legs crossed as she was going through the last few pages of a photo album. She thought. Not this one either… Asami closed the album as her entire hand was engulfed in flames that quickly spread to the album, she continued her train of thought. I’ve gone through so many albums and none of them gave me a clue… She lazily threw the burning album onto the ring as the fire didn’t spread.

She watched the album burn as it wasn’t producing any smoke or ash, she glanced at the door, stood up, and did some light stretches. Asami spoke to herself and said. “Surprise, surprise… The cat came back…” The burning album finished burning and didn’t leave a single trace, Asami pretended to put something in her pocket while the door leading outside opened revealing Arashi. Her shirt was slightly crumpled along with a large damp spot that was almost dried out, she made her way to the ring while ignoring the smug look on Asami’s face.

Asami placed both her hands on the ropes as she rested her chin on the palm of her hand, she said. “So, how are things?” Arashi’s iris was back to her ocean blue, she looked up at her who was in the ring as Asami pretended she answered her question, she continued. “You finished licking your wounds?” Asami nodded a couple of times and said. “And now you’re here because you want the other six hundred grams of dragon meat?” Arashi kept a straight face, she thought. How my dad still has all of his hair when dealing with you I will never know.

Arashi glanced at Reiki who still had his eyes closed as she moved her gaze back to Asami and said. “I’m just trying to make sure he didn’t bail on the deal.” Asami’s lips curled into a bigger smile, she said. “The only way out is through the door you just came in.” Arashi froze as she felt Asami’s gaze piercing through her, she continued. “... Don’t tell me… You’re actually interested in his training?” Arashi let out a scoff, she rolled her eyes and said. “Nope, I’m just doing it for the meat. With his current build, how hard can his training be?”

Asami stared at her and thought. … Oh yeah… She’s still asleep when Reiki trains from midnight until sunrise… She said. “... How hard can his training be…” Arashi felt increasingly uncomfortable from her stare as she pointed at the door using her thumb and said. “Since he’s still asleep, I’ll go back to lying on the couch while watching TV.” The two of them heard Reiki let out a long exhale, he spoke with his eyes closed and said. “I can’t even close my eyes without hearing a conversation.” He slowly opened both of his eyes, Reiki thought. At least my concussion finally subsided…

He sat up on the ring and noticed that the blood on it was missing, Asami said. “If you're wondering why the blood is gone. I used a talisman, I’m not sitting on a floor with blood.” Arashi glanced to the side and spoke in a soft tone, she said. “Yet, there’s a picture of you sitting on top of a pile of mangled red corpses…” Asami turned her head to face Arashi who was refusing to make eye contact. Asami raised a brow and said. “How do you even know that? You weren’t even born at the time.”

Arashi had a hint of surprise on her face, she glanced at her and said. “Oh, my grandma saved the newspaper.” Reiki picked up the boxing gloves on the floor and stood up while Asami's eyes slightly lit up in understanding, she said. “… I forgot that old fogey is still alive… Tell her I said hi.” Arashi nodded at her and said. “... I will…” She thought. Old fogey? That’s surprising coming from you who's sixty years old… Reiki made his way to their side of the ring, he threw both the boxing gloves at her which Arashi easily caught mid-air.

He said. “Are you going to join me for a bit of endurance training?” Arashi placed the boxing gloves near her pocket as it was sucked in, with a slight smirk on her lips. She said. “Just endurance training? When do we start?” Reiki made his way out of the ring as he did some light stretches, he said. “We’re starting now.” Arashi placed a hand on her hip and said. “What are we doing?” Reiki finished his stretches, he said. “Squats.” Asami raised a brow, she thought. Endurance? With squats? How does that work?

Arashi gave him an odd look and said. “Is this just an excuse to stare at my ass? Be honest.” Reiki stared at her with a slight frown on his face, he said. “It’s not, I already stare at you when you’re not looking and I make sure to get more than my share of an eyeful.” Arashi was surprised by what he said while Asami let out a laugh, Reiki continued. “All you have to do is try to keep up with me and I’ll be sure to uphold my end of the deal.”

Arashi snapped back to her senses and said. “Easy, you might as well give what you owe me upfront.” Reiki's mouth turned into a slight smile, he said. “Don’t forget, one of the conditions was. No complaining.” Arashi waved her hand at him and said. “That’s easy.” She pointed at the area near the treadmills, she continued. “Let’s head over there-.” Before she could finish her sentence Asami interrupted her, she said. “Do it here.” Arashi and Reiki looked up to her, Asami continued. “I want a front-row seat of Arashi struggling.”

Arashi stared at her for a couple of seconds and said. “I’m not going to struggle.” Asami's lips curled into a slight smirk, she said. “I’m willing to bet money that’s what you thought before you two sparred.” Arashi felt the sharp sting of her words while Reiki turned his head to the side and let out a stifled laugh. Arashi glanced at him from the corner of her eye as she smacked the back of his head with her hand.

[System: User has received 22 Damage.]

Reiki rubbed the back of his head with a hand, he said. “Fine, let’s start.” He pointed at a spot roughly six feet away from him and continued. “You stand over there, we’ll face each other and do squats.” Arashi walked toward the area he pointed at, she set her feet apart and said. “... That’s it?...” Reiki gave her a nod as he did a couple last stretches, he said. “Yeah, you ready?” Asami leaned on the ropes of the ring, she rested her chin on the palm of her hand and thought. He never clarified when he's going to stop.

Reiki let out a yawn while Arashi slowly exhaled, she thought. Ok, I can do this… He gently rubbed his eyes and said. “Three, two, one. Go.” The two of them squatted at the same time as Arashi copied his rhythm, she thought. Let’s see how you like it when someone imitates you. Reiki let out another yawn as he spoke with a hint of laziness in his tone, he said. “Oh, you don’t need to keep up with me.” The two of them squatted a few times as Arashi just stared at him and said. “It’s fine, I can do this all day.”

Reiki shrugged his shoulders and said. “Suit yourself.” The two of them continued to squat while staring at each other as he didn’t bother hiding his gaze while Reiki stared at Arashi’s large chest. She rolled her eyes at him and thought. Despite their age, men are all the same. The two of them heard Asami’s voice on their left which was on the opposite side of the ring. Reiki and Arashi glanced at her direction as they saw Asami who was sitting on a reclining chair. Arashi let out a sigh, she said. “I’m fairly sure there’s a new episode airing for that opera show you watch.”

Reiki’s brows furrowed, he thought. We’re there any good opera shows airing around this time? Asami pulled the lever on the side as the reclining chair adjusted, the backrest tilted back as a footrest popped up from the front. Arashi let out a groan, she thought. Why is she even doing this? Asami took out a dark beer bottle that didn’t have a brand on it along with a large plastic pack of peanuts that had the words salted written on it using a marker. Reiki’s gaze wandered onto the bottle of beer, he said. “Arashi, any chance you know that brand of beer?”

The two of them simultaneously a couple of times, Arashi shook her head sideways and said. “Nope, but I did hear rumors that she knows someone that owns the majority of the beer market in the mainland.” Asami took the metal cap of the beer using her bare hands, she took a small sip and let out a satisfied exhale. With a light exhale the beer bottle started to release some steam, Reiki saw this and thought. Is that water vapor?!... Did she just use magic to have a cold drink?... Note to self, ask Nora to teach me ice magic.

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~Five Minutes Later~

Arashi had a bored expression on her face, she glanced at Asami taking sips of her cold bottle of beer followed by eating a few peanuts. She thought. I would kill for a beer from the mainland, all the alcohol here sucks. Reiki said. “How are you holding up?” Arashi moved her gaze onto him and said. “This training is too easy.” He let out a chuckle and continued. “True, but I was asking about our spar.” Arashi waved her hand in dismissal, she said. “I’m fine, if I did hate you I would’ve thrown you out a window.”

Reiki glanced at Asami who was in the middle of chewing as she gave him a nod. He crossed his arms and said. “Since you said this is too easy, then let’s speed things up a bit.” Reiki increased the tempo of his squats as Arashi easily kept up with him. She said. “Well, now it’s a bit interesting.” She saw the smile on Reiki’s face as he increased the tempo even more, Arashi easily matched his pace. She said. “You just want to see my breasts jiggle, don't you?” Reiki’s gaze wandered onto her chest that were reacting to her sudden movements during her squats.

Arashi rolled her eyes at him while Reiki slowly inhaled as the mana around him compressed, he spoke in between going up and down in his squats. He said. “I. Don’t. Recommend. Talking. Your. Throat. Will. Get. Dry.” Arashi had a hint of confusion on her expression as she saw he was being serious. From the corner of her eye, she saw Asami take a sip of her beer as she intentionally let out a satisfied sigh. Arashi thought. That bitch… This is fine… Reiki’s going faster means this is almost over.

~Thirty Minutes Later~

Reiki was still maintaining the same speed as his clothes were starting to stick to him from his sweat. Arashi started to control her breathing with long and deep breaths, she thought. Why aren’t we done yet?! She glanced at Asami who emptied her first bottle of beer as she took another one from her pocket and lightly breathed on it to freeze the bottle. Arashi continued her train of thought. She’s only made it worse by flaunting food and drinks. She moved her gaze onto Reiki, the mana around him was constantly expanding and compressing while he continued with his squats with ease.

One of her eyes' irises started to turn yellow, Arashi thought. Just breathe and calm down, it’ll be over before you know it. Reiki and Arashi did a handful of squats as he smiled at her and slightly increased the tempo as she curled her hands into fists and kept up. She thought. I’m going to kill him after this is over! Her right eye turned completely yellow as her pupils started to change into vertical slits. Asami tossed a few salted peanuts in her mouth, she thought. I’m surprised Reiki can already move in two hours. The medicine I gave him wasn’t ‘that’ effective…

~Thirty Minutes Later~

Arashi had sweat all over her face, she tried to control her breathing as it slightly became erratic. The white shirt she was wearing was starting to stick to her skin while revealing the light gray sports bra underneath, both her eyes were now yellow as she was completely concentrating on the tempo. She thought. One. Two. One. Two. Asami used her hand to fan herself, she said. “I should’ve placed this chair farther, I can feel the heat coming off from you two.”

She placed her ice-cold beer bottle that was constantly releasing water vapor, Asami moved the bottle onto her face as she felt its cold touch. She glanced at Arashi who didn’t pay her attention as she let out a soft sigh and thought. Too focused, she probably wouldn’t even notice if I ripped her boxing gloves apart… Asami moved her gaze onto Reiki who was standing in a pool of his sweat, she thought. He on the other hand could trip at any moment. She took a sip of her beer and ate a few pieces of salted peanuts.

~Fifteen Minutes Later~

Asami emptied another beer bottle as she took out another one from her pocket, she saw one of Arashi’s pupils was starting to return back to ocean blue. Asami thought. Now I get it… Reiki’s testing her mentality… If it were a set number of squats or a time limit, Arashi would be able to easily power through… She moved her gaze onto Reiki who was still doing his mana breathing, he wiped some sweat on his eyebrow as he kept doing squats. Asami continued her train of thought. By the looks of it… He has no intention of stopping anytime soon…

~One Hour And Thirty Minutes Later~

Arashi’s right eye was visibly turning back to ocean blue, she thought. When are we going to finish?! She moved her gaze onto Reiki who had a nonchalant expression on his face as he maintained the tempo. Arashi continued her train of thought. Don’t look at her, don’t look at her… Both of her eyes were now ocean blue again as her pupils turned back to circles, she glanced over at Asami who was in the middle of chewing. Asami gave Arashi a light-hearted smile along with a wave.

Arashi gritted her teeth as she forced herself to keep up with Reiki with the squats, she thought. That steak he’ll make for me at lunch better be worth all this! Arashi came to her senses as she heard Reiki speak, he said. “Tired?” She moved her gaze onto him and said. “N-Nope, I…” She let out one long exhale, Arashi continued. “I can do this all day.” Reiki nodded at her, he said. “Good, because we’re just warming up.” He thought. And her reaction is?... Arashi’s eyes lost focus as she kept doing squats, she thought. We’re still going to continue?...

Asami let out a muffled laugh as she used her hand to cover her mouth, she thought. Oh, that was cruel. She moved her gaze onto Reiki’s legs as she saw both of them were shaking when he reached the bottom of the squat. Asami continued her train of thought. Especially since you’re almost finished. She tossed a few peanuts into her mouth and watched those two squat.

~Thirty Minutes Later~

Reiki did a few more squats, he said. “Alright, we’re finished.” He came to a sudden stop in squatting as both his legs were visibly trembling. Arashi stopped as she stood up straight on her own two legs, she thought. … Finally!... We’re done… She moved some hair behind her as she felt it stick to her skin from the sweat. Reiki leaned on the ring and used it for support, he slowly exhaled as the mana around him was still, he thought. Those three hours felt like an eternity. The two of them turned their heads as they saw Asami clapping.

She said. “Whose tired?” Arashi shook her head sideways and said. “Not me…” She looked at her shirt which was nearly see-through, she thought. This is the first time I’ve sweated this much in three hours… Reiki raised his hand, he said. “Me, I’m the one that’s tired.” From his sweat, he slipped from the ring he was using as support and fell onto the floor.

[System: User has received 1 Damage.]

He slowly inhaled and exhaled as the mana around him expanded and compressed, Reiki said. “I’m… Ok…” Asami pulled on the lever of the reclining chair as it went back to normal, she stood up from it as it vanished. She said. “I’ll change my question for you, are you mentally exhausted?” Arashi didn’t say anything for a few seconds as she adjusted her footing, she heard a small splash when she put her foot down. Arashi looked down and saw that a small puddle of her sweat formed underneath her, she let out a chuckle and said. “Nope.”

Arashi let out a sharp exhale as she placed a hand on her hips, she said. “Reiki, I want my steak cooked like her first order.” Reiki ignored that he was lying down on the ground in his own puddle of sweat, he glanced at her from the corner of his eye and said. “Sides?” Arashi thought for a moment and said. “Wedge-cut fries and a lot of rice.” Reiki let out a long exhale as the mana around him expanded, he moved his gaze onto Asami and said. “I’m guessing you want the same one from breakfast?”

Asami pocketed the large bag of salted peanuts, she took a step forward and suddenly took a couple of steps back, and said. “If you would be so kind…” She used her hand to wave the odor coming from Arashi and Reiki, Asami continued. “You two are going to shower if you want to use my table. I’m not eating next to two people who smell like a pair of used gym socks.” She pinched her nose shut and started making her way to the door. Arashi took her shirt off that was soaked in sweat, she wrung her shirt while ignoring Reiki’s gaze.

A surprising amount of liquid was squeezed out of the shirt, she said. “Reiki, if you’re going to stare. At least make it subtle.” Reiki stared at her light gray sports bra and said. “She was mainly talking about you when complaining about the smell.” Arashi was about to wring her shirt again but stopped, she thought. … Did he just call me smelly?... She was about to throw her shirt that was still visibly damped, Reiki quickly said. “You throw that at me and you’ll face the consequences.” Arashi held back the urge to throw her shirt at his face, she said. “What consequences?”

Reiki's mouth formed into a slight smile, he said. “I’m the one who’s going to make lunch, not unless you're interested in having boar again. I suggest you don’t throw your wet shirt at me.” Arashi’s eyes slightly widened in realization, she went back to twist her shirt and said. “After you cook my steak, I want my kilogram of dragon meat in the freezer.” Reiki moved his gaze onto the ceiling, he said. “I won’t forget, no need for your panties to get into a twist.”

After one last thorough wring of her shirt she put it back on and said. “I’m going to use the bath first, I’ll use magic to dry your clothes so just put them outside by the door.” Arashi carefully pulled her long golden hair out from the inside of her shirt, she said. “I like my steak medium-rare slightly on the rarer side.” Reiki thought. Yep, her being called tiger fits her all too well. She made her way to the door, Reiki raised a hand and said. “If you need me I’ll be here, marinating in my own sweat.”

Arashi rolled her eyes and said. “Gross.” Reiki placed his hand back to his side as it made a small splash on the sweat he was lying down on, he thought. … I cannot feel my legs… He forced himself to sit up on the floor, he managed to do half a sit-up before giving up as he was back to lying down on the floor. Reiki continued his train of thought. … I wanna go back to sleep…