04/27/23
Things have been going smoothly, dad. Well, smooth-ish. I’ll be the first one to admit that I don’t really have the first idea what the best course of action in a situation like this is, but for my ignorance, I’d say I’m doing a damn fine job. Most of my days since the last mission have been spent doing a mix of things, most of which have been different kinds of training. Hand to hand combat with Sasha, sword training with Maria, and Firearm training with Bea. I’d say I’ve been making great progress in each, although I’m definitely reaching my progress plateau.
Probably the most difficult part has been hand to hand combat. Sasha, though I never took her for it, is probably the strongest person here. Every kick, every punch, every headbutt and chokehold are some of the most painful things I’ve had to deal with in my entire life. You’d probably make fun of me for being so roughly manhandled, and I definitely can’t even blame you for that one. At least in our more recent sessions, I’ve started to get a few lucky shots in. Well, no, I should say it's an improvement, or Sasha will tell me off for not giving her credit as a teacher. She can be pretty scary sometimes…still, I’m gonna prove her wrong, like I told you I would. As such, I gotta keep up with this crap, no matter how painful it is.
Alright, uh, next would probably be sword training. Thankfully my teacher in that isn’t so sadistic, though she is definitely pretty rough when push comes to shove. Her strikes have stopped being easily predictable. Whether she’s gonna go for a regular hit, a fake out, the direction, the strength, have lost most of their tells, save for the smallest ones most would make due to pure human ability. In short, I’m being decently prepared for whatever it is I have to be scared of when it comes to bladed weapons which, thank god, cause the last thing I need to die to is a fake out from a guy having a ball with my ignorance.
I have noticed, though, that on the occasion my teacher has the tendency to go a little harder than is necessary. I’m not quite sure why that’s the case, but I noticed it during our recent training session when she slammed her sword down on my head hard enough to nearly give me a concussion. We had to stop early that day and all she could say the whole time after was “I’m sorry,” over and over again. I don’t know what’s going on with her, but I can definitely say that I’m getting worried. Whatever, I can worry about her when I train with her again. Right now I’m talking to you.
Alright, so, the last training session is with Bea and revolves around firearms. It’s a shame that the last mission went the way it did and I couldn’t use those guns. Thankfully they didn’t completely disappear though, simply returning to Bea’s weird gun portals, however they work. Though it seems like something similar happened to my tablet, as it was waiting for me on my bed that night with a note from the briefer cussing me the absolute fuck out. It was admittedly pretty funny. She can be a bitch, she can be nice, and she sure does know how to be an entertaining face of disappointment.
As for the training, yeah, it’s also going well. Admittedly much better than the other two. We’ve moved on from just pistols. Larger body automatics and semis have entered the fray, and they’ve been something else. The kickback for the most part has been much more of a pain, making using the things a test in patience as I continue missing every shot till I find the magic point where things just make sense. Sounds made up, but I swear it makes sense. It’s just all about holding and firing in just the right way, kinda like any…other gun…hehe, yeah, okay, maybe not as special as I’m making it out to be, but I promise you, when I found that sweet spot, I felt like a genius.
Speaking of Bea, uhm, yeah, I guess you could say since then we’ve been, well, feeling for each other. I’m not really sure what brought it about, but she seems pretty adamant on it and, erm, my affections are leaning in the same sort of direction, you know? Though, never being in a relationship before now, I worry a lot about whether I’m doing things correctly or how exactly I’m fucking things up. It’s not yet really caused issues, but it would be nice to have just a little bit of confidence. Maybe being me, that is actually a bit too much to ask for, but still, I have the right to ask!
Well, she didn’t really have anything bad to say after the first date, and by first date, I mean staying up all night listening to random musicians on Bandcamp and talking about what was unique from the others. I now know a lot more about music and sampling than I did before then, so, thumbs up for that! We also did try going to bed together but that ended with me falling off the bed and passing out. I recall her pushing me but she insisted she didn’t, so I let her have the win on that one. Well, hopefully it's the only one anyways.
I…do wanna talk about…something else though. I’ve been having dreams. About Rei. You’d be pissed at me for calling her that, but, I’m sorry. I don’t have it in me to call her mom. I haven’t for a really long time. I don’t think I’ve even really thought of her until now. It's sort of like how it was with you, y’know? Becoming detached because someone can’t be who you want them to be. Regardless, I had sort of just assumed they had died. Now, for some reason I’m not really sure. I don’t know if I’ll try looking for her. Maybe I have to?
It’s sort of just a jumble in my head. Trying to figure out what the best course of action will probably just drive me insane this early in the morning, so instead, I choose to prioritize coffee. Maybe I’ll take a little break between breaks to get some well deserved reading in. I still have some light novels left in my account, and thankfully the tablet doesn’t have any app restrictions. I hope your day is going great, and every other soul is still refusing to fuck with you. Bye bye dad.
* Chris
…
“Good morning~.” I hear an all too cheery voice as I sip from my mug. I groan just a little as her two hands grab my shoulders. “Who’s excited for another round of getting their ass kicked today, hmm?” I refuse to respond, sticking to drinking my coffee and praying that she’ll take the hint, but, alas, she does not, instead deciding to poke and prod at me as I continue to drink until I finally turn around and look her dead in the eyes, making her giggle. “Oh you silly goose, why look so glum? Isn’t it nice to be fawned over by a cutie? Oh, or are you too good for that now that you have someone sucking you off on the regular?” I grunt, and she laughs. “Oh my, not going too well in that department are we, friend?”
“Please, for the love of god, can we stop talking about this?” I rubbed my eyes, sipping from my coffee some more, before thinking up some way to change the topic. Thankfully, something does decide to actually come to mind. “How’s your own training been going? It was a hassle to take me on as a student, I know. I hope you aren’t behind because of it.” She chuckles, shaking her head. Alright, good, one less thing I need to feel bad about, but I’m sure it will be replaced by something else in a few hours. Man, that’s pathetic.
“Please, the one who needs worrying about between the two of us is you. Forgive my bluntness, but your improvement is slower than a flipped over crab’s.” The fuck does that even mean? I click my tongue at her before continuing to drink from my coffee. “Not to say you haven’t improved. I’m so proud of you.” She smiled, satisfied with herself as I began to feel rather drained. For god's sake do you ever stop being a pain? I do my best to bite my tongue so as not to say something I’ll regret. God forbid I end up getting killed for a small insult.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“Your cockyness is always striveworthy.” I say before downing what's left of my coffee, standing up straight. “Alright, let’s just get to it.” I said, earning me her clear pleasure. She took my hand and led me outside, toward the back of the place. Once we were in our usual spot, she began to stretch, and I did the same. Yeah, after all that, I gotta get something off on her. I get into a stance once I’m finished stretching, watching patiently as she slowly gets into her own stance. I grit my teeth. I got this. I’m not going down so quickly. With a deep breath, I move first.
She’s quick to move out of the way, taking hold of the collar of my shirt and throwing me back and onto the ground. I feel the desire to hack up blood, but force whatever's coming up right back down. I try to kick her in the knee but miss as she jumps, landing on top of me. I gasp as she straddles my stomach, placing her chin in her hand. She chuckles at me as I try to escape, before I mentally just say fuck it and sit up fast, smashing my face into her chest, grabbing her head, and slam our heads together while she’s breathless.
Blood pools from her nose as I switch our positions, laughing with satisfaction. She gives me a look of annoyance before…she…kisses…me…I freeze up in confusion, before I realize what’s happening, and by then she’s already chopped my neck, making me retch. I fall over, groaning. As I was recovering, I felt her drawing on my cheek with the blood I caused to flow from her nose, probably something stupid or phallic. I groan. This day is definitely gonna be shit if this is how it’s going. I eventually reach up and grab her finger, looking over at her. Her look of pure glee is both contagious and violence inducing.
“I have a girlfriend, asshole.” I tell her, only earning me a tongue out grin. “Pervert.” I say before standing up. So much for getting one over on her. Yeah there’s still some more time, but I doubt things are gonna change much. I sigh in defeat, when I feel her form a chokehold on my neck, dragging me back to the ground. Choking, I try to find a weakness in her technique, but of course, none exists. I force my head up as much as I can against her arm before smashing her in the face once again. Finally free, I gasp desperately for breath. “God…damnit…too…strong…”
I force myself to stand up, facing the girl still on the ground. A raging annoyance with her fills my head as I turn to walk away. We can leave practice at that for today.
…
“Uhm…doin alright buddy?” Maria asks, holding in a snicker. I flash her a blank stare. Honestly if that isn't an answer enough then I have no idea what is. This unfortunately only leads to further laughing at my expense, which at this point today I can only take so much of. I grab my practice sword from up against the tree as Maria wipes away her tears. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’ll stop. We got a lot to do today anyways. After all, today is the day we see if you can get a hit in on me.” She sticks out her tongue. “Not that you wi-WOAH!”
“RAGH!” She holds up her sword in time to block my strike. I spin around her and go for a back smack that she falls to dodge. She gets back up and I’m right back on her. SLAM SLAM SLAM! Everyone is mocking me. SLAM SLAM SLAM! Seeing me as a joke. SLAM SLAM SLAM! Fuck pride and being a man, I’m just at my limit! You want me to get a hit in, fine then! I’ll show you a hit! I charge forward as Maria is recovering and see her holding up her sword in anticipation. I jump, kicking off her sword. As she’s falling, I send my sword flying at her. She opens a portal to devour it and sends one of her own flying back. Rolling bacon onto my feet, I charge forward once more, passing the sword by.
She sends out one after another, her face fierce and her teeth grit. I don’t let a single one touch me. Once I’m in range her features take on a look of pure anger, summoning a non-wooden sword and swinging down as hard as she can. I halt it with my arm, letting it catch in my bone as I push it to the side and land a punch…on her shoulder. The exercise is complete. With the sudden stillness, I gasp for breath. Shit, shit, that was a lot. I fall to my knees, not having the strength left in them to stand. Shit, why does my arm hurt so…much…I look down and see the sword stuck in it. I hold in a scream of pain as it all comes at me at once.
“I’m sorry. No no I’m sorry.” Maria seems frozen, unsure what to do. I hold up a hand, trying to smile. It hurts but it's my fault. I…really went all out…didn’t I? What was that about? Agh, it’s too hard to think when I’m bleeding like this. Fuck, do I have to get the briefer for this? Ugh, she’s gonna be pissed and the last thing I need is someone bitching at me when I already don’t feel the greatest. World, can you spare me even a little bit of your bullshit cause this is starting to get out of hand.
“Anomaly: Callus Dreamer.” I hear Sasha’s voice nearby, but the words don’t make any sense. What matters most, though, is that the sword that was just in my arm has completely disappeared, not even leaving a wound. What the hell? I look to where I hear Sasha and see her next to me, her finger bleeding and lacking skin. She begins wrapping it up. “Ugh, I never have to use that one, I look forward to the experience coming my way though.” She says with a short little sigh. Meanwhile I continue to stare at her, absolutely dumbfounded. “Hmm? Oh, right, that’s my technique. Kinda. It’s a bit more than just that.” She giggles before turning to Maria. “This is the second time right? Someone has a mean strike forming.”
“...like you.” Maria whispers. Sasha raises an eyebrow. “He…was fighting like you do.” She said more clearly. “Vicious. Angry.” She continues, her fists forming fists. “That’s not the reason, right?” She asks herself. A part of me wants to pat her on the shoulder but Sasha’s hand pulls me back, pushing for me to leave the two of them be. Sasha flashes me a tiny grin while Maria still looks horrified. Unsure, but also definitely not prepared to get involved, I decide to head off, leaving the two to whatever discussion they feel needs to be had.
…
I knock on the door to the training room. To my surprise, I can hear Bea already inside, calling for me to come inside. I open the door and see her sitting on the counter. Our eyes lock and we share a small smile as I close the door behind me. Walking up, I see the assortment of firearms I’ll be practicing with today. I pick one of the larger automatics and get to work, feeling the thing melt into my hands as I go to town. The targets have become much easier to hit, though I do have plenty of screw ups that leave me internally groaning.
Once I finish with each gun, I turn to Bea who seems content. We both nod before I move to sit on the other side of her. She tells me I’ve certainly improved quite a bit before we return to being quiet. Man…this sucks. I look over at her. She looks really nice today. Not that she doesn’t usually, just today she looks exceptionally so. I mull it over in my mind just exactly how I should tell her that, before coming to the best possible option. I clear my throat, getting her attention, and prepare myself for a sure win on my part, without any potential hitches.
“God you’re so fucking hot.”
Wait.
No, that’s not what I meant. Oh fuck her face is so red. I’m definitely getting slapped. I close my eyes.
“You-you are, but, uhm, maybe I could have saidthatbetter please don't be mad at me-”
“Heh…hehehe~” She starts laughing. Her sweet adorable laugh echoes through the room. After a moment, I started to laugh too. The whole room is filled with our soft laughter, a moment for just the two of us. I…may not know why I love her, but…god, I really do love her.
…
I sigh, sitting in my seat in the dining room as I let my food digest. Everyone has already left, leaving me some time to finally relax. I realize then that this would be the perfect time to get some reading in. After I started having sleepovers in Bea’s room, Sasha has stopped being so cuddly at night which, you know, is just hypocritical if she's just gonna kiss me to get a leg up in training. Whatever, that girl is a headache. I pull out my tablet and open up my special light novel app. Once it’s loaded I begin going through my library, looking for a real good one when-.
“Chris?” I look up from my tablet. Standing there, Pomni and Mimi both look down at me. I cock my head.
“Uhm…anything I can help you two with?”