CHAPTER 2 — PART 4: 1ST DAY OF TRAINING... I ALREADY WANT TO DIE...

Chirps of birds and a bit of sunlight made me aware that I had finally woken up.

I yawned and sighed, but for some odd reason, I felt heavier, as if I had weight on my whole body.

What the...?

My arms were stuck under heavy but soft pillows? My legs were also locked under something...

That's when I looked down.

"...!"

This damn seductress...

Reina decided to use my whole body like a pillow; her face was nuzzling my chest, and her plump mounds were so... warm... like marshmallows....

My face got heated, making me extremely flushed.

H—Huh? Orime...? What is she doing on the floor...?

She was foaming at the mouth...

"Ark!?!!?"

Reina apparently wasn't a chill sleeper; she began moving around a lot. In a sudden move, her arm wrapped around my neck and placed me in a sleeper hold.

I tapped her arm rapidly, giving up, but she wasn't responding.

Then, she did a camel clutch on me, straddling my back and holding my neck high up.

"That hurts! I give up!! Ow! Ow! OWWW!!"

Finally, the worst one... Boston crab, hooking my legs on both her arms, turning me face down, and bending me.

"ARGHHHH!!?!!?"

When she finally woke up, she sat up and yawned, turning to her side. There I was, foaming at the mouth and gargling.

"Y—Yami?"

At breakfast time, I was eating boiled eggs with toast, pouting angrily.

"I'm sorry, Yami... I didn't mean to hurt you."

"So, would you mind telling us why you entered his room?" Katsumi was glaring daggers at me for some reason, as if it was my damn fault.

"I was so sleepy, I thought I had entered my room."

"LIAR!!"

"Okay, fine! I wanted a piece of him!!"

Her words made me jerk. I immediately gazed at her in disbelief and a bit of fear. "Did you... do anything?"

This made everyone in the room slowly gaze at Reina.

Reina looked away awkwardly, not ready to answer my question.

"Hey!! What did you do!?"

"Sleep..."

What an obvious lie...

Orime chimed in, "I tried to stop her. I'm sorry, Yami-kun."

Reina then explained how Orime fought her to stop whatever she was about to do, and thus was folded like an omelet.

No wonder she was passed out on the floor...

But thanks to God, Reina was tired after their little sisterly fight and fell asleep, unable to do anything to me.

"You damn groomer! I'll sleep with Yami; I won't let you take his virginity!!"

"Come on... It's too early in the morning for this type of talk... and also... pause." I sighed.

"'Sleep', with Yami~? Oh, you sly fox~. I thought you were innocent~. I had the wrong impression of you~."

"WRONG!!" Katsumi yelled loudly, flushed. "I'll protect his chastity from you!!"

The last of my boiled egg disappeared into my mouth. I finished my juice and stood up. "I'll be waiting outside... you weirdos."

I felt everyone's eyes on me as I exited Reina's house.

This might be hell on Earth... hopefully Reina doesn't do anything weird inside the gym...

Well... at least I'm getting trained; this is what I needed. On that note, I wonder what kind of training we'll do.

After everyone finished eating, we got into Reina's truck, and we rode to the Throbbing Metal... yeah, I will not get used to that name... hahaha...

"Master, get ready; Reina is known for her harsh training. Even Amai-sama almost died once..."

"Are you deadass? Like no cap?"

"Can you speak normally, Master?"

Fine, let me just prepare myself mentally...

Inside the gymnasium, Reina went to her personal locker, saved her stuff inside, and pulled out some weird metallic bracelets.

"Reina-nee, I'm taking Katsumi with me, have fun with Yami~!" Orime smiled brightly as she pulled Katsumi away.

"Wait! What do you mean, have fun!?" Katsumi disappeared into the machines.

"Alright, Yami~. Put these on your hands and ankles." Reina held my hand, opened my palms, and left the bracelets in my hands.

I felt a weird sensation on my hands. "The hell are these?" I put them on my wrists and ankles.

At first, I felt nothing, then Reina placed a hand on my shoulder.

She was channeling mana, and then the bracelets got extremely heavy; the weight pulled my arms down.

"W—What the fuck!? T—These things... are too heavy..." I was struggling to keep myself from falling to the floor.

"We are going to do weights this way, but first, 35 minutes on the stair master."

"The what now?"

A few minutes later.

"Holy fuck... holy fuck... my calves... and thighs are burning like hell..."

"Yeah~! Feel the burn, baby~. And those bracelets are at least 50 kilos per bracelet."

"Y—You're... insane...!"

"Damn right~."

I gazed at Reina, who was cheerfully mixing protein powder into her drink.

When I reached the 20-minute mark, I almost tripped. I was panting like crazy, and my legs were giving up.

"Come on, baby~. Push harder, just 15 minutes left~."

"Fuck..."

This was hell already; I wasn't used to this shit!

I was dying on the floor after completing 35 minutes of this stair machine thing...

"Stand up, Yami~. This was just the warm-up."

"HUUUUH!? This was just the warm-up!?"

Reina gripped my collar and dragged me to the first exercise.

"Since this is your first time at a gym, I'll be easy on you, at least for a week, so I'll put your whole body to work~."

"Alright... sounds fair enough."

That was a blatant lie...

The next thing, I was benching 50 fucking kilos per side, plus the bracelets; that was 100 kilos per fucking side. She was trying to kill my ass!!

My whole face was red, pushing myself to the limit.

Since losing is the thing that I hate the most and I had a shit ton of pride, I didn't ask for a lighter weight, and besides, I wanted to get stronger, and if I hurt myself, I'd just blame Reina.

Next were my shoulders; she made me raise my arms sideways, like doing a T-pose, with these bracelets. It was extremely painful, but I just gritted my teeth through it.

"Are you a masochist by any chance, Yami?"

"S—Shaddup! I'm trying to focus here!" That stupid ass comment made me close my eyes and grit my teeth harder.

Next were my biceps and triceps; yeah, these fucking bracelets can go to hell...

At least Reina is keeping a close eye on me, making sure I do the reps correctly, with the right form.

Back was next, and man, was it fun... not.

Especially because Reina was fooling around!

Out of nowhere, she began tickling me; I dropped a heavy bar and landed on my foot.

Reina just ran away like a childish girl doing a prank...

Man... let me tell you about legs; now I understand why people avoid leg day...

I could barely feel my legs...

After doing 2 hours' worth of workouts, Reina and I went to the back of the gym, to a fighting mat.

"How are you feeling, Yami~?"

"Exhausted and sore. Why do you ask?"

"Because, handsome~. I'm going to teach you how to fight with your fists, and also how to wrestle~."

"Fuck... me...." I sighed deeply.

"With pleasure~!"

"I was talking to myself!!" I groaned, annoyed, then gave her a look. "I'm ready, let's begin."

Reina smiled like she had been waiting for that exact moment.

"Oho~ Then let's begin, handsome."

She stepped onto the mat and rolled her shoulders, her gaze sharp but playful. Even tired, she still carried herself like she owned the whole gym.

I dragged myself after her and stood across from her, still breathing hard from the workout.

She helped me take off the heavy wrist things, and I finally felt lighter.

"My whole body hurts..."

"That means it's working."

She lifted a hand and curled her finger at me.

"Come here. We'll start with the most basic thing in the world."

"A punch?"

"Right~ But not just any punch. A real one."

Reina walked up to me slowly, and for some reason, that alone made my heart race more than the weights did.

She stood right in front of me and took my wrist in her hand.

Her fingers were warm.

Too warm.

"First, your body has to stay relaxed," she said softly. "If you're stiff, your power gets trapped."

She guided my arm forward and made me clench my fist.

"Keep it tight, but not too tight. Like this."

Her voice was calm, almost sweet.

Then she leaned in a little, close enough that I could feel her breath.

"Your shoulder should move too. Don't just swing your arm like an idiot."

"Hey, I'm not an idiot..."

"Mm? Then prove it."

She moved behind me in one smooth step, pressed her chest lightly against my back, and adjusted my stance with both hands.

My whole face went red.

"R—Reina, this is too close..."

"This is the proper way to teach, Yami~."

Her voice was low and smooth, right by my ear.

"Now. Watch my hip."

She shifted her weight, and I felt the motion through her hands on my waist and arm.

"Punching is not just the arm. It starts from the feet, then the hips, then the shoulder, then the fist."

Then she stepped away and gave me a smile that looked way too dangerous for my peace of mind.

"Again."

I tried to copy her.

I threw a punch.

It came out weak.

Reina looked at my fist, then at me, then sighed.

"Yami."

"What?"

"That was sad."

"Shaddup!"

She laughed softly, then came closer again.

"Here. I'll show you my way."

She raised her own fist and took a stance.

The air around her changed.

Her expression grew a little more serious, but her lips still held that same teasing curve.

"This is how I punch."

She drew her arm back.

Her foot slid.

Her waist turned.

Her shoulder followed.

And then—

BAM!

The punch cracked through the air like a gunshot.

I jumped a little.

Even Katsumi, who was watching from the side, flinched.

"W—Woah..."

Reina smiled proudly.

"That's not brute force. That's clean power."

She looked at me again and pointed at my chest.

"Now you try, baby."

"Stop calling me that..."

"Never~"

I took the stance again, trying to remember everything she said.

Feet.

Hips.

Shoulders.

Fist.

I threw another punch.

This time, it was better.

Reina's eyes lit up a little.

"Oho~ Better."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Still bad, but better."

"Hey!!"

She laughed and came closer again.

Then she lightly tapped my chest with one finger.

"You're thinking too much. Don't force it. Let your body move with the strike."

I swallowed hard.

She was standing too close again.

Way too close.

This woman was going to kill me in a totally different way.

Reina noticed my face and grinned.

"What is it? Getting flustered already?"

"N—No..."

"Liar."

Then she suddenly grabbed my wrist again and pulled my arm forward.

"Now. One more time. But this time, imagine you're trying to protect something important."

I blinked.

"Protect?"

"Yes. Something you refuse to lose."

Her voice got quieter.

Less teasing now.

More serious.

I thought for a second.

Then I nodded.

I knew what I wanted to protect.

Images of the girls I've met so far, the... friendly ones.

Shizue...

Katsumi...

Yuna...

Oharu...

Hisoka...

Reina...

Orime...

Mother...

Amai...

And maybe my dignity, even if it was already gone.

I stepped into the stance.

My legs planted hard.

My body turned.