The first day at the gym is difficult, amigo

The sky was beautifully blue, without any single cloud. The sun was shining with intensity, but thanks to the cool wind the weather wasn’t hot. It was a very quiet morning, like if nothing happened in the previous day.

Waking up that morning was like getting out from a long and strange dream. He needed a few seconds to understand why he was on the floor, in a sleeping bag. It felt like getting out of a dream, yes, but that dream hadn’t ended yet. Mirena was still there. Somehow, she was still real.

After waking her up, Ken gave her clothes. She’d said she also wanted to go to the gym, so he gave her the appropriate clothing for that. They both were almost the same size, so the pants weren’t a problem. The problem was the upperpart. Ken’s gym shirts were tight, perfect for him but not for Mirena’s “extra size” in the chest zone.

—It’s ok, I can go with my usual clothes right?

—Are you planning to go to the gym wearing silk?

—I wear silk to fight evil monsters, I see no problem.

—There are a lot of problems: One, your money is useless here, so we depend only in my wallet, which is not very impressive. Two, here the silk is uncommon and expensive, so repairing or replacing them will be impossible. Three, in your world clothes seems as unbreakable as the diamond, but that’s not how it works in the real world. Here the clothes get dirty, tear and shrink easily.

Mirena thought he was worrying to much over nothing, but obeyed him at the end. Ken gave her a shirt his mom had given him for a birthday but he never used because it was too big. She dressed in the bathroom, room which became her comfort zone, her favorite place to be. It was small, comfy and good-smelling (since Ken gets really sick with the usual bathroom’s smell, so he puts a lot of effort in cleaning and perfuming that room every day). Once she was ready, they both went out.

The gym was six streets down from his apartment, so the walk was a good warm-up. Mirena was amused with all the new things she was seeing. Now that it was a nice and sunny day, and she was a little more calmed and mind-cleared, she could enjoy the new world in front of her.

—A kitty?? —said when a black cat walked in front of them­—. How cute! You also have kitties here? Then this world can’t be that bad!

She separated from Ken and went to play with the cat. Meanwhile, he was so focused on his thoughts that kept walking without noticing that Mirena wasn’t with him anymore.

“It doesn’t matter what excuse I give; in the moment we enter to the gym we’re going to be the center of everyone's attention. She is so beautiful that everybody is going to watch her. Therefore, they’re all gonna watch me and said to themselves ‘What is such a cutie doing with that guy?’ Even if I say she is my friend or my sister, it doesn’t matter. People is going to watch. And worst, people is going to talk with me. Yeah, of course, those buffed men will talk to me like if they were my besties from a long time ago, only to get a chance with Mirena. Those bastards! And the worst part is, how am I supposed to compete against them? They’re so handsome and charismatic, while I… No, that doesn’t matter. Seeing her only as a potential partner is what makes me so weird, and that weirdness is probably something that other people can sense. If I only act moved by virgin thoughts like this one, she is going to realize eventually. Forget your carnal desires, and focus on the real issue here!”

—Mirena, we need to talk abo… —He looked in every direction, but she was nowhere to be seen—. Where are you?!

—Hello —said Mirena, randomly jumping down from the top of a tree.

—What were you doing up there?

—Playing with a kitty.

—Ah, okay. Listen, we need to talk about the excuse we are going to use.

—Excuse?

—Yeah, like where did you came from, why you don’t know much about our world, what is your relationship with me, etc.

—Can’t we just say the truth?

—No, of course not. Like I already said, in this world magic doesn’t exist, or shouldn’t, at least. They won’t believe how we met. And if they do, it’ll be worse. That would bring the attention of all the world, and you’re never going to be free again. You, me, and Yoriyuki Yamahito too, probably.

—Ok then…

—The easiest way to explain your ignorance about this world is saying that you are a foreigner. So in public you’ll be a distant cousin of mine, called María Gutierrez, and you came from Argentina. You were born there, then came here at a very young age. That explain your lack of accent. Then you went back to Argentina and this is your first time here after so long.

—Why that country specifically?

—There is no reason. It’s just that Argentina has turned into the country I always use when I need a quick lie. It’s easier to lie when you have a predetermined deck of lies already made.

—It sounds like you are used to lie.

That statement surprised Ken, and he felt like if he had just made a huge mistake. Mirena was so talkative that even he felt confident with her. And because of that, he talked too much. That was dangerous.

—I mean… everybody lies in this world.

—But why? Everything is easier when you are honest.

—Why we lie? I don’t know. A lot of people in the past made the same question, but nobody has an answer. Since we have born in this world, is difficult to respond those kind of questions.

—Maybe because you’re all used to lie, even to yourselves.

—Yeah, it can be. So maybe you, the newcomer, can find the answer.

—I’ll do my best!

—But for now, I need you to lie.

—Okay, okay. Is it going to work?

—It should. I mean, the gym people is famous ‘cause their brains is their body part they train the least.

—That’s rude! Also, you don’t count as gym people as well?

—I only go a few days so no, I don’t count. Anyway, do you remember what a said?

—I’m going to be María, right?

—Exactly.

—And in this country, Argentina, what language do they speak?

—Spanish, but is fine. As long as you know how to say basic things like ‘Hola, ¿cómo estás, amigo?’ nobody is going to notice that you don’t know Spanish.

—Hola, ¿cómo estás, amigo? ¡Hola! ¡¿Cómo estás, amigo?! H-hola… ¿cómo estás…amigo? —She repeated over and over again, trying a different intonation every time. Talking like that, they arrived.

The gym was a very big one, full of different exercise machines. The ceiling was high, and that created an echo with the groans and other sounds of effort. The owner, a bald and buffed man, came to welcome them.

—What’s up Ken? Who is she?

—Hola, amigo! How are you, amigo? This is my first time here, amigo.

Ken did a face palm. She was so bad at lying, especially compared with an expert like him.

“You’re making it too obvious! Spanish speaking people doesn’t say “amigo” all the time!”

—Oh, where are you from? —asked the owner. Or he was as good as Ken at lying, or he completely believed Mirena. If the second case, then the previous statement of Ken, even if it was rude, was confirmed (or at least that was the case in that gym.).

Mirena repeated the prepared lie, while Ken inspected the other people around. Like he predicted, all the glances where directed to Mirena. Even the ones in the middle of a work slowed down to see her. Male or female, everyone was looking to that red-haired girl. And Ken felt a little bit jealous.

“Stop looking at her like if she were just a bunch of meat! Yes, she is beautiful, but the real beauty is in the inside! Like when she took care of Mask when he was ill, telling him stories and not leaving his side even once. And you don’t know nothing about it, but I do! I have an advantage, ahahahaaaa… Whatever.”

—The first class is free, so come in. Have you ever gone to a gym before?

—Nope, this is my first time. I’m so excited!

—If you want I can give you a brief class and…

—It’s okay —Ken cut in to reply—, I can guide her. We don’t want to bother you. — “Son of a bitch, you never offered me a class on my first day.” Ken grabbed Mirena’s hand and took her away.

—See you later, amigo! —she said while waving her hand.

In one corner of the gym was the weights zone. It was pretty empty, just a group of two women doing some lift, so they went there first. Mirena was tying her hair when Ken said to her in a low voice:

—You need to be more careful

—Careful? With what? —asked her with innocence.

—Some people can be malicious and have hidden interests, especially with girls… like you.

—Girls like me? What do you mean? —Ken looked away to hide his blushing.

—Well, you know…

—No, I don’t know. What do you mean with ‘girls like me’?

—Girls that… A lot of guys may… You know… May find cute in some way.

—Are you saying I’m cute? —asked smiling.

—I’m just saying that you fulfil the beauty canons of the vast majority of men, and that could bring some troubles.

—And what about your beauty canons? Do I fulfil them?

­—Every second we spend talking is money wasted, so let’s start training. Weights are simple, just grab one in each hand and do this movement. ­—With one arm he was doing isometrics, and with the other, ten repetitions of biceps exercises. Then he changed the arms.

—Understood! —exclaimed Mirena and went to find a good weight for her.

When doing exercise, Ken stays too focused on what he’s doing and forgets about anything else. When he remembered for a second that he wasn’t alone that day, he asked:

—Are you okay?

—It’s challenging, but it’s fun! —responded Mirena.

“I knew it. In Sekaunmei, her strength is above human. But since this is the real world, her body was adapted to fit our rules. A girl of her size couldn’t be so…”

—What the hell??!!

He turned around to see how Mirena was doing and found out that she was doing the same exercise than him, no with dumbbells but with full-body weights. All the costumers were looking at her again, not because of her beauty this time.

—It’s a bit difficult manage this weight though….

—Well of course! These are a lot of pounds! You’re not supposed to use those weights like that!

—Oh, no I was talking about the weight of the pressure because everyone is looking at me. These are just a warm-up, right?

Maybe her body was modified to fit real world’s logic. No magic, basic needs like going to the bathroom, changes of humor, etc. Probably she couldn’t jump three meters or receive so much damage like in the books, but she was still as strong as a gorilla.