You Should be More Careful

“Alet, What happen?” Io wonder why Alet is sad after their first victory.

“Io… I know we have to win this tournament. But can you be more careful? Please…” Alet puts away the bandage and the nursing robot leaves them.

“Huh? I’m fine can-”

“Fine? FINE? You don’t know what I see Io! I saw you sliced into two pieces during the fight! Thanks to the armor from the guy in the lift you still make it in pieces.” Alet raises her voice.

Both of them silence for a moment and stare at each other.

“Let me tell you… I really want to win this to prove everyone that a Capla and a Siluma can live together. I also want to live together with you… But after what I saw, I though I already lost you… I- I-” Alet’s eyes filled with tears.

“Hey… I’m sorry. I didn’t know what you just saw back there. All I know is that after his sword slices me, I can open my eyes and my body is still intact. I promise I’ll be more careful next time.” Io hugs Alet trying to calm her.

“Sobs… Please keep your promise.” Alet started to calm down.

“I will”.

After they collect their bags and put their gear in a special box, they head back home to get some rest. Tomorrow they will head to the dueling field in their university to train and make some tactics to win their next match. Alet driving them home, but they stop at a mall to get some groceries and do some shopping. They head to the clothing store to buy a cloth that can be used during a war. This cloth is carefully built by scientists to prevent minor injuries.

“Well what do you think?” Alet comes out from the fitting room wearing a navy coloured body suit.

“That’s nice. It covers your whole body perfectly.” Says Io with his face showing a little shade of red.

“Alright what about you?”.

“I have it right here. I’ll try to put it on.” Io walks to the room where Alet has been.

“Here you go! What do you think?” Io comes out with a body swimsuit with black color and yellow accent on it.

“Really? What did I told you in the arena.” Alet shows disappointment on her face.

“Oh come on, I don’t like wearing a full suit like you. My fur doesn’t feel right on those. In fact, I can regenerate if I have some minor injuries…” Io whines.

“But that's just going to protect your body. What about your arms and legs?”.

“All right, what about like this?” He gets inside the room and comes back out with a pair of long gloves and a tight high.

“WHAT IS THAT!? It- Well it does suit you though. But seriously, are you sure you're going to wear that?” Alet was surprised since she never met any boys like him.

“Well of course I do. You keep saying that I have to cover up my entire body with a bodysuit. Let me tell you that I don’t like to do that, at least I need to feel some air on my fur.”.

“Just take it off. You can keep the bodysuit on. If you are going to wear something like that, you should wear it somewhere else.”.

Alet can’t argue any longer. She never knows what it feels like to have fur, she also remembers that Io’s battle suit is him wearing baggy pants and glove armor. She thinks that the bodysuit is enough to keep him safe.

There are two different types of people who live in the Living Circle. One they love to follow the rules and the other is to live with freedom. Everyone gets to choose which type they want to live with, but their clothing choices naturally determine a person's type. The ones who choose freedom are often showing more of their skin or fur just like Io. The others are the opposite just like Alet.

After they finished shopping, they had dinner inside the mall. After having dinner, they ride back home.

“Okay… Next we will fight against… huh? Slam and Jam?” Io throw his body to the sofa.

“Yeah, what a unique name. Let's see their fight recap.”.

“Hmmmm… this will not go easy.” Io’s eye brows are met together.

“Y-yeah. They are from intermediate class. This is our first time against someone with more fighting experience.” Alet sound nervous.

“Ah, whatever. Let's deal with this tomorrow. Thank god they give 3 days for every match. We get to get some rest.” Io stood up and walked toward the bathroom.

Alet staring at the wall. The image about Io splitting into two pieces still haunts her mind. “I should get stronger. I choose to be with him… That means I have to be ready to sacrifice anything. I think Io was right, if I want to become a warrior then keep chasing my dream no matter what people do or say.” Her eyes filled with spirit. Meanwhile in the bathroom, Io is also busy with his voice inside his head. “Not good. I can’t rely on the peak to win every match. Soon this will be our weakness. Be more careful… Yes, Alet was right. I always strike blindly, hoping it will do something. I have to be more wise in making decisions.”.

After taking a bath, Io rest his body on the bed. He is busy with his phone seeking a discount from an online store. This app offers free shipping on every purchase with one voucher at a time. Sometimes they get a big sale on certain days. After scrolling for a while, his ear and fur are standing up and his eyes widen. “OMG! They got this on sale! It is also half its price. I have to buy this!” He proceeded to buy it.

“Io… Io!” Alet's voice can be heard from the bathroom.

“Huh? Oh! What is Alet?”.

“Can you bring me some towels? I forgot to bring one with me.”.

“What! How!?” “Okay I’ll be there.” He rushed to get some towels from the cupboard.

“Okay… here. I put it in front of the door.” Says Io.

Suddenly a loud sound can be heard from inside the bathroom.

”Did she fall?” “Alet! Are you okay there?” Io started to worry since he didn’t hear any responses.

He decided to open the door. All he sees was Alet collecting a cup and some toothbrush that she accidently took over.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?” She yells at him.

“I-I’m sorry. I thought you slipped and fell down since you didn’t answer me.” His face is all red and he covers his eyes.

“Give me the towel and get out of here!” She yanks the towel from his hand and slam the door.

“What is that all about… sign… whatever.” He heads back to the bedroom. On the bed he stared at the ceiling. His head is full of fantasies after what just happened. And then he snapped back and found his mouth drooling. “Crap! Why am I drooling? No. No no no no, please not now. What season is this… Don’t tell me this is already the season. Focus Io, focus, you had this tournament going on.” He wipes his drool and proceeds to close his eyes.

Since the Silumas have a more animalistic body, their body also responds to this kind of thing. Like marking their lover and going through their own season. This is also the other reason why other races keep distance with the Silumas. They find it distracting and annoying to deal with their seasons. On the other hand, the Silumas have to endure it or simply just have their way inside some clubs in the Blue Light District. They also can be too rough for other races while they are in their season.

“Just go to sleep and everything will be alright. I have done this since high school and sleeping is the best way to get rid of it.” He tucked the blanket and started to sleep.