I Want More

“KAIIIIIKKKKOOOOOOOO!!!!”

I wake up in an instant, completely disoriented and stretch my arms to the sides. I feel something soft in my hands. I look to the left and Daichi is shirtless. I'm clutching his chest and he flexes his muscles. I quickly retract my hand, “I didn't know you liked it; it was strong, right?”

“Eww, no, thanks…” My right hand is still clutching something softer than Daichi's chest and I squeeze it a bit more before turning around. And then I freeze. Literally, my hand starts freezing; it's Yuki and she's really, really angry. “You…”

She doesn't finish the sentence, or maybe I can't hear it, because I receive a blow to my face that propels me onto Daichi and we both collide with the wall. My head is pounding and my nose is bleeding profusely. “I'll wait downstairs. You have five minutes. Don't tempt fate to make me wait any longer.”

Her icy tone completely paralyzes me, even more than the boy in black clothes did the other day. “You can touch my chest whenever you want,” Daichi says and laughs again. I lift my head to see where I am and I find myself lying on top of Daichi, who pats my back, I don’t want to laid my head on his chest.

“No, thanks.” That's all I manage to say and my head rest again in his chest without energy to get up. I need a minute to clear my mind and remember who I am and where I am before waking up and dressing. Better to hurry up before Yuki decides to fulfill her menace.

We have breakfast in silence, only with the sound of our silverware breaking it. Yuki isn't in the mood and I recall my hand and how good it felt. Yuki looks at me again, as she could read my mind and I quickly avert my gaze from my hand. Today is going to be a long day.

I get up to clear the dishes and take them to be washed. I can feel my body begging for a break and my leg and arm muscles ache. I thought we would sleep for another four hours, but it was less than two… With that morning shout, it's as if they did it on purpose.

Few minutes later we are on the outskirts near the forest hunting Mchafu. Yuki really enjoys this training, today maybe more than others. She gives me more orders, yells at me more and also takes the opportunity to hit me and make it difficult for me.

“You won't always be able to face situations calmly,” she says with arrogance and authority, “if you can't resist minor distractions, you won't be able to do anything.”

More yelling.
More cuts.
More setbacks and blows from Yuki.
My body craves rest.

I don't have any energy left to use skills; I can only attack, jump and dodge. I have many cuts, more than in the first few days. I wonder if I wasn't ready for night training…

No. I am ready; I can do this.

We spend hours and hours until Yuki finally gets hungry and I can eat in peace, practically devouring the plate. I'm level eleven. As for the stats, I'm still not sure what to use and about Skill Points, I've increased Reinforcement, Fast Dash, and Diagonal Cut. I still have several skill points to spare, but I prefer to save them for the future.

Daichi is still in his week of vacation without moving a muscle to help: sunbathing, reading, resting and also he exercises all the time. He doesn't gain experience from the Mchafu deaths, but he trains his body and skills until exhaustion as well.

Yuki is level fifteen, gaining experience by yelling at me and giving orders. She also trains her body and skills, sometimes sparring with Daichi. Since they are higher level, they don't gain experience the way I do, but they accumulate Skill Experience and they train their bodies to be more resistant.

It doesn't seem entirely fair to do all the work, but I don't mind. It's better this way. If she becomes strong, I will be too. We're a team. We need to get stronger; we won't go on missions to collect fruit and I won’t run from wolves.

And I want my rematch.

I lie down on the grass to rest for a few minutes and I fall asleep. Instinctively, I wake up feeling Yuki approaching. I roll to the right and dodge her bucket of water.

“Close!” she shouts excitedly. “It's time to continue, Kai. Or do you want to keep sleeping and continue being useless?”

I get up and stretch my body. I feel somewhat rejuvenated and energized. I can keep training even though I want to rest and stop.

I will keep moving forward, no matter what.

“I'm ready! I await your orders and guidance to train better.” I smile at her with complete sincerity. Despite her being unbearable, she's right, I need her wisdom and experience to become stronger.

Yuki looks at me surprised and nods, “I won't go easy on you. You'll regret saying those words.”

Already do. I feel her cold, malicious aura, but I also see her eyes shine, they fascinate me, captivating me.

“GO!” she shouts, bringing me back to reality. Just a couple of steps away, three large Mchafu creatures await. “Don't waste time, useless. Raise your sword higher.”

“Lower your legs, BEND THEM, DAMMIT!”

“Three more are coming from the side!”

“Don't look at the sky, Kai. Look at your opponents. Don't be a fool!”

And more… and more… It will be a long afternoon, but I don't complain about it. My body can't take anymore, I have more cuts than ever. I remember the morning and how my hand touched something so soft. I smile when Yuki doesn’t see me. I want more.

As we arrive at the housing complex's bar, I realize I never asked its name: “Mother Liquors”. The name sounds a bit odd to me, but I don't have the strength to think or eat. I'm sprawled on the table, unable to move.

I get up to go to the bathroom and clean myself up. My stomach rumbling for something to eat and go to sleep after then. It's early, so I could sleep quite a bit until night and then return.

“Your back is bleeding, Kai,” Yuki says, a bit embarrassed, perhaps because of me or maybe because of the alcohol. Probably both.

“Oh no, not again!”

“The monsters seem to like cutting your ass,” Daichi laughs and looks at me. “Maybe they want a taste of that sweet bread.”

“No, don't touch my ass!!” I shout to him, slapping his hand before it achieves its objective and then look at her with pleading eyes, “Yuki, train me harder! I'm going to kill them all so they stop cutting it!”

“Do you want me to put a bandage on your ass?” Daichi suddenly asks. He's even drunker than yesterday. This guy must drink more alcohol than water.

I turn redder as he approaches. “No! I don't want you to put a bandage anywhere. Thanks and go back to your seat!” I squeak, trying to talk as politely as possible before heading to the bathroom to clean up. My ass wasn't the only wound that opened up.

I look at myself in the mirror and see the wear and tear my body is showing. I need to buy more new clothes; these rags are getting worse and dirtier by the day. Washing the same two sets of clothes every day really takes a toll.

Without wasting more time, I take a shower, have dinner and head right to bed. It will be a very long night, I need energy if I want to survive on my own.