19 Get set go!

The night passed and the sun rose from the east, shining its brilliant light onto the world. A ray of light passed through the cracks of a closed window and struck the face of a young man, waking him up from his sleep.

Leon wearily woke up, though not quite happy about it. He was quite exhausted from the day before, but a rush of excitement was there as well, and soon it took over. He sat up and opened the window to let in the warmth of the sun, and the gentle sea breeze.

The reasons for his excitement were many, but the one he was anticipating the most was; He could finally let loose!

You otherworldly folk, should remember, he was, after all, in a world of fantasy and fiction, and there lay the excitement. He was his dream, manifested!

Super strength, speed, powers, and other bizarre things, were all in his grasp, and now it was time for him to test his limits like he tested the night before- which by the way was up and hard. Guy things- 'tis called 'Mornin wood' by you people.

Getting on with the day, he quickly freshened up, took a shower without soaking his head, and argued with his grandma, for he was not allowed to go outside until his injury healed, which in fact, was nearly healed! He still persisted, and after applying some butter and promising to not do anything crazy, he was allowed to go out.

Leon ate his breakfast, gave a little kiss to his grandma and he was free, not! The people in the street surrounded him again, and Hina wasn't there this time. He gave some well-learned pleasantries and sneaked past as many people and street vendors as he could, reaching his first destination; Saeko.

He asked her mother 'How she was?' to which she asked the same of him, afterwards, she explained that Saeko was faring much better now, but was still at bed rest. Leon did not want to disturb her and left soon afterward, not before drinking a cup of chocolate shake, which Saeko's mother insisted. He then went to Saya's home, who was doing fine. Leon asked if she wanted to tag along, but she wanted to visit Saeko with her mom, later that day, so Leon said his goodbye again, and finally found his way towards his crib, his training warehouse.

The gate to the stairs, leading to the Warehouse beneath was inside a small but open shed-like building, located in a rundown block. Not many people lived around here if any. The area was mostly used as a junkyard for old, broken, or useless machines, used in ships, weapons, and other miscellaneous requirements. You could call it an industrial junkyard if you will.

Leon found his way to the warehouse and creaked open the gate leading below. The stairs were practically gone, it had become a plain slope of concrete going downwards, with some imperfections on the edges.

Leon walked and slid down the slope, not minding the occasional rocks and debris he stepped on and over, along the way. It was quite clear that all of the mess was cleaned up after he was injured and taken back. He guessed it must be the workers brought by Peach, which he guessed right.

It was then Leon suddenly stopped and remembered. He did not visit Peach on the way, "She must be worried." he thought, but in the end, decided to notify her later, otherwise, she might get worried that he came here so soon after his injury.

Of course, Tsuru let him have his way, because, she knew of Leon's resilience more so than anyone, and he was quite overexcited, annoyingly so! to leave the house and explore. Only Explore, at least that was the promise he made to Tsuru.

Leon soon made it inside his crib, he looked for the switch and turned it Onn.

All his equipment lay on the floor side by side, towards the right of the entrance, near the edge of the wall. The two cannon balls of trouble were placed to the far side of the Warehouse, near the end, where the two walls met, to give them more balance.

He took off his black T-shirt and placed it to the side. It was his way of removing proof! He promised Tsuru he will only explore, not do anything physically heavy or something along the line. So, he didn't want his T-shirt to be drenched in sweat.

Although, little Leon did not think of his pants, of which he was wearing two. Yes! One, the long trouser outside, and a short pant inside, as his existing underwear, were no longer viable. Also, he was wearing a sleeveless t-shirt (tank top, if you will) inside his normal one.

He went ahead and started organizing his training equipment. He set the gym equipment, namely the dumbbells, the barbells, the long ones, the short ones, and the curved ones, all with appropriate weights, that he determined, his body could take on now. There was some odd and miscellaneous equipment too, but he decided to make use of them later.

Next were the thick and long chains, that lay coiled, side by side, with a big hook in one end on both of 'em. Leon dragged both of those chains to the end of the room; Then, upon reaching the cannon balls, he searched along their surface, to find an indented part, where the metal looked like it was intentionally cut inwards, with a handle sticking out of it. He soon found the place on both of the Cannonballs and joined the chains to the cannon with the help of the hook, and with that done, he sat down for a moment.

Now it was time to properly train. It was a queer feeling to Leon, knowing that he had superhuman physical capabilities. Things he read, watched, and dreamt of were now something he was capable of, or at least, had the potential to do so.

Till the day before yesterday, it was, as normal to him as eating his favorite ice cream, but now with his memories returned, and giving a bit of thought to it, it did feel a bit odd.

Of course, I assume, to you folk, it is weird that he thinks of this, but from his perspective, it would be weird, if the thought didn't cross his mind.

Anyway, with that tiny weirdness out of the way, he got up, ready to rumble. First Leon decided to warm up by running laps around the corners of the warehouse. He was a bit worried, that the injury on his head might open up, though unlikely, still decided to test it with a light exercise first.

3…2..1. and on he went, dashing from corner to corner, from one end to the next.

The underground space was enough for him to run around, without him feeling congested. It was also well-lit with lights, placed on the ceiling at regular intervals, lighting the place properly, with no nooks or crannies left in the dark.

Also, there was some ventilation in this enclosed area, which Leon came to discover while looking around the place. There were hidden ventilation shafts behind the walls, twisting and circling in a zig-zag pattern right to the surface. Previously the opening inside the underground warehouse was blocked with dust clumped together over the ventilation slits, halting the airflow, but the guys that peach brought with her had cleaned it properly, as a way of thanks. Hence the slight influx of tepid air.

Leon ran and ran, and for quite a while after he felt that his legs were getting stiff, and muscles cramped from the inside, that he finally gave in from exhaustion.

If you forget little Leon was still 'chubby' not fat! as he liked to call it. That being said, he still dashed for quite a while, for nearly 5 minutes at full speed, with all his might. You can already see his physical capabilities were not normal.

Leon flung down onto the floor with a thud, huffing and puffing from all the adrenaline coursing through his blood. He reminded himself not to get overboard, because of all the shiny stuff.

If you have ever been to a gym, you would know, the very first time you enter a gym, proper. Most often, people either get overwhelmed or get dazzled by the sloths of shiny equipment lined in a row, from top to bottom just waiting for them to use it. They ignore the trainers' instructions and overdo everything they get their hands on, leading to a painful day of cramped pain and suffering, throughout their bodies the next morning. Painful enough that you can't even shit properly. He wanted to avoid that.

Leon was not interested in such pain but he wasn't willing to stop there either. The strange heat in his body started to form again. It seemed to build up slowly compared to yesterday, which confirmed his suspicion that women played a big part in the unknown heat spiking through his body. Although, not all women; During the trip from his home to here, he met and saw many women, yet it didn't seem to have much effect on him, not even when he saw a beauty of defining proportions- 'Yuriko Takagi', Saya's mother and a beauty to behold.

Of course, he did not have any intentions of that kind for her, but she was a beauty nonetheless and yet the heat did not affect him much, when he saw her or was talking to her in close proximity, leading him to the conclusion; The problem were the women he already had feelings for, and his 'feelings' for them was the culprit.

No Hina, no Gion? He fine and cool; with Hina, or Gion? He was hot, breathless, and hard.

Leon imagined, what would happen after he meets one of them. "Would he start burning?" He chuckled at the thought.

"Alright, enough break!" Leon stood up, patting his own back for encouragement. He could run again or go with the weights, but! He was more interested in them, balls. He went in front of one, pulled up the chain, as it clinked and clanked, and the shrill noise of metal echoed throughout the underground space.

Leon quickly pulled it tight, with his back towards the cannon, while the chain went over his shoulder held tightly by his hand, and by the hook attached to the handle, on the other end.

He tested his stamina, now it was time to test his strength. He thought of taking the same path as when he did his laps, corner to corner, the only difference would be him pulling a giant cannonball, weighing a few tons behind him.

The only problem was- Son of a cannon, did not budge from its place! Leon tried and tried but it would not move. It exhausted him like nothing else, he ever did. Immense grip strength, tremendous pulling strength, and absurd body durability and balance were the minimum requirements needed for this thing to move. But no way in hell, was he willing to give up! He had lifted heavy before and this was no different.

He took a break, got up, squeezed his cheeks, and pulled it again with all his strength and continued to do so, on repeat, again and again, and again…