Read Between the Lines

Staring into to joyous eyes that seemed to be exploding with anticipation, Joe decided it was best to take the bait laid out before him.

"How does being with me help you?"

Without missing a beat, the eager redhead pulled an Armorite crystal from her pocket. After a moment of silence, she turned it to show him the results. Seeing a mildly confused look plastered on Joe's face, she began to elaborate.

"Before we met, my strength barely surpassed the two hundred threshold. Now, I'm roughly thirty levels stronger. It's not as big a change as you who seems to get stronger with everything, we do together but it's something I would never have been able to do alone."

The smile that was already present on her glowing face grew into one none had ever seen her exude before. Seeing that their relationship wasn't merely beneficial for him, Joe felt a sense of relief. In the beginning, he had mixed feeling about seemingly using this girl. Now, all of that was put at ease. He truly enjoyed every moment they were spending together up to this point, but the doubt still infected him.

With this single conversation, all doubt left his mind. Without warning, he pulled her against him and interlocked their lips. Although the kiss was brief, his illation was easily conveyed through their connection. Pulling apart, he brushed the few strands of stray hair off her face.

"Until now, I felt guilty about getting stronger. I was worried you'd someday feel like I was using you. Now, I don't feel any of that guilt. I'm glad I met you and if you don't mind, I'd like to continue being by your side like this."

His words were simple and honest. The message they conveyed made Shianne blush profusely. While she was a student, there were a few guys that attempted to approach her. Upperclassmen, lowerclassmen, even a few of her own classmates. She coldly shot each of them down. She didn't have any desire to waste time on things she saw as meaningless. Due to that mindset, she quickly progressed and eventually ended up where she is today, teaching the very classes she had taken not too long ago.

The two once again lost themselves in the euphoria the other brought. With no further words, they slipped into the, now, usual atmosphere they had grown accustomed to. Their night ended the same as it had on the first day of the semester. With both physically exhausted, they slipped into a peaceful slumber in the embraces of the other.

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The next two months went by with minimal changes to the routine. Joe continued to train John every morning before the lessons began and began noticing an improvement in the latter's mindset. He went from accepting a reality he had built within his own mind to fighting with every fiber of his existence to reach his goals. The first test of their advancement is not less than two weeks away.

Over the last couple days, Joe had changed the training routines for his squad. Following his initial group training, Joe began to focus every member's daily training based off their weakness'. Slowly, they had all begun to show significant improvement in the control they had over their own strengths as well as the combative abilities. He again has changed his method. These next two weeks will be spent on coordination and teamwork.

It was evident from day one that teamwork wasn't something his peers were used to utilizing so he is expecting a bumpy road ahead. Observing the other squads, he noticed that only fourth squad was also thinking about the implications available when working in unison. Knowing well that his squad would face second squad in the first bout associated with the pending trial, Joe paid extra attention to their training. Using his observations, he began the arduous task of build a team out of his squad.

Everyone knew that after the mid-terms four of their classmates would no longer be present. What Joe had perceived as a definite decrease in the numbers for each squad now shed a new light in his mind. 'The four lowest ranks will have their enrollments pulled.' This statement had served as motivation for the class. But now, Joe saw an opportunity to push his squad even further.

With twelve days remaining before the trail began, Joe had his entire squad hang back after the day was over. With them all wondering if he was going to continue to push them until late into the night, some of them were worried about the exhaustion that would follow while others were simply hoping he'd allot them time to eat before it began.

"I'm going to keep this short because I have somewhere to be after this. In less than two weeks, we will be facing off against the other squads. I have no doubt this is a preliminary evaluation to restructure the rankings before the mid-terms. Next semester, four of our peers will no longer be with us."

His initial words brought relief to his squad at the realization he wasn't going to over exhaust them. His last words left them with their heads hanging low. Each of them had developed a significant bond over the last two months. They all blead and sweet together day after day. The thought of losing any one of them left them filled with a sense of morbidity.

Seeing the gloomy looks encroaching on the faces of those in front of him, Joe decided to alleviate that grief.

"If you continue to put in the effort, you've all shown me up to this point, then I won't allow any of you to be dropped. You all heard it the same as I did, we will lose the four lowest ranked in our class. At no point was it said that one would come from each squad. Together, we will outperform every other squad and we will all rise in rankings."