March

"What? Are you crazy!? What are you doing!? If you don't have that, then you're-"

Chiel clutched Aisha's uniform with her hands.

.

Aisha shoved her away, without a shred of annoyance - no, rather, for the first time in a while, she felt focus - driven by desire - it wasn't that she needed to prove herself, no, it was that she WANTED to, and without trying her absolute hardest, with nothing stopping her, there was no way she would get it.

.

She stared at Xelos. There was a fire in her eyes, a reignited ember, extinguished long ago. There was a determination that lit her body up like a fire. She tightened her grip on her sword, no longer feeling tired. She started to breathe heavier as the fire burned her body, her chest feeling hot.

.

"What confidence." The man said nonchalantly, not even moving a muscle. "After dying so many times?"

"I..." Aisha let out a deep breath. "Humans can only change when under immense pressure. That's... something I've... learned. So, this handicap... I don't want it."

"Far be it for me to deny my precious student a request like that, then." Xelos said, his words sarcastic, but his tone completely even, as always. "Sure."

.

Aisha did not feel anything, or see anything, but she knew, when Xelos raised his dagger, covered in her blood, that if it pierced her heart again, she would not be getting back up. She took a deep breath, keeping a close eye on his shoulders. She charged at the tall man, tilting her head to the side and dodging a line of black light, as she clenched her sword tightly in her hand, with a new determination.

.

.

.

"Well, don't you look sad."

.

Chiel frantically rushed over to Aisha's prone body, muttering desperately to herself as she began to force magics into the bleeding girl's broken form, limbs twisted into unnatural directions, hair drenched in blood.

.

Her body was completely still.

.

"No, no no!" Chiel whispered. "Live, live live! Please!"

.

But her cries didn't reach Aisha. The pool of blood underneath her grew larger.

.

"No, no..." Chiel cried, her voice cracking with anguish. "You were doing so well... you didn't deserve this... you should have been happy... I... I... can't believe - you DID THIS TO YOURSELF!"

.

The thin priest girl slammed her fists down onto Aisha's chest, and nearly screamed in shock when Aisha took a short, wheezing breath, barely even strong enough to hear.

.

"Aisha!" Chiel cried, her face thick with relief, before growing furious. "What's WRONG WITH YOU!?"

"I... I won." Aisha whispered.

.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Chiel screamed. "YOU ALMOST DIED!"

"I lived." Aisha said quietly, letting out a weak laugh, before grimacing in pain. "That means... when I come back tomorrow... I won't die either... and I will... eventually... beat you..."

"How are you going to come back... how are you even going to LEAVE, with a BROKEN LEG!?" Chiel shrieked. "And arm, and a hole in your chest, and-"

.

"Heal me." Aisha demanded, looking directly at Xelos, with a hard expression.

"Your reasoning?" The tall man asked.

.

"You're my teacher. And you've been silent. Which means that I'm right."

.

For once, Aisha's words weren't spoken with any trace of smugness or arrogance. She simply knew she was right - there was no need to prove her superiority, or assert herself - what mattered more was getting home to her mistress.

.

"Same time tomorrow."

.

.

.

That night, Aisha skipped happily back to the house, humming completely non-tonally as she eagerly fumbled with the doorknob, excited to come home to her mistress.

She had barely even had time to look into the room before a colorful blur slammed into her, an amazing rush of heat and comfort hitting Aisha all at once. She felt her face being peppered with kisses, making her blush red.

"Oh- *kiss* -Aisha- *smooch* -I missed you so much- *smooch* - haaah..."

.

Aisha got a good look at Lorian's heaving, frazzled appearance, thick with neediness and pent up affection, that she began to lather onto Aisha, petting her softly and kissing her frantically.

"Mistress!" Aisha squeaked, blushing furiously, her body set alight with cuddly, soft sensation.

"You don't know how harddd it is to be without you!" Lorian whined. "All I can think about in class is you! My adorable, perfect little Aisha. My adorable little pet."

.

Aisha felt her face and ears heat up.

"p-p-pet?" She stuttered.

.

Aisha didn't know why, but something about that phrase, that word, pet, just made her feel so... warm inside. That was right... She was... her mistress's pet. Her toy. She belonged to her.

And the thought... was comforting. Soothing. Arousing...

.

She began to whimper as her mouth opened involuntarily, panting as her chest began to heat up. Aisha looked away shyly as adoration filled her heart. Suddenly, just looking at her mistress, having those beautiful eyes trained on her, so adoring, so loving... just filled her tummy with all sorts of butterflies.

It was made clear to her... this girl loved her. This girl... wanted to take care of her, wanted to hug her, despite everything she had done...

.

Lorian saw the reaction and her face instantly went concerned. She removed her hands from beside Aisha's head and sat up on Aisha's stomach, worried that she had crossed a line.

"Um... sorry." She said, biting her lip. "Do you... not..."

Aisha shook her head, wrapping her arms around Lorian's neck.

"I-It's okay." She muttered. "I-I am your pet. A-a-and that means you..."

Aisha squirmed as she turned her head back to look her mistress in the face.

"A-and that means..." She whispered. "You have to love me, and take care of me, and pat my head when I-"

Lorian grinned wide and wrapped her arms around Aisha's small little frame, squeezing her tight. "Of course! I'll love you for the rest of my life!~"

Aisha smiled softly as she was kissed and pet again right there on the doorstep, fluffy sensation shooting through her body as she was pampered by her mistress.

.

.

.

The next day, Aisha returned to the training room, her heart still rushing from the events of that morning. Mistress had just been... aggressive that morning. Ravenous, almost. She could hardly get out of bed. Aisha blushed thinking about it.

.

But the happy feelings left her as her vision locked onto her teacher, and her gaze grew hard, locked onto his shoulders. She drew her sword, ready to try to get a hit in on him. Today his weapon was a curved blade. That meant-

...

Aisha gave him a confused look as he tapped his left cheek. She reached up to mirror his movement, and was horrified to feel a wet spot: the remnant's of Lorian's lip gloss from that morning. On further inspection, her entire face was covered with the marks, and she frantically started to rub them off with her uniform.

.

"You know, I'm not going to leave if you're a little late."

.

.

.

That was how she spent her time, from that day on. Every day, with a new determination, she would show up, Xelos with a new weapon in hand. She would take many a cut, a broken arm, a missing finger, but from then on, she did not receive a fatal blow, fueled by the knowledge that her mistress would be waiting for her when she got home. She would fight until her mind could no longer take the mental strain it took to come up with tactics. Every day, that time would stretch longer and longer. Every day, she would get closer to hitting the bastard.

Tomorrow it was a sword. 89 centimeters.

The day after, a spear. 89 centimeters.

The day after that, a broadsword. 88 centimeters.

.

.

.

"You know, Aisha... " Lorian said, worry leaking into her tone.

Aisha tilted her head to look at her, from her laying position on her lap. "Hm?"

"You've been coming home later and later." Lorian said. "We used to cuddle all night... Now we've only got a few hoursssss..." She whined.

Aisha felt guilt enter her heart, and bit her bottom lip. Mistress was right, although Aisha had not noticed. It was bittersweet, as she was getting more efficient at fighting, and stronger in the body at a rapid pace, but this also meant she had to spend more time training before she got tired enough to see improvement. Her heart sank. Being with her mistress should be the top priority on her list, but instead... she was being so selfish. She had been so selfish, taking that stupid deal, and now... now she had to fully commit to it, or she would die and break her promise.

.

"I'm sorry mistress." Aisha said, her voice cracking. "I wish I could spend the entire day with you."

Aisha sniffled, and Lorian gave her a sad smile, caressing her cheek with one hand and stroking down her head with the other, sending comforting feelings into her body.

"It's ok." She said, soothing Aisha's troubled mind. "I believe in you! Soon we'll have all day to cuddle!"

She planted a kiss on Aisha's nose, laying down to fully envelop her in her arms. Aisha hummed in happiness as Lorian put a hand on her tummy, beginning to rub and squeeze her...

.

.

.

"Stop."

Aisha did not pause her motion, swinging at air. She tensed her body and observed Xelos's body to see what he would do next, to dodge the fist that would inevitably come at her head, or the stock of the polearm that would be pushed towards her neck.

Nothing.

Warily, she looked up at Xelos and backed away. In his right hand he held a massive blade mounted on a long staff, his hand grabbing the staff right below the blade. A polearm. He used it in massive, sweeping strokes, that kicked up the dust on the ground and tore up the white stone in the floor. Aisha had to move in close, forcing him to move his grip up on the weapon. At that point, it was simply a matter of fighting a slow, enormous, unwieldy weapon, and a still deadly left hand, but it was no more difficult than fighting an ax or sword.

Of course, Xelos did not make it simple. He kept his distance well, controlling the space between them with the threat of those massive swings.

Aisha neutralized this threat by forcing Xelos into a corner, giving him no space to swing the weapon. It was easier said than done, especially with the man's surprising proficiency with the weapon, but at least it was a plan. Better than literally nothing, which is what Aisha had previously.

.

He tossed the polearm into the air, which dematerialized into purple cubes and vanishing, but even though he was without a weapon, she still did not relax her guard. The last time he had done this, she had foolishly walked up to him, and he had re-materialized the weapon instantly and cut her arm off.

"Follow me if you wish."

With that, he turned around, opened up a rift, and left.

...

There was nothing left to do in the suffocating room without Xelos in it. Chiel had died long ago, struck by a stray beam of magic in the heart.

It had not been a very anguishing moment for Aisha. She had kicked the lifeless body into some corner and continued.

.

It had been a minute since Xelos left. She had to follow him, or she might lose him. She followed him outside, feeling a creeping sense of Deja vu. It was the jungle...

Xelos's back was turned, walking deeper into the jungle. Even though the man's frame was so enormous, he seemed to magically avoid all the low-hanging branches and vines that even Aisha had trouble keeping out of her face.

She sprinted up to him and attempted to stab him in the back, but her blade was stopped by a red hexagon.

"Stop that." He said.

"Why?"

"Consider this a recess from training. We will resume later."

She squinted at the man, trying to read him. It was no use. She followed him throughout the jungle, until they reached a house. He went inside, and Aisha followed.

.

It was... just a regular house. She looked around... There were regular appliances like a stove and oven, but they looked... primitive. She looked at the stove, which had the actual heating mechanism ripped out and replaced with a chunk of red stone, wires wrapped around it haphazardly.

He went over to the kitchen and grabbed a plate from the counter, sliding it across the table to Aisha.

"Eat. It's not poisoned."

That's right... it was about suppertime. She had gotten so used to the sensation of hunger, that she no longer recognized it. But she had to eat to keep up her strength... So that was why her movements had felt so slow...

She watched Xelos out of the corner of her eye.

"Who are you?"

"..."

"Why are you so invested in my progress?"

"..."

"...Why did you take me here to eat." She asked tiredly.

"I didn't want you spilling crumbs over my training room."

"Is that the only reason?"

"No."

"...Are you going to tell me?"

"No."

"..."

.

She was not going to get any answers about Xelos's identity or his motivations. Fair enough. Aisha didn't need to know if she wanted to beat him.

.

"What are the red hexagons? Why don't you use the mana shield?"

"It's more efficient to block a directed attack than to constantly have a bubble around you. There are other weaknesses to the technique as well."

"..." Aisha took a bite of her sandwich, raising her eyebrows at the surprisingly good taste. She lifted a piece of bread to look at the ingredients underneath. "Like what?"

"You cannot control the activation of the bubble, nor can you control where it shows up. The bubble activates when a fast enough object enters the range. Objects already in the range don't activate the shield. This can be abused."

Aisha chewed on her sandwich slowly, keeping eye contact with the statue of a man. The information was definitely helpful, but it didn't help her at all against Xelos's shield. She hadn't even gotten him to use it yet. She sighed. Aisha knew it wouldn't be that easy, but she could at least hope.

Aisha finished the last of her sandwich, popping the little bite into her mouth and pushing the crumby plate in front of her. She got up and started to leave, turning around and hearing the distinct sound of clinking dishware behind her, and then running water.

.

"...Are you actually cleaning the plate?"

"When you eat food, do you just leave the plates dirty?"

Aisha rubbed her neck. "No, I just... Whatever."

When the sound of running water stopped, Xelos strode in front of her and stepped through a new rift. Aisha drew her sword and rolled through the portal, pre-emptively dodging the massive sweep of the blade that was aimed towards her face.

"You're learning."

.

.

.

The time of the sessions eventually started to cut into the night. After a week, she started to return home after sunset. Lorian, without fail, would always be waiting for her when she got back, with a warm hug and cuddles.

.

.

Five months later...

Aisha ran her way back up the forest path, back home. The streets around her blurred, her strides massive. The guards had stopped waving at her, as she ran too fast past them to even bother.

She entered the house, looking around for Lorian. Her ears twitched excitedly, as always.

Lorian exited the bedroom, rubbing her eyes, dressed in usual nightwear, yawning as she stumbled her way over to her beloved little Aisha.

"Welcome home... Aisha..." She mumbled, before losing balance and beginning to tip over.

.

Before Lorian could hit the ground, Aisha leapt over and caught her in her arms, holding the warm woman in her arms.

Lorian giggled. "Oh, my little savior. Thank youuu!" She slurred, her words coming out slow and delirious with fatigue.

"Uuuwww..." Aisha blushed. "It's no problem."

"You're so adorable." Lorian teased. "Why don't you carry us over to the couch?"

.

Aisha obliged, making her way over to the couch eagerly, as she was giddy for what came next. She lowered Lorian onto the couch and hopped into her lap, letting out a pleased sigh as Lorian started to stroke her ears, starting to melt Aisha's head into a puddle from the top down, the girl's eyes fluttering as she sank deep into her mistress's lazy embrace.

.

"Don't get too comfortable..." Lorian yawned. "You haven't eaten yet, right?"

Aisha was too blissed out to hear her, the feeling of her mistress's warm hands encompassing her entire brain. She let out an embarrassing "uuuuu" as her brain vaguely recognized something being said to her, and Lorian giggled sleepily at the noise, fumbling around for the box of food that she kept on the table.

.

"Come on Aishaaa~" Lorian sang. "Open up!"

"Wuh?"

"It's food!" Lorian giggled. "You like that, mmmdon't you?"

.

Aisha blushed as she opened her mouth a bit, and Lorian happily slid in a spoonful of rice into Aisha's mouth, cooing affectionate, sleepy words.

Aisha opened her mouth for another bite after swallowing, but none came. She felt a little stupid with her mouth open, so she turned around, ready to whine to her mistress, but instead her body was met with a tugging motion, as Lorian tipped to the left and fell over, eyes closed peacefully, expression still in a sleepy grin. Rice flew all over her body and the couch as the box tipped over in her hands, grains on her face, chest and stomach.

"Ah! Mistress!?" Aisha yelped in surprise, putting her hands on the woman's shoulders, jostling her slightly in an attempt to wake her up. However, Lorian was fast asleep, chest heaving up and down evenly.

"Mistress! Mistress!" Aisha called, over and over, but Lorian didn't wake up, no matter how often Aisha whispered her name, afraid of yelling too loud. Eventually Aisha sighed and gave up, shoulders slumping in defeat. Every day she had been getting home later and later in the day, but... today was the first day that Lorian had fallen asleep while they had been... playing. She felt so bad...

.

"Okay..." She sighed, displeased with the turn of events. Her eyes roamed over her mistress's open form, rice and bits of meat littering her body and the couch. Aisha groaned as she realized that she was going to have to clean this all up.

.

Aisha bent over to scoop up a piece of rice on Lorian's neck, but suddenly her eyes locked onto the sight of Lorian's breast, and suddenly her stomach growled, with a hunger for food, as well as... something else.

.

A bead of sweat dripped down the girl's forehead as she stared at the milky flesh, barely held by the woman's brassiere...

"Don't do it." She whispered to herself. "Don't do it."

(But she looks so amazing... Imagine how good she must taste...)

.

Aisha swallowed a load of saliva in her throat, trying desperately not to drool over her mistress and dirty her anymore. It was so hard to resist the hunger. She was so hungry. And mistress...

.

"Just one." Aisha whispered, not sure what what she even meant by "one." One lick? One grain of rice? One second?

It didn't matter. She was hungry.

.

Aisha leaned in close to Lorian's bosom, putting the tip of her tongue on the milky flesh and slowly scooping up a grain of rice. She felt her entire body shiver and tense at the taste as sensation filled her body. There wasn't words to describe how good it tasted, all Aisha could do was moan in absolute satisfaction as her eyes rolled back in her head.

Lorian's entire body was quickly covered with saliva as Aisha hungrily slathered her tongue all over her mistress's body in a frenzy, overcome with lust and hunger for her beloved mistress. Eventually, all that was left was a single grain of rice on Lorian's lip, and without hesitation, Aisha leaned in and began to explore her mistress's mouth, putting her hands on the side of Lorian's head to steady herself.

.

Aisha began to feel weak in her head, and she recognized that she had been kissing her mistress for a full five minutes, pulling away a panting, blushy mess.

She looked down at her handiwork, Lorian shining in the moonlight beautifully, covered in Aisha's bodily fluids.

.

Lust and adrenaline left her body, and was quickly replaced with shame, as Aisha realized what she had just done. She backed off the couch in horror at her own actions, feeling as if she had just defiled a holy shrine.

.

"I-I-I'm sorry mistress..." She whispered. She opened her mouth in an attempt to find more words to apologize, but all that was left in her heart was a feeling of dread. Suddenly her mouth felt dry. She had violated her mistress. She had forced herself on her, and she couldn't have even had said no.

She could have stolen her first kiss. Aisha paled at the thought.

.

Panic filled her mind as she thought of what to do. Should she leave? Should she wake her up? Should she get help? Call Fen?

.

Aisha gulped as she went over the options. No matter what twisted possibility entered her mind, they all ended up with mistress hating her. And she really - and she really... didn't want that. She absolutely didn't want that. Her life would be over.

.

Aisha buried her face in her hands as she hurried over to the kitchen for a towel.

.

.

.

The next morning, Lorian woke up smiling, having had a really nice dream, of course, with Aisha in it. She yawned and stretched her arms out, feeling around her neck for Aisha's head and warm body, but her hands felt no familiar fluffiness.

"Aisha?" She said softly, concerned. "Did you already leave?"

There was no response. Lorian's face fell as a result, sorely disappointed.

"Oh..." She said, depressed. She fell back onto the bed, losing all energy she had for the day. She didn't even want to go to school that day - she just wanted to wait in bed until Aisha came back.

She flipped over in the bed, but jumped in surprise as she heard a small little yelp, and felt the unmistakable resistance of another body in the bed.

"Aisha!?" She said giddily, reaching down into the bed to try to find the girl. She giggled as she felt Aisha squirm around her legs, eventually finding a grip around the girl's armpits. She pulled her up to face level, smiling brightly at the sight of the adorable girl.

"Why aren't you up here?" She smiled softly. "Do you like my tummy that much?"

Aisha just looked down, her cheeks pink. "Mmmmnnn..."

.

Lorian laughed as she squeezed Aisha close to her chest, burying her face in the smaller girl's shoulder, taking a deep breath of her scent.

"Mistress..." Aisha whispered.

"Yes?" Lorian replied, smiling brightly with a new energy. Aisha gulped as she looked upon her visage, bright like the sun.

"W-wwelll I just..." She mumbled. "Why... have you been staying up so late?"

"For you!" Lorian smiled. "Because I want to see you! I spend the entire day without you... When I get home, all I can think about is how much I want to play with you..."

Aisha gulped. "For me?"

"Mhm!" Lorian replied with a smile. Aisha found... that she couldn't meet Lorian's warm, kind eyes.

.

Lorian yawned as she squeezed Aisha another time, rubbing their faces together and making a pleased squeal in her throat.

"I still have a bit of time before class..." She mused. "Lets cuddle for juuust a bit longer..."

.

Aisha soon heard snoring, and she looked at her sleeping mistress, a new grief in her heart. She was... making her do this?

.

That day, Aisha walked into the training room, head downcast and eyes staring at the floor. She bit her lip, not even wanting to look at her teacher in his eyes.

.

"Hey." She muttered.

"..."

"..."

"...Hey."

Aisha paused for a long time, biting her lip as she contemplated what she was going to ask the imposing, dangerous man.

"Can I have a day off?" She whispered.

"I don't control whether or not you come here." Xelos replied, staring into Aisha's eyes, as always.

.

Aisha contemplated his words for a second, before reluctantly drawing her sword and-

"That means you can leave." He said flatly.

Aisha's eyes lit up, as her left hand froze, halfway finished drawing her sword. "Really?"

"Yes."

She opened her mouth, about to thank him reflexively, but when she realized what she was about to do, the clamped her mouth shut, hastily retreating into the portal behind her.

"Stupid girl." Xelos muttered.

.

.

.

Aisha stealthily opened the door to the house, careful not to let the door creak as she peeked inside, looking for an opportunity to surprise her mistress. She looked around and... perfect! She wasn't inside the living room. That means... she could go surprise her in the bedroom. She carefully closed the door behind her before moving to the bedroom, sneakily cracking open the door and looking inside the gap. She smiled as she saw her mistress at her desk, sitting sideways in her chair, boredly writing down on a piece of parchment. She felt excitement well up inside her.

.

"Mistress!" She squealed, as she leapt at her from behind, wrapping her arms around her midriff and pulling her off her chair and onto the ground. She giggled as she heard the woman yelp as she succumbed to gravity, landing backwards onto Aisha's ready form.

"A-Aisha?" She yelped. "Is that you?"

Aisha smiled and buried her face into the back of Lorian's neck, giving her all the answer she needed. Lorian flipped around and her eyes visibly lit up in excitement as she saw Aisha smiling back at her.

"You're here! What happened?"

"I... " Aisha said sheepishly. "I asked him for a day off."

Lorian pursed her lips, and an ounce of disappointment leaked onto her face. "You... shouldn't have done that for me..."

"...I-"

Lorian latched on tightly to Aisha's frame. "But I'm so glad you're hereeee!"

The small girl giggled as Lorian began to strip her clothes off frantically, returning to her default state of barely-dressed. She was so excited to see her adorable little pet. Her breaths began to speed up, and-

"Mistress!" Aisha squeaked. "You-"

"Huh?" Lorian stared at her chest, where her hands were midway through unclasping her bra. "O-oh... Ah..."

She bit her lip as she realized what, in her excitement, she had started to do. She looked down at Aisha, who had turned bright red and was covering her eyes with her hands, although she could still see the dark red of her open, peeking eyes. Lorian stared at the small fey's heaving chest, adorable, twitching ears, and milky, soft, skin...

Lorian's eyes dilated as Aisha's scent entered her nose. Ordinarily, she didn't pay much attention to it, but in her excited, hungry state, it smelled... cute, somehow, like strawberries and marshmallows and fluff. She wanted it. She wanted more of it.

"Screw it." She muttered, as she finished unclasping her bra, letting her large breasts out into the open. Aisha squeaked as she did, even though she was supposedly covering her eyes. Lorian smiled hungrily at the response. She was so cute!

.

She started to grasp ravenously at Aisha's clothes, sliding off the straps of her gloves, and fumbling around with the straps on her uniform. She grew frustrated at her inability to disrobe the little fey girl while she was laying on the floor. Eventually, she decided to just rip the uniform, gripping each side of the black thing with her hands-

.

Her eyes locked onto the small little diamond on Aisha's collarbone, revealed by Lorian's shifting and grabbing, and rising up and down with Aisha's heaving breaths.

Her slave mark.

She froze in place, as her gaze then shifted to her own hands, about to rip the poor girl's uniform. She let go, horrified at what she was about to do.

(W-what the hell am i doing!?) She thought, horrified. (I was- I was about to... to rape her! I...I-)

.

She quickly removed her weight from Aisha's crotch, shaking. She skooched her butt back until she hit a wall, trying to put as much distance between her and Aisha as possible, but she was stopped by a firm hand on her arm before she could bolt from the room. Aisha looked at her with a concerned expression. She had desperately wanted her to rip off her stupid uniform, but... clearly something was bothering her.

.

"S-sorry." Lorian muttered. It was the first time she had felt embarrassed in their little relationship. She wished it could have been in literally any other scenario.

"Mistress..." Aisha said softly in response, a storm of thoughts rushing through her mind. The ugly specter of self loathing and doubt began to eat at the edges of her mind, and her ears flattened out on her head in sadness.

.

Lorian couldn't control herself, and wrapped her arms around Aisha's shoulders in a death grip.

"Can we... forget about this?" Lorian whispered. "P-please?"

Aisha nodded hesitantly, but on the inside, her heart wrenched in pain.

.

.

.

But the girls could never forget, and even though they continued to sleep together through the nights, Aisha felt a bitterness well up every time she climbed in bed with her mistress. Nowadays... nowadays she didn't even come home early enough for Lorian to even see her. She was always fast asleep when Aisha came back.

(Maybe it's for the best.)

.

.

.

Aisha halfheartedly swung her sword at Xelos's pants, missing more than usual. 110 meters. The man didn't say anything, but Aisha soon felt a searing gash in her face, as his sword ripped through her face and eye.

She didn't even feel any pain. She had gotten so many gashes, so many cuts, so many lost limbs, that the feeling didn't even register. Besides, the pain in her heart was so much greater...

"I'm not going to heal you unless you get up."

"What's the point." Aisha sighed in despair. "What's the poin-"

"You need to stop talking... immediately." Xelos said, interrupting the girl's emo trip. "I'm not going to fix your relationships."

"Whatever." Aisha sighed. "Hey, how did you know-"

"It's obvious. It's the reason you're here."

"...I-"

"Go figure it out. If you can't, then you shouldn't come back." He said.

"...No, wait." He muttered.

"What?"

"Just go figure it out."

.

.

.

With that, she was kicked out (literally) of the training room, landing in the abandoned lot on her ass. She grumbled angrily and got up, dusting off the back of her pants. She looked at the empty streets with apathy. What was she going to do?

Suddenly, a tall, slender shadow was cast over her. A tall, slender shadow, with pointed ears on the top of her head.

"Aisha?"